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Zander #7  September 9, 2003 - April 24, 2004 - 8 hrs

Nikolas, Emily and Lucky, Zander all visit Elizabeth. She has been blinded after being hit by a car. Later, Nikolas is pained when he sees Emily and Zander kissing. Zander asks Ned for a loan. He shows up at GH and hears the end of a conversation between Emily and Lydia about Nikolas. He asks them what he needs to know. Lydia says they were talking about honeymoon destinations. Zander mentions that Em's cousin brought Venice to her in her room. Lydia suggests some faraway place for a honeymoon. She also brings up the fact that Zander is responsible for bringing Emily out of her coma. Emily continues with that lie and agrees that he saved her. Lydia leaves them alone. Zander picks up on the fact that Emily doesn't like Lydia very much. Emily dismisses her. Zander tells her that he has a surprise for her. He carries her over the threshold of their new home. He tells her he got a loan from Ned to rent the cottage. Emily loves the place.

Emily and Zander return home from a late moonlight walk. They begin to plan their home together and Emily asks why he chose that house, since Nikolas used to live there. He tells that he rented the house for various reasons, like the rent and location and that it doesn't matter that Nikolas used to live there. The house is perfect for the two of them. The phone rings and Zander answers, he tells the other person that they sound terrible and asked what was wrong. Zander arrives at Kelly's to meet with Alexis. She tells him that they are not having this conversation. She tells him that Ned has been set up by Stefan because she asked him to help her get her daughter back. But now she doesn't have the stomach for what Stefan has planned and she can't tell Ned because Stefan has set her up. She gives Cindy's information to Zander and asks him to help her tie Cindy to Stefan. Zander agrees to help Alexis and Ned. She tells Zander about Stefan's plan to murder Emily.

Later, as Emily is preparing the wine, the power goes out. She lights a few candles and calls Nikolas. He arrives and helps Emily with the power. They bundle up with a blanket and Nikolas starts a fire to help heat up the house. Thunder rumbles, knocks the power out again and startles Emily almost into Nikolas' arms while a stranger outside the window takes a few pictures. Back at Kelly's, Lydia tells Zander that Emily called Nikolas to help with the power. After Lydia runs in to Zander at Kelly's and informs Zander that Nikolas went scooting off to help Emily out when Nikolas learned that the electricity went off at the cottage, Zander confidently reassures Lydia that, since Emily knows that she is in love with Zander, Zander has nothing to worry about, even if Zander's wife is alone in a dark, romantic cottage with Lydia's husband!

Zander spots Zach, trying to hit on Cindy. After Zander convinces Zach to shove off, Zander recognizes Cindy as the woman who has claimed that Ned raped her and Zander tries to get chummy with Cindy. Zander gives Cindy the number for his cell phone, just as Nikolas arrives at Kelly's and spots the exchange. After Cindy leaves, Nikolas jumps all over Zander for speaking to Cindy, but Zander retorts that Nikolas' lonely wife, Lydia, has just informed Zander that Nikolas went scooting right over to the cottage to fix the electricity as soon as Emily called. Zander confidently reminds Nikolas that Emily loves Zander and that Nikolas will never be able to come between Zander and Emily. Nikolas agrees that Emily is over Nikolas but Nikolas warns Zander that Nikolas is a Cassadine and if Zander does anything to hurt Emily, Nikolas will wreck Zander because the Cassadines have developed revenge into a high art form!

When Zander returns home, Zander is pleasantly impressed when he discovers the romantic dinner that Emily had planned for them. Emily immediately tells Zander that she called Nikolas to check the electricity and Zander assures Emily that he does not have a problem with the fact that Nikolas was at the cottage. Zander informs Emily that he was late in returning because he met with Alexis. Zander suggests that maybe they should move out of the cottage because it is so remote, but Emily argues that she loves the seclusion and wants to continue living at the cottage!

Zander questions Lucky about Emily's involvement in Nikolas' fight. Lucky warns him that any association with a Cassadine is dangerous right now and he needs to focus on Emily. Zander tells him that it's not Emily that Lucky should focus on, he should focus on Lydia. Lucky tells Zander that Emily could be in danger and he needs to keep his eyes open. Zander goes to the hospital looking for Emily and runs into Lydia. She tells him that she is also looking for Emily so she could tell her exactly what she thinks of her. He asks her what she is talking about. She tells him about Nikolas ending the marriage and shows him the pictures of Emily and Nikolas. In a rage, Zander runs to Nikolas' room and begins to punch him. Emily enters and tells him to stop. Nikolas explains to Emily that ending his marriage was part of a plan that he and Jason worked up against Lorenzo, since he is the one who Stefan owes money to. Nikolas tells Emily that she is in danger, Lorenzo may come after Emily through Nikolas. He tells Zander to take Emily to a hiding spot on the island. Zander pulls Emily out of his room. 

On the docks, Zander tells Emily that he knows that she is lying to him, keeping secrets from him, all the while protecting Nikolas. He tells her that he knows that she slept with Nikolas, he saw the pictures. She tells him that things got out of hand, but she did not sleep with Nikolas. Zander asks her if she married him to protect Nikolas. He asks her if it has always been about Nikolas. Zander demands Emily to choose between him and Nikolas. He asks her who she loves, she tells him that she loves him with all of her heart, but she loves Nikolas also. He asks her how he is supposed to handle that and why she married him. She tells him that she married him because he asked and because she loves him. Zander wonders if Emily thought about her feelings for Nikolas getting in the way of their marriage and she says that she didn't think that far and 'til death do us part was all that she could see. Zander realizes that Emily only married him because she thought that she was going to die. He asks her what if she knew that she was going to live, would she have married him anyways. Emily can't answer, because she doesn't know what would have been if she weren’t ill. Zander tells her that her sickness never changed how he felt about her. She tells him that if she wasn't sick, maybe she wouldn't have come home, but what she would have done over was to ask Nikolas to help her protect him from the agony of watching her die. But since she can't take it back, the only thing she can do is to apologize for what happened with Nikolas and to promise that it will never happen again. Zander tells Emily that what if he can't stay married to a woman who keeps another man in her heart? He has seen the pictures of the two of them together and it will take a long time to get those images out of his head.

In the meantime, he decides not take Emily to the island. He tells her that he can protect her in their home. Zander walks away and Emily follows. Back at the cottage, Zander tells Emily to make sure that the windows are locked. She suggests Zander to light a fire, but he doesn't want to because it will remind him of her and Nikolas. She asks if he will be able to get past all of this and he tells her that he doesn't know, but he will try, only it won't be tonight. Later on that night, Emily sees how hurt Zander is as he stands by the fireplace holding his wedding ring with tears in his eyes.

Zander meets with Alexis on the docs. Zander reports that he is making headway into worming his way into Cindy's confidence. Alexis reports to Zander that Cameron has obtained custody of Kristina. Alexis asks Zander if he would be able to help Alexis smooth things over so that Cameron will allow Alexis to see Kristina frequently. Zander returns home and discovers that they are babysitting Kristina. Emily and Zander have fun holding Kristina and begin to bond over the baby. Later, Emily gets ready to leave the cottage to pick up some food for Kristina. As Zander panics at the prospect of being left alone with Kristina, Cameron and Alexis arrive at the door! After Emily leaves, Cameron informs Zander that Kristina will be with Zander and Emily until Cameron finds an apartment that accepts babies. Zander assures Cameron that both Alexis and Cameron are welcome at the cottage any time. Later, as Cameron, Zander and Alexis discuss Kristina's future, Scott arrives with police officers and arrests Alexis for masterminding the fraudulent sexual assault charge, which was brought against Ned!

Zander is left watching baby Kristina while Emily goes to the store to buy some baby food and supplies. Detective Capelli, working for Alcazar, grabs Emily from behind and covers her mouth to keep her from screaming. He warns her that if Nikolas doesn't pay Alcazar back soon, they will come after her next time. Jason finds it suspicious that Alcazar didn't kill Nik and they realize that Emily may be vulnerable at this moment. Nikolas tells him that Zander is with her right now. Jason asks him if he is sure of this and Nikolas suggests checking on them at the cottage. When they get there they find Zander alone with the baby and no sign of Emily. Jason tells him that he shouldn't have left Emily alone for a second and that she is in danger.

Zander isn't too happy about Nikolas' problems putting her in danger. Nikolas explains about his creditors and that Alcazar is behind the debt. Jason calls one of Sonny's men to find Emily as Nikolas makes his own phone call. Emily walks in the door, quite shaken up. Jason sighs in relief when he sees she isn't harmed. Emily realizes something is wrong if Nikolas and Jason are there. They explain what is going on. She tells them about being grabbed on the docks and that she couldn't see the person who grabbed her because he threatened to harm her if she turned around and looked at him. Jason decides to put some guards on her outside her house to protect her. Nikolas agrees to not stick around and come by anymore if it means he is putting her in danger.

Emily tells Zander that she wants to be married to him and chose him. Zander reluctantly trusts her and they embrace. Emily and Zander struggle to keep Kristina from crying. Skye arrives to help with Kristina. She is able to put Kristina to sleep. Zander goes upstairs to put Kristina's doll in her crib with her, leaving Skye and Emily alone. She tells Emily that she hasn't forgotten about the favor she asked Skye to do when she was in the hospital. She tells Skye that she still wants to dazzle Nikolas and Zander overhears through the baby monitor. Emily continues to talk about her crush on Nikolas with Skye as Zander overhears through the baby monitor. Emily tells her that she needs to focus on Zander, the man that she wants to be with. But Zander turns off the monitor and doesn't hear her tell Skye how lucky she is having Zander in her life. Skye tells her how wise she is for realizing that the perfect man can be the wrong one for her and she compares her relationship with Jax.

Ned arrives with Kristina's blanket and accuses Cameron of trying to play the hero for Alexis once again, but this time it granted him custody of a baby he cannot take care of, so instead he leaves Kristina with Zander and Emily. Cameron, Ned and Skye continue to argue, but Zander interrupts them and tells them that all of this arguing is not doing Kristina any good. All that matters is Kristina and that they all need to compromise. Cameron agrees to allow Kristina to see the people she cares about. Cameron promises Zander and Emily that he and Kristina will be out of their hair as soon as he finds a child friendly apartment. Later, Alexis stops by the Cottage to thank Cameron for paying her bail. Emily reassures Zander that their marriage will keep on getting better.

Nik, Emily, Zander, Lydia and Alexis have all received mysterious messages to meet at Kelly's. Luke has set up a video camera as well as chairs set up like a courtroom. Alexis and the gang hang around out of curiosity more than anything. Alexis gets a call on her cell phone. The voice on the other end is distorted so she can't recognize it. She has a feeling she knows who the caller is. A minute later, Alexis sees a hearse show up to pick them up and bring them somewhere. Alexis, Lydia, Nikolas, Emily, and Zander show up at the warehouse. Emily had insisted on going with them all to the warehouse since she felt it concerned her as well. She asks Lydia what she is doing getting a message and not Lucky. Lydia explains that she moved in with Lucky since she didn't have a place to live. Alexis assumes that because Lucky is a cop now, Luke didn't want him involved in this. Alexis finds videotape in the warehouse as well as a TV monitor and tape player. She puts the tape in to play. Luke's face appears on the tape thanking them for coming and that they have been invited to stay for the trial and to eat the food. Alexis doesn't like where this is heading after she gets a feeling about what Luke is going to do. She goes to leave but Luke anticipates she is going to try and leave and locks the door on them. He tells her to stay. Luke shows up later with a tied up Stefan who he drags into the warehouse and into a chair. Luke explains that they have been invited to watch the trial of Stefan Cassadine and the charge is murder in the first. He bangs his own style of gavel against the podium that is in the room. Everyone else looks on in surprise.

Luke takes the gag off a tied up Stefan. Stefan sees that everyone involved in what has been going on is sitting as an audience as Luke spouts off about true justice for his crimes. Lucky shows up at the warehouse, Luke isn't too pleased with Lucky's interference. Nikolas finally speaks out against Stefan again. Stefan finally breaks down and cries. He tells everyone that everything he has ever done was to protect Nikolas, who is the one bright thing in his whole miserable life. He also blames Helena for putting them into debt to begin with and making him have to go through such desperate measures to keep the Cassadine future secure for Nikolas. He tells Emily that if she had just stayed away from Nikolas, she would have been fine but that he had to make a choice between protecting Nikolas and keeping her away from Nikolas, he would always choose Nikolas' protection. Zander tries to stop Stefan from talking about Emily that way. Luke shoots him down and tells him to sit down. Luke hands Stefan over to Mac after he finds him guilty of murder at his "trial."

Zander admits to Emily that while she was in California, he and Carly came very close to having a close encounter of the intimate kind. At Carly's shower at Luke's Place, Emily becomes annoyed when Zander suddenly gets a cell-phone call and makes plans to leave. Emily quizzes Lucky about Zander's relationship with Carly, but Lucky will only point out that it is all in the past and it all happened while Zander and Emily were broken up and Carly and Sonny were divorced! Zander meets with Cindy at Kelly's and is surprised when Cindy brags that she is still getting paid, even though Alexis (who had supposedly 'hired' Cindy to help frame Ned) has been arrested! When Zander digs for more information, Cindy clams up and claims that she merely has another job for a different client. Zander and Cindy are interrupted by Emily's arrival. After Cindy makes a hasty exit, Emily asks Zander why he was meeting with the woman who tried to frame Ned. Zander explains that he has had people watching Cindy because Alexis never paid Cindy to try to frame Ned and Alexis had asked Zander to befriend Cindy and dig for information that would prove Alexis innocent. Although Emily reminds Zander that they had agreed not to take sides in the hostility between Alexis and Ned, Zander reminds Emily that Zander is a free man only because Alexis defended Zander in court! When Zander goes to make a call to Alexis, Emily spots Elizabeth, out, practicing walking with her white cane.

As Emily and Elizabeth talk, Emily starts to bring up Zander's brief fling with Carly, but Elizabeth misunderstands and believes that Emily is referring to Zander's brief fling with Elizabeth! Elizabeth blurts out the details of her affair with Zander to an astonished Emily! Zander returns to Kelly's and finds Elizabeth and Emily talking to each other. After Elizabeth leaves, Emily demands to know why Zander never told Emily that he had slept with her best friend! Zander reminds Emily that they were broken up when Zander had his affair with Elizabeth. Zander also points out that Zander's relationship with Emily has been complicated since Emily's return by Emily's choice to deceive Zander into believing that Emily had been hooked on pain pills, that Emily was engaged to Nikolas and, later, by Emily's admission that she had developed genuine feelings for Nikolas! Zander suggests that Emily is just looking for an excuse to call it quits on their marriage! After Zander leaves, Elizabeth returns and confesses that Liz overheard part of Zander's defense. Emily finally confides to Liz that Zander might be right about Emily's motives for feeling angry that Zander developed relationships with Carly and later, with Elizabeth, while Emily was out of town!

Lydia comes down the stairs at Kelly's and finds Zander sitting at the counter having coffee. She asks him if he knows where his wife is. She informs him that Nikolas filed for divorce from her and that he is probably with Emily right now. Zander tells her that she shouldn't be surprised that Nikolas filed from divorce since he never made it a secret that he wasn't happy being married to her. Emily comes in and overhears her. Emily grabs her by the arm and tells her to leave Zander alone. Lydia accuses Emily of enjoying having two men in love with her. Zander asks Lydia to go home and leave Emily alone. Lydia leaves but warns Zander to be careful about trusting Emily. Emily is surprised when Zander asks her if what Lydia said was true, is she waiting for Nikolas to try and take her away from him. Emily tries to reassure him that she is married to him and loves him. Zander doesn't really know whether to believe her and asks her if she wants to be with Nikolas now that he will be free soon. Zander accuses her of trying to sabotage their marriage by being upset about him hooking up with Elizabeth and Carly when she was gone. He points out that she had dumped him and that he may have cared about Elizabeth and Carly, he has only ever loved her. He tells her that she may have loved him once but she only cares about him now. She cries and tells him he was her first love. Zander tells her that he believed that at one time but he doesn't believe it and that she has been waiting for her prince, Nikolas, who was her real first love. He tells her he can't do this anymore and that their marriage is over.

Zander isn't too pleased when he later walks into Kelly's to find Emily being held by Nikolas. He goes back out the door at Kelly's and they follow behind to explain. Nikolas tells him that Emily has something important to tell him. Nikolas leaves them alone to talk. Emily is about to tell him about her cancer treatment when he interrupts her to ask her who will be filing for divorce, her or him. Emily tries to reassure him she loves him and wants to be married to him. Zander doesn't believe her and confronts her about whether she told him the truth when she said she saw him in her dream. He asks her if it was really Nikolas or him. She doesn't answer him but tries to get him to give them the second chance he talked about before. He tells her that he believed they had a second chance because he was an idiot. He accuses her of wanting to be the center of attention and not caring which one of them got hurt by her indecision. He walks away without hearing about her news. Emily goes to the hospital to have her blood checked for a white blood cell count to see if she can start her chemotherapy. She is nervous about the outcome and worries that her white blood cell count won't be high enough for her to start her chemotherapy. Monica believes she is doing very well and that her blood cell count will be fine.

Emily runs into Zander at the hospital and notices his hand is all bandaged up. He tells her he got into a fight the night before. He asks her if she is there to visit her parents. She tells him she is there to start her chemotherapy. This surprises him. She tells him she tried to tell him but he took off upset. Zander sees her later with Nikolas. Zander overhears as Nikolas hands Lydia divorce papers. Zander realizes that Nikolas is now free to pursue Emily now that they

broke up too. Zander sits with Gia, who comes into Kelly's from the big storm outside. She tells him she heard about his split with Emily and asks him why they broke up. He tells her that he can't be second choice to Nikolas and that Emily wants to be with Nikolas anyway. He tells her that Emily married him because she thought she was dying. Gia tells him he shouldn't give up on his marriage so easily and that Emily loves him even if she has feelings for Nikolas too.

Emily is surprised when she gets home and finds Zander there waiting for her. He tells her that he did some thinking and realized he can't live without her and wants to give their marriage a second chance. Emily is about to respond when Nikolas comes into the room suddenly and announces he found an inn they can stay in for a couple of days. Zander isn't too pleased to see him and makes a remark about going after Emily when she isn't even divorced yet. Nikolas tells him that he doesn't feel guilty since he walked out on Emily. Emily tells them to stop fighting and she can't choose between them and that right now she doesn't want to be with either of them and storms out. Zander and Nikolas end up running into each other at Kelly's later. Zander tells him that he can't always get what he wants just because he is some prince. He tells Nikolas that he and Emily beat the odds before and stayed together and they will do it again. Emily visits Monica.

Monica gives her great news, her cancer is in complete remission. Emily is ecstatic and hugs Monica. She later calls Zander and Nikolas over to the hospital to tell them about her cancer being in remission. She also announces that she is going to go to med school and that she is registering for pre-med classes at P.C.U. She tells them that she couldn't have gotten through her cancer without their love or support and that she loves them both.

Emily runs into Zander outside of Kelly's. She explains that the big bag she is carrying contains food that is going to be donated for the charity they are funding for the masquerade ball that night. Zander asks her to be his date that night. She tells him she can't go with him because she agreed to go with Lucky tonight. She promises to save him a dance later that night though. She goes to the Port Charles Hotel to help Skye and Monica with the decorations. Later, Zander runs into Monica and Alan. They tell him Emily isn't there yet. He tells them he knows and that Emily is coming with Lucky to the ball. Nikolas shows up dressed like a pirate and says hi to Monica and Alan. Monica mentions how he was a hero during the storm when he saved a woman from drowning. Nikolas acts modest and tells them anyone would have done the same in his shoes. Zander just rolls his eyes at Nikolas' modesty. Emily and Lucky show up. Emily goes over and hugs her parents. Lucky advises Zander and Nikolas to give Emily her space and that is why she agreed to go with him tonight instead of one of them because he is a mutual friend who can be more objective. He tells them to back off of Emily.

Emily dances with Zander at the masquerade ball. Nikolas watches them dance. Lydia comes over and tells Nikolas to give it up and realize that Emily is in love with Zander. Nikolas cuts in on the dance. Zander is dismayed to find that both Emily and Nikolas disappeared together from the party. Monica doesn't know where she went. Zander gets the shock of his life when he walks into his cottage and finds Emily making love to Nikolas. She realizes that Nikolas is the only man for her and Zander immediately washes his hands of her. Devastated, Zander goes to Jake's to get toasted He connects with Liz who's still hurting from her encounter Ric. They end up making out in his room. Elizabeth and Zander have rebound sex (she wants Ric to be disgusted with her, he wants to forget the image of his wife committing adultery with Nikolas). To his credit, Zander tries to pull away but one sultry look from Elizabeth and he throws caution to the wind. Afterward, they express no immediate regret but after Zander leaves it's clear that Elizabeth is hit by what they've done. She immediately calls Emily for a meeting.

Elizabeth meets up with Emily and confesses her sex session with Zander. Emily lets Elizabeth off the hook by revealing that she had just slept with Nikolas and was in no position to judge. Emily did, however, get in a little dig (and foreshadowing) by saying she hoped their decision didn't come back to hurt them. Zander, meanwhile, goes back to old bad habits and gets drunk. He ends up at the docks, where he does some head banging on a pier piling and sheds some tears for his lost love. As Faith and her bodyguard discuss Faith's future plans now that Faith has taken over nearly all mob activities in Port Charles, a hung-over Zander suddenly wanders onto the docks. Believing that Zander overheard their plans, Faith orders her guard to kill Zander. Zander tells Faith to go ahead and kill him because he no longer cares, Faith is intrigued and changes her mind. When Faith offers a job to Zander as a way to pay Sonny back, Zander declares that Sonny is no longer his target! Later, when Zander returns to Jake's, he finds Emily waiting for him. Emily tries to apologize to Zander but Zander tells Emily that she killed all of his hope. Zander hands his ring back to Emily, declaring that he does not know her at all! Later, Faith contacts Zander and informs Zander that she plans to involve Cassadine Shipping in her plans for drug shipments and offers Zander money for his help. Zander agrees to Faith's plan.

Faith shows up at the Cellar and talks to Zander who shows up there. She tries to convince him to work for her and get back at Nikolas as well. He isn't sure he wants to. She smashes some bottles of liquor in the bar and Zander warns her that she shouldn't have done that since it will only antagonize Sonny and that she should know Sonny will come after her. She tells him she isn't scared of Sonny anymore now that he has retired from the business.

Faith tells Nikolas that he owes her now and that Jason's money isn't worth anything to her. She tells him that she wants to use his new ship to transport her product in exchange for the debt he owes her. He tells her he refuses to be involved in the selling of drugs. She tells him he will agree to let her use his ship or she will kill him. She brings Zander in who has the gun she gave him. Emily asks Zander not to do anything against Nikolas out of anger or he will one day regret it. Zander ignores her and approaches Nikolas and holds his gun toward him. Jason shows up at Carly's ex nightclub and threatens Faith. Zander then pulls a gun on Jason. After Jason leaves Faith propositions Zander to become a "full service" employee and pulls him into a kiss.

Faith meets with Zander on the docks. She tells him that she needs him to motivate Nikolas to cooperate with her plans to use his ship to carry her product. She suggests he use whatever force he needs to convince Nikolas to help her. Nikolas runs into Zander on the docks. Zander tells him he needs to make good on his debt to Faith or else. Nikolas refuses to let Faith use his ship to carry illegal drugs. He asks Zander what he is thinking working for Faith and tries to persuade him to not work for Faith. Zander pulls out a gun and threatens Nikolas to cooperate for Faith. Nikolas still refuses. Zander tackles Nikolas and punches him in the gut. Nikolas fights back to defend himself. Zander takes his gun to hit him in the face but Nikolas ducks and avoids the blow. He tackles Zander and gets a few swings in. When Zander looks like he may attack Nikolas this time, Emily comes up behind Zander and hits him in the head with the gun he dropped and knocks him to the ground. Zander comes to and realizes that Emily was the one who hit him. The cops come and Emily points out Zander and tells them that she witnessed him pull a gun on Nikolas and attack him. The cop takes the gun and guesses that Zander doesn't have it registered and asks him if he has a permit to carry it. Zander tells him he doesn't. The cop takes out his handcuffs and arrests Zander. Emily watches in sadness that it has come to this.

Emily has Zander arrested to protect him from getting himself killed but at the police station they get into a heated discussion and Emily informs him that he is on his own after Faith posts his bail.

At the Cellar club, Zander shows up to get instructions from Faith. She informs him that her shipment has disappeared and looks to be gone from some fire. Nikolas and Emily stop by the Cellar club and inform Faith and Zander that they are under Jason's protection and that is directly from the horse's mouth. Nikolas tells them that he has no intention of carrying illegal products for her on his ship. Nikolas and Emily leave. Alcazar shows up at the Cellar club and he tells Faith that she better watch out or she will be the one drowning since her last shipment is gone. After he leaves, Faith tells Zander that she is going to show this town that she isn't someone to be crossed and gives Zander instructions to do something where Nikolas will be the first example she makes out of everyone. Zander sneaks onto Nikolas' ship and plants a bomb on it. He reports back to her and lets her know he was successful and that the crew is on shore leave right now. Later, Nikolas and Emily are making out on the floor in one of the ship's rooms. Nikolas notices that there is a bomb in the room.

Elizabeth is working at Kelly's. Zander comes into Kelly's wearing a suit. Elizabeth notices and asks him why he is wearing a suit. He tells her he is working for someone new. She confides in him that she agreed to go out with Ric even though she told him she wanted to stay away from him. Zander tells her she looks very tired. She tells him she has been pulling double shifts at Kelly's and that she has been trying to paint afterwards into the early morning hours. She tells him that she wishes she had a trust fund like Emily so she wouldn't have to work. She also wonders why Nikolas is suppose to be broke but somehow happens to own a new ship. She also tells Zander that Nikolas is giving Emily a grand tour of his ship right now. Zander's eyes widen and he runs out of Kelly's like a bat out of hell. Nikolas and Emily watch the time run start to run out on the bomb and decide to cut one of the wires. Zander gets there and pounds on the door and tells Emily that he never meant for her to be there just as the bomb goes off. Injured from the explosion on Nikolas's freighter, Zander is rushed to the hospital. Concerned for her friends, Liz breaths a sigh of relief when Emily and Nikolas turn up alive. Nikolas goes after the hurt Zander, accusing him of rigging the bomb on the Cassadine ship.

Liz tells Emily that she's pregnant with Zander's child, and that it’s happening at the worst time as she has just begun to trust Ric again and believe that he loves her. Emily presses Liz to tell Zander that she's pregnant in order to get Zander to focus on something other than his destructive anger and career. Albeit hesitant, Liz agrees to tell Zander, but stops outside of his hospital room door when she hears him arguing with Jason.

As Liz and Emily talk at Kelly's, Nikolas arrives, followed closely by Faith and Zander. As Nikolas and Faith confer, Elizabeth speaks briefly to Zander. Liz tries to convince Zander to break off his involvement with Faith, but Zander refuses and advises Liz not to try to save him from himself. Emily is at Kelly's and Zander walks in with a girl. After instructing his date to meet him downstairs, Zander stops by to talk to Emily about the arrival of their divorce papers. Zander refuses to allow Emily to express sorrow over their breakup, and they begin to argue and both sign their papers. As Emily walks out of the restaurant, Zander cries over his loss. After a confrontation on at the casino with Luke and Skye, Faith plots against Skye, but Zander tells her to drop it. She's initially annoyed, but he humors her and they begin to kiss.

Elizabeth sits up and tells Emily that she is going to tell Zander and Ric the truth about her pregnancy by the end of the day. She finds Zander talking to Faith and waits until she leaves. She approaches Zander to talk to him to tell him she is pregnant with his child. Zander doesn't give her a chance to tell him anything and informs her that he has no interest in keeping any ties in Port Charles and wants to live his life solo and that he isn't the same person that was her friend before. She ends up not telling him about her pregnancy and wishes him luck and leaves. She runs into Ric again later at the park. He is concerned about her ankle but she tells him it is better. She notices something is on her mind and asks her what is wrong. She tells him that she hasn't been honest with him like she should and tells him she is pregnant. He is excited with the news and sees it as a second chance for them and assumes the baby is his and kisses her. She tries to tell him that Zander is the baby's father but he doesn't give her a chance to tell him when he hugs her and kisses her and tells her that they can move ahead and be a family again. Elizabeth hugs him back but doesn't correct him about him not being the father of the baby.

Skye tries to get Zander to stop working for Faith but he refuses to listen to anyone. Ric and Liz see Zander standing on the deck. He has just seen Nikolas and Emily together and found out they are engaged. Elizabeth approaches him and tells him that she and Ric got married and just got back from their honeymoon. He congratulates them but in a very uninterested manner. Elizabeth comes right out and tells him she is pregnant and he is the father. Ric steps in before Zander has time to react and offers to pay him a nice stipend if he agrees to give up his rights as the biological father and allow Elizabeth to put his name on the birth certificate instead. Zander watches them for a minute and then tells them "no sale." and walks away. Elizabeth runs into Emily inside the casino and tells her what happened.

Emily finds Zander sitting at a table having coffee. She approaches his table and sits down. She tells him she knows about what happened with Elizabeth at the casino and wants to talk to him. He tells her she must have known for weeks about Elizabeth's pregnancy and didn't say anything. He tells her that he told Elizabeth that he wouldn't just hand the baby over to her just like that because he wanted her to tell Emily so she would come over to talk to him. Emily tries to reason with Zander in order to get him to give up his rights to Liz's baby, but he refuses and takes his anger at Emily out on Liz's situation. Emily begs him to rethink his decision, but he refuses and leaves. Nikolas shows up at Kelly's to find Emily, and she tells him that he was right about Zander being manipulative. She explains the situation with Liz and the pregnancy, as well as Zander's refusal to give up his rights to Ric. Both agree that Zander is doing it to keep a hold on Emily through Liz and her baby, and Nikolas tries to get Emily to see that she's not responsible for Zander and his choices.

Aboard the Haunted Star, Elizabeth hauls Zander away from Faith long enough to hand the legal documents to Zander to relinquish all paternity claims he might make on Elizabeth's child. Elizabeth is disappointed when Zander coolly announces that he wants to think about the matter before signing any documents.

Ric gets a chance to take Zander aside, Zander coldly informs Ric that Zander would now be wiling to sign the papers only in exchange for Ric pulling the right strings to make sure that Nikolas gets sent up the river for Cody's murder. After Nik has been arrested, Zander pays a visit to Emily and tells her that he can make the charges against Nikolas go away if she agrees to do owe Faith. Emily asks him how he has that much power to help Nikolas. Zander tells her that he has connections with Faith that can help make evidence disappear. Emily realizes that Zander is trying to get Nikolas thrown in jail for murder to get some revenge on her and Nikolas. Ric meets with Zander. He informs Zander that Nikolas' fingerprints were found all over the murder weapon and that now that he did his part he expects Zander to sign over paternal rights to Elizabeth's baby in return. Zander tells Ric he will sign over his rights as soon as Nikolas is convicted of murder.

Zander goes to see Cameron but sees Maxie in the hallway. They have a friendly conversation. Zander asks her a question about which kind of father would she prefer, someone who is a good person but is hiding something or someone is who does some bad things but is honest to them. Maxie isn't sure how to answer that question but tells him that from her own experience, her biological father is a good person but never had room for children in his life and chose his career and that Mac, who had no legal responsibility to take care of her and Georgie, changed his life to fit their needs. She tells him that she would prefer a father who wanted to be in their lives over someone who didn't.

Ric comes around the corner as he is leaving the courthouse and runs into Zander. Zander tells him that he is disappointed in Ric for not getting Nikolas held without bail and threatens to end the deal they had. Ric tells him that he needs to be more patient and not to act without thinking first, which he points out Zander does all the time. Zander calms down and agrees to wait for Ric to get Nikolas convicted at trial. Nikolas runs into Zander at the courthouse. He grabs Zander and puts him in a headlock and threatens to kill him if he doesn't stay away from Emily. Ric witnesses the fight between them that makes Nikolas look violent. Nikolas slams Zander against the wall and accuses him of trying to set him up. Ric breaks it up, but refuses to press charges against Nikolas. An angry Zander warns him to make sure the murder charges against Nikolas stick. Liz comes upon the two, but they cover their conversation.

Zander meets with Ric and threatens him that he will exert his parental rights over Liz's baby if Ric doesn't have Nikolas put away for murder. Nikolas and Emily run into Zander outside of Kelly's. Zander taunts Nikolas, trying to provoke a reaction, Nik obliges by punching him. Zander complains and tries to have assault charges placed against Nikolas, but Emily backs him down. Later, Zander comes upon Nikolas on the docks, and attacks him. Nikolas fights back and then walks away, but not before inflicting enough damage to give Zander an excuse to call 911 for an ambulance and bring charges against Nikolas.

At the Hospital, Zander reminds Ric that Zander will not sign away his parental rights to Elizabeth's baby until Nikolas has been convicted for Cody McCall's murder. When Lucky, Emily and Nikolas arrive, Zander identifies Nikolas as his attacker. As Zander, Ric, Lucky and Emily argue about Zander's charge that Nikolas assaulted him, Alexis arrives and reminds Ric that it is illegal for Ric to interrogate her client without allowing Nikolas to consult with his attorney first! Alexis asks to speak to Zander alone. Alexis reminds Zander of all the times that she got Zander off the hook and appeals to Zander to drop his vendetta against Nikolas. Zander refuses to listen to Alexis. Alexis reminds Zander that she will have to do whatever it takes to clear Nikolas and Zander assures Alexis that he realizes that she is just doing her job and there will be no hard feelings. After Nikolas leaves with the police, Emily asks Zander if Zander knows so much about Cody's murder because Zander murdered Cody. Zander denies Emily's charge.

Faith visits Zander and warns Zander that she saw Emily and Jason with their heads together and that there is a good chance that Jason will decide that his little sister's life would be easier if Zander disappeared. Faith and Zander decide they need to get Sonny back in town in order to distract Jason. Faith suggests that she might have a plan and leaves. Zander shows up at Wyndemere to see Emily. Alexis is there doing paperwork. She asks him what he thinks he is doing coming over to see Emily after having assault charges brought against Nikolas. She tells him that by doing this he brings attention to himself and gives her a way to argue in court on the assault charge. She warns him to let go of Emily before he ruins his life by trying to exact revenge against Nikolas. She reminds him that framing someone for murder is against the law. Zander denies framing Nikolas for murder and tells her he didn't even know Cody McCall. She asks him if he signed over his parental rights to Elizabeth and Ric yet. He tells her he hasn't. She accuses him of getting Ric's help in targeting Nikolas as a prime suspect in return for the signed papers since she knows Ric has been pressuring him to give up his paternal rights to his baby with Elizabeth. Zander dares her to call Ric on the phone and make her accusations to him to see what he will say. Alexis warns him that she will do what she has to get Nikolas cleared of all charges and to be careful about making dirty deeds with someone amoral like Ric.

Emily goes back to Wyndemere and reads some more in Cassandra's journal. She reads about how Cassandra was suppose to marry a rich suitor (Zander) and that he had Nicoli arrested after finding out she was secretly in love with him and how he tried to blackmail Cassandra into marrying him in order to have her love Nicoli freed. She reads about how Cassandra impulsively takes out a gun and shoots the villainous suitor. Later as she is putting the journal away she feels a hand on her shoulder. She is startled by the feel of the hand and turns around to find Zander there. Zander tells her he wants her back and tries to convince her that Nikolas is just using her for her money and that took advantage of her when she had cancer to get close to her. Emily tells him that she fell in love with Nikolas and is sorry she hurt him. He grabs her and kisses her. Emily slaps him across the face when he doesn't let go of her and tells him she doesn't want him anymore.

Zander shows up at the police station. He starts to hound Ric about not getting results quick enough for him concerning Nikolas' murder charge and threatens to tell Elizabeth what Ric is doing to Nikolas for him if he doesn't get Nikolas convicted. Ric tells Zander that he will get everything he wants but he needs to let him do his job. After Ric left Nikolas in the visitor's room, Zander walks in. He tries to get a rise out of Nikolas by being there and asking if Emily is there. Nikolas turns the tables on him by telling him that Emily came over and told him how he tried to get her to come back to him and how he had Lucky bring her somewhere safe so he couldn't find her. He tells Zander that if he thinks that by having him convicted of murder and using Ric to do it will mean he will get Emily to come back to him it isn't going to happen. He explains to him that Emily told him that she now hates Zander and wants nothing to do with him ever again. This statement angers Zander who attacks Nikolas and beats him up and throws him across the room. The door to the interrogation room bursts open as Zander and Nikolas, spill out into the police station, fighting. Zander is clearly attacking a handcuffed Nikolas, but he demands that the police arrest Nikolas again for coming after him. Fed up, Ric arrests Zander instead. Ric confronts him in the interrogation room, and tells him to cut the crap before he blows everything. Ric then reinstates Nik's bail, causing Alexis to be suspicious. She tries to reason one last time with Zander, but he will not listen to her.

Ric meets with Zander in the conference room in private. He shows Zander a file of the Cody McCall case. Zander notices that the evidence inside it implicates him as the murderer. He denies having anything to do with Cody McCall's murder since he never knew the man. Ric tells him that he could convince a jury that he murdered the man to frame Nikolas to get revenge and they would buy it. He blackmails Zander by telling him that if he doesn't sign the papers giving him and Elizabeth full parental rights of the baby, he will use the fabricated evidence to have him convicted of the murder instead of Nikolas. Mac motions to Ric to come outside the room to talk. He tells him that the body of Ben Rogers was found in Azure Key and that two eyewitnesses claim that Ben admitted to killing Cody McCall before his death. He tells Ric that the case against Nikolas is closed now. Ric lies to Zander when Zander asks him what Mac told him. Ric tells Zander that Mac told him that he was going to keep the case open and investigate more into Cody's murder. Zander is still reluctant to sign the papers but Ric convinces him that he can build a strong case against him instead of Nikolas if he wanted to. Zander angrily signs away his parental rights. Elizabeth comes over to the police station and thanks Zander for signing the papers. Zander starts to get suspicious after she leaves. He asks Ric what Mac really said to him. Ric admits that the Cody McCall murder case has been closed and it has been verified that a man named Ben Rogers murdered Cody. Zander realizes he was tricked into signing the papers and vows to get revenge on Ric.

Courtney shows up at the meeting place where the shipment arrives. She sees Jason and his men opening the shipment when Faith's men show up including Zander. The cops also show up to arrest Jason and Faith's men. Zander gives the okay for Faith's men to shoot at Jason and his men with the goal to kill Jason. The cops get caught up in the shootout. Courtney sees Brian going toward Jason. She leaves for a second and returns. Brian comes up behind Jason and points his gun at Jason. Jason turns around in surprise. Brian goes still and falls down and it is revealed that he has been shot in the back. As he drops, Courtney is standing behind him with a smoking gun. Jason looks up at her in surprise.

Zander goes to Ferncliff to report the events of the shoot-out to Faith. He tells her that the cops were tipped off, and everything fell apart. She angrily demands that he be her eyes and ears, as she plans to stay in the hospital, safely away from Jason and the police. Justus arrives to see Faith, and she's shocked and upset to learn that Jason has ordered Justus to file Faith's release papers. Faith pretends to be insane and delusional, but Justus laughs at her and has her released from Ferncliff. She begs him to help keep her safe from Sonny and Jason, but he refuses. She leaves the hospital and meets Ric on the docks to ask for his protection against her enemies. He tells her he might help her if she can help him find out who shot Brian. In exchange for Ric's help, Faith names Zander Smith.

Brian questions Courtney on her whereabouts during the raid, but they are interrupted by an eavesdropping Zander. Lucky tells him that he's wanted for questioning, and Zander races away from Brian's bed and runs off, prompting a police chase. Running from the police, Zander enters an empty hospital room in which to hide, but is discovered by Maxie. He begs for her help, and she covers for him with Lucky. She's shocked that he's being accused of shooting a cop, and she runs out as he tries to explain. Maxie runs into Zander again outside of Kelly's. He once again asks her to please help him hide from Sonny, Jason, and the police.

Courtney is haunted by memories of shooting Brian and is shocked when Emily informs her that the police believe Zander was the one who shot Brian. Maxie tries to keep Georgie out of her room so Zander can continue to hide in Maxie's closet. Zander listens in as Georgie complains about the absence of her made-up boyfriend, "Tom." Georgie is surprised when Maxie confesses that the reason Maxie is not going to the Winter Formal is because she doesn't have a date. Maxie breathes a sigh of relief when Guy calls and Georgie rushes out to meet Guy to discuss their search for "Tom." Maxie tries to convince Zander to trust that Mac would do the right thing and be able to help Zander. But Zander lists all of the people who are after him, including Faith and Jason, and confides that the police are the least of his worries! Maxie tells Zander that she will be willing to keep hiding him out, so that Zander can search for the person who is really responsible for shooting an on-duty police officer in the back.

Maxie confides to Zander about the sorry state of her love life and Zander tries to convince Maxie to go ahead and go to the dance with her friends. Zander warns Maxie not to let herself get mixed up in Zander's problems. But Maxie insists that she believes that Zander is innocent and declares that she wants to help him clear his name. Later, Maxie puts on the dress she had intended to wear to the formal. Zander tells Maxie about his experience when he tried to take Emily to her prom. As Zander and Maxie talk, they begin to dance. Zander confides that he is heartbroken because the love he once shared with Emily is gone forever. As Maxie tries to cheer Zander up, her father suddenly comes to the door and demands that Maxie open up.

Maxie and Zander start to panic for a while. Zander tries to open up her bedroom window to climb out but the window is stuck. Maxie tells him to hide and she will get rid of Mac for them. Maxie answers the door for Mac, wearing a robe and a towel around her head after Mac insists she answer him. She tells him she isn't dressed and that is what took her so long to answer him. She asks him if he can come back in a few minutes so she can get dressed. Mac tells her he will be back in a minute. Maxie closes her door and turns around to find Zander pointing a gun toward the door. Maxie gets a little upset and nervous when she sees the gun and asks him if he was planning to shoot Mac if he had caught them. Zander assures her he wouldn't have shot Mac but would have used the gun to hold him off so he could escape. Maxie offers to get him some money and bring it to him somewhere near the docks later. Maxie goes out in the hallway to talk to Mac. Mac tells her that he is worried about her since she didn't go to the dance and encourages her to put on her dress and go to the dance. She tells him that she doesn't want to interfere with Georgie's night and that she is going to go volunteer tonight at the hospital instead and assures him she is fine. He tells her he is going back to the office and kisses her goodbye. She asks him if he has heard anything about Zander lately. He tells her there has been no sign of him and that he is worried that he will get himself killed before they can bring him in. Maxie offers to help Zander but he refuses to get her more involved in this since she has already had to lie to Georgie and Mac and hold them at bay for him already. She still offers to bring him some money and insists on wanting to do this. Zander thanks her and tells her he wishes her well.

Emily shows up on the docks alone. She hears a noise and asks who is there. Zander comes out of the shadows to talk to her. He pleads for her to help him and insists he didn't shoot the cop like they are accusing him of and that he has everyone after him and is going to get killed if she doesn't help him. Emily feels bad for him and tells him to just leave town and not come back. Zander tells her that she would like that if he left town and didn't come back. He tries to get her sympathy by telling her that everyone he ever cared about and loved has turned their backs on him including Alexis, and his father and that he needs her to believe him and help him. He starts to cry and tries to kiss her but she pushes him away and pleads with him to leave town for his own good. He refuses to leave and tries to get her to love him and starts to kiss her. Nikolas grabs him and pushes him away from Emily. Zander backs away but pulls a gun out of his jacket and points it at Nikolas. He asks Emily if she is ready to see him kill Nikolas in front of her.

Jax watches as Zander points a gun at Nikolas intending to kill him. Nikolas steps in front of Emily to protect her and asks Zander if he really wants to kill him in front of Emily. Zander doesn't seem to care at the moment. Jax very quietly climbs from the stairwell onto the docks so Zander won't hear him approach. Jax jumps Zander and tries to wrestle the gun from him. The gun goes off and it appears that Zander was shot somewhere on the leg. He manages to get the gun from Jax by knocking him to the ground. Zander points the gun at Jax and tries to shoot him but the gun jams up on him and he can't fire. Zander runs away.

Zander holds a scalpel against Brian's neck, and demands to know if Ric is setting him up. Brian tries to calm Zander down, and admits that Ric is setting him up as Brian's shooter. Zander tells Brian that he's innocent, but a struggle ensues, and the hospital is notified of an attack in Brian's room. Meanwhile, Ric interrogates Maxie on her helping Zander. He tells her that she could be guilty of aiding a fugitive, but Maxie continues to deny having seen Zander. As Ric is alerted to a problem in Brian's room, he runs off in time for Zander to make it to the elevator in an attempt to escape. Maxie jumps in with him, but he tells her that she's already risked enough to help him. He denies shooting Brian again, but tells Maxie to leave him alone and not risk more. Maxie refuses to go, and back up on the hospital floor, Lucky realizes that the elevator has stopped and that Zander is in it. The police get the elevator moving again, and when the doors open, they see on Maxie. She again denies helping Zander, and although suspicious, Lucky finally believes her and leaves without seeing Zander's blood dripping from the elevator shaft.

Maxie rushes a disguised Zander through the hotel lobby, and takes him down to the boiler room. It's clear that he is severely wounded and in great pain, and Maxie doesn't want to leave him alone. Zander asks her to get him some pain medication to take the edge off, but she refuses to leave without him. He begs her to do this last favor for him, and promises to stay put and rest until she returns. Maxie finally agrees and goes to the hospital to steal pain medication for him, but once she's gone, Zander collapses. At the hospital, Maxie steals pain pills, but is caught by Cameron. He accompanies her back to Zander, and as Zander tries to get away from him, he collapses, and Cameron operates on his leg to remove the bullet fragment. Suddenly they all hear a noise and hide behind a generator when Edward walks in with a maintenance man. They overhear the man tell Edward his electrical system is dangerously outdated and in need of an upgrade. Edward promises to have it fixed as soon as he has a cash flow again.

As Zander recovers in the Boiler Room of the Port Charles Hotel, the electricity continues to malfunction. Zander fantasizes that he sees Emily and that Emily pleads with Zander to reconcile with her and allow her to go with him to Canada just as they had planned to go years before. Ric sees Maxie walk into the PC Hotel with a large bag of food and stops to question her about it. Cameron to the rescue tells Ric that Maxie brought the food for a conference of doctors, which Cameron is hosting in one of the rooms upstairs. Later, when Maxie takes the food to Zander, they once again hide when a technician arrives to add the new security system to the hotel's electrical system. Cameron tracks Alexis down and implores Alexis to represent Zander in court. Although Alexis insists that it would be a conflict of interest for her to represent both Zander and Nikolas, Cameron prevails upon Alexis to at least speak to Zander and hear Zander's version of events the night that Detective Brian Beck was shot.

As Maxie and Zander chow down on Maxie's take out, Zander fills Maxie in on his plan to head for Canada as soon as he can slip out of town unnoticed. Zander and Maxie panic when Cameron and Alexis suddenly show up. Holding a gun aimed at Maxie, Zander declares that he will shoot Maxie if Cameron and Alexis plan to turn him over to the Police. Alexis and Cameron try to talk Zander into giving them the gun he has pointing at Maxie. Zander tells Cameron that he doesn't know if he can trust him to suddenly look out for him when he didn't most of his life. Cameron apologizes to Zander for being a lousy father to him and pleads with him to give him the gun and let him help him. Cameron starts to cry and tells Zander he can't stand to lose another child and that he has no one left in his life but him. Alexis offers to help get Ric to back off the case concerning Brian's shooting and to help him. She tells Zander he will need to turn himself in to the police with her help and his father's. Zander gives him the gun and lets Maxie go. Alexis tells them they need to get going to the police station. Zander refuses to go with them and Maxie confirms that they set up the whole gun scenario to get their help and that Zander had no intention of shooting Maxie. Alexis warns Maxie that she could be in big trouble by helping Zander. They let them stay there for now but Alexis tells him they will be back after they get Ric to back off the case.

Nikolas sees Maxie exiting a door marked for the lower basement room. Maxie had tried to talk Zander out of leaving the country and agreed to help him with one last favor, which is to drive him to Canada by some back roads. She leaves to go make arrangements to get a car. Nikolas enters the stairwell that leads to the basement. He goes inside the electrical room and finds Zander. Zander has a metal pipe in his hand and threatens Nikolas with it. He also informs Nikolas that as soon as he takes care of him he is going to grab Emily and leave the country forever. He hits Nikolas in the stomach with the metal pipe. Nikolas ducks for the next blow and manages to kick Zander in the head and knock him out on the floor. He checks his pulse and sees he is still alive and breathing and leaves the room. He locks the room up from the outside so Zander can't escape. He calls the police and informs him that he found Zander and locked him in the electrical room in the hotel. An electrical unit blows a fuse and a fire starts and surrounds Zander's unconscious body.

A fire spreads throughout the basement as Zander lays unconscious o the floor. Nikolas calls the police and requests them to come to the hotel and they will find Zander locked up in the utility room in the basement. Mac and a uniformed cop show up at the hotel after getting Nikolas' call. They ask the hotel clerk at the front desk about the utility room and where it is and announce that the fugitive Zander Smith has been hiding down there and is locked inside right now. Mac and the cop draw their weapons as they approach the door. Mac calls out a warning to Smith that they are going inside and to cooperate. They get no answer from Zander. Mac orders the cop to open the door gently and have his weapon ready in case Zander is armed with a gun and tells him he can be dangerous when provoked. The cop opens the door slowly. The fire inside the basement causes a back draft when the door opens and Mac and the cop are blown from the blast of fire. The fire department shows up.

Maxie walks into the hotel and sees all the commotion. She becomes alarmed when she sees two paramedics transporting a severely wounded patient toward the doors to the ambulance. Maxie fears it is Zander and approaches the paramedics. She is shaken up when she recognizes the patient as Mac and tells the paramedics that he is her father. She tells them to tell Mac she is okay if he wakes up. Maxie approaches one of the firefighters and asks about the fire. He tells her that the fire seems to have originated from the basement. She tells him that someone is down in the basement and they have to get him out. They inform her that if someone is down in the basement, they most likely didn't survive the fire, which has gone out of control. Maxie is devastated by the news.

Outside, a devastated Maxie realizes that the burned body that was just pulled from the hotel is probably Zander. Ric comes upon her and tries to assure her that Mac is going to be fine, and that he will take her to him at the hospital, but Maxie breaks down and tells him that Zander is dead. She's escorted away, and the next person on the scene is a frantic Liz, in search of her husband. She finds him and he tells her to go home where it's safe, but she refuses to leave until her friends are out of the hotel. Ric breaks the news to her that Zander is likely dead. Maxie encounters Cameron outside Mac's hospital room. He tries to comfort her, and she breaks the news to him that Zander is dead.

Maxie tearfully confesses to Mac that she was helping Zander hide out the evening of the fire. However, Maxie defends her actions by declaring that she believed everyone had misjudged Zander and that he was a truly good person at heart. Maxie is thrilled when a silent Mac gives her hand a reassuring pat. Felicia leaves when the nurse arrives to change Mac's bandages. After Felicia leaves, "Mac" whispers to the nurse that the bandages had just been changed and he is in too much pain to endure the ordeal again so soon. The nurse wonders why the bandage change had not been noted on the chart and corrects the chart before leaving. After the nurse leaves, "Mac" pulls off his bandages and reveals that the bandaged man in Mac's Hospital bed is really Zander!

The real Mac ends up at Mercy Hospital and is listed as a "John Doe" and placed in their care. The nurses comment that he is a John Doe that mysteriously appeared at their hospital. One of the nurses checks on Mac and tells him they will need to change his bandages. Mac looks like he wants to talk to her but has a hard time. Zander, posing as a surgeon in mask and scrubs, makes his escape into the elevator while Alan and Maxie's backs are turned. Zander goes and breaks into some apartment and raids the refrigerator. He turns on the TV and gets angry when the local news comes on and it is reported that Nikolas has been exonerated for murder. Zander hears a knock on the door and a woman calls out for someone named Wally. Zander goes out on the balcony when hears the woman come inside the apartment. He ends up finding Nikolas and Emily at some church out in the country. Emily and Nikolas decide to do their own private vows in front of God without family. Zander doesn't look pleased to see them so happy and kissing.

Zander spied on Emily and Nikolas at the church and saw them kiss after saying their spiritual marriage vows and declaring their love to each other. Nikolas told Emily that he thought half the money from the treasure should go to aid victims of the hotel fire, with the remaining half to be split evenly between the Cassadines and the Quartermaines. After the two left the church, Zander found a scarf that Emily had dropped. Zander picked it up and twisted it, as though ready to use it to strangle somebody. Zander then returned to the apartment where he had been hiding. Lucky and Enid arrived, causing Zander to rush out to the balcony. Enid, from Pine Valley, had told Lucky that her brother Wally, an employee at the Port Charles Hotel, had not contacted her by telephone weekly, as was tradition, since the hotel fire. This was Wally's apartment, and she had brought Lucky there as an officer of the law to help investigate her brother's disappearance. Lucky stated there was fresh milk in the refrigerator and that the coffee pot was still warm, indicating that somebody had been there. Later, Zander returned to the home he and Emily had shared as man and wife. He remembered their time there together.

Zander comes upon the grave of his father, and is finally able to begin to grieve for his loss. He crouches at Cameron's headstone, and apologizes for his worst act yet: killing his own dad. He recounts the story of how he was caught in the furnace room by a maintenance man, and tried to subdue the man by hitting him on the head. When he realized that he'd accidentally killed the man, he set fire to the room to cover it up. He admits that he can only remember being happy as a small child with his brother, and also with Emily. He vows to name the child that Elizabeth is carrying after Cameron, and to make sure the boy knows his grandfather was a good man. He takes off and decides to go to Wyndemere and look for Emily.

At Wyndemere, Zander hides as Emily and Elizabeth discuss their respective futures with Nikolas and Ric and the baby. He seethes as Emily speaks of her love for Nikolas, and Liz of her hope for the future Ric will give her child, but he finds a glimmer of hope when Emily admits that he'll always have a spot in her heart. The girls leave the room, and Emily returns later to look for Nikolas. She admires the picture of her and Nikolas on his desk, as Zander slowly comes up behind her. Nikolas interrupts Zander's attempt to touch Emily when he walks into the living room and forces Zander to hide. As Zander listens, Emily and Nikolas soak up the joy of their impromptu vows, and Nikolas decides to plan a honeymoon. Emily points out that they didn't really get married, but he says they are really married, they just need to make it official. Helena bursts into the living room and insults Emily. Although Nikolas demands that she apologize, she refuses and begins to rant further about how much better off Nikolas would be if Emily left him alone. Emily begins to worry, but Nikolas assures her that Helena will not come between them. Zander sneaks out and goes to the church where Emily and Nikolas said their vows. He remembers overhearing them, but a priest interrupts his thoughts. The priest senses that he's troubled, and offers him the advice that many are too quick to leave relationships. This proves to Zander that he can't give up on Emily, and he dreams of the two of them saying their own vows.

Emily and Nikolas sit at a bench and talk and Zander watches them from the woods. Nikolas goes to get her some popcorn from a street vendor while she waits near the bench. Emily hears a noise and turns her head towards the woods. She sees Zander there staring at her without saying a word. A young couple distracts Emily when they start chasing each other in fun. Emily turns around toward the woods but Zander is gone. Nikolas returns with her popcorn. Emily suggests they go home together. Nikolas tells her that he is supposed to meet with Lucky in the park to discuss the fire some more. Emily tells him to meet her at Kelly's later. Emily goes to Kelly's and calls Elizabeth to come right over. Elizabeth shows up at Kelly's as soon as she can. She asks Emily what is wrong. Emily tells her she thought she saw Zander standing in the park looking at her. Elizabeth tells Emily it is natural to think she saw Zander since he has been on her mind a lot lately and that she did the same thing when she thought Lucky had died in a fire years ago. Nikolas meets with Lucky at the park. Zander spies on them. Lucky asks him about the woman who filed a missing person's report on her brother, claiming he worked as a utility man at the hotel and that she thinks he could have been killed. Nikolas doesn't know of her and tells him she hasn't gotten in touch with him. Lucky thinks she is trying to con them into thinking her brother died in the fire to get money from Nikolas. Nikolas asks Lucky to be his best man at his wedding. Lucky agrees. Lucky mentions to Nikolas that something just isn't right about the missing utility man since he searched the apartment and found that someone had been there within hours.

Emily says goodbye to the memory Zander at the cottage, and admits that he'll always have a place in her heart. She says she is sorry and that she once loved Zander. As she turns to leave, she is shocked to actually see Zander standing in front of her. She rushes to him and hugs him, happy to see him alive. He vaguely explains the situation of the fire to her, and avoids her questions about the body that was found. Emily's happiness turns to fear as she slowly begins to realize that Zander is mentally not all there. He drones on about how they will have their life together, and when she says that she will not leave town with him because she loves Nikolas, he begins to get angry. Unbeknownst to Emily, Nikolas safely boards his plane for his business trip, but Zander tells her that he has intercepted Nikolas and is holding him. A terrified Emily tries to get through to Zander that hurting Nikolas will not change her feelings, but he refuses to listen. He grows increasingly agitated and delusional as Emily continues to refute his belief of them living happily ever after, and he finally demands that she make love with him if she wants to save Nikolas.

Zander refuses to allow Emily to leave the cottage, but outside, Liz spies them and runs to Ric to get police to rescue Emily. Zander asks Emily to make love to him, and in order to spare Nikolas, she agrees. She makes it very clear, however, that it is only to save Nikolas, and that she has no feelings for Zander. She rips off her top and asks him if he's proud to turn her into a whore, because sex between them is nothing more than a business arrangement. Zander breaks down in tears, and covers her with a blanket. Meanwhile, Nikolas hears news of the hostage situation on his car radio, and speeds to rescue Emily. He reaches to get something on the floor at one point, and his car careens out of control.

Having calmed down, Emily attempts again to get through to Zander, and suddenly the police show up and surround the cottage. Zander tries to get Emily to leave without him, but she refuses. She yells to Lucky that she and Zander will exit, unarmed, together. Emily convinces Zander to give up his weapon and go with her to surrender to the police waiting outside. Emily promises that she will hold Zander's hand and no one will hurt him. Zander thanks her again for all that she's done for him, and the two walk out of the cottage.

However, as Zander and Emily step out on to the porch, Ric orders Zander to step away from Emily. Emily assures Ric that she is okay, and that Zander is surrendering. Ric orders Zander to kneel down and put his hands on top of his head. Instead, Zander shoves Emily out of the way. Telling Emily that he loves her, Zander puts his hands behind his back. The police believe that Zander is reaching for a gun and Ric gives the order to fire. Emily rushes to

Zander and assures Zander that he will be fine, while blasting the police for firing on an unarmed man. Emily tearfully reminds Ric that she told them that Zander wasn't armed, but they didn't believe her. Zander reminds Emily that this is the way they met, with the police all around, and perhaps it should have ended like this years ago. When Emily realizes that Zander is dead, she bitterly accuses Ric of killing Zander deliberately. As the paramedics take Zander's body away, Emily says one final good-bye, telling Zander that she is sorry for the way things turned out, because Zander deserved better.

Emily is offended when Ric declares that Zander's body will be taken to the morgue for an autopsy. As Emily again blames Ric for Zander's death, Lucky tries to explain that they were all following police procedures and that Zander appeared to be reaching for a gun. As Emily continues to accuse Ric of deliberately killing Zander to get Zander out of the way, Elizabeth tries to reason with Emily, but Emily refuses to listen. Emily bitterly asks Elizabeth if Elizabeth knew that Ric would make sure that Zander didn't live long enough to claim his child. Emily is shocked when Elizabeth admits that it was Liz who spotted Zander with Emily in the cottage and, believing that Zander was holding Emily hostage, Liz was the one who had called the police. Ric reminds Emily that the police believe that Zander killed an innocent bystander at the Port Charles Hotel and then set fire to the Hotel to cover up the death. Ric reminds Emily that one of the people who almost died in the fire was Nikolas and suggests that Emily would not be yelling at the police for shooting Zander if Nikolas had been one of the victims of the fire. Ric insists that Zander deliberately made a move that Zander knew would be misinterpreted by the police because Zander wanted to die!

**The End**