Chapter One   Nikolas Cassadine had pledged that when the deceptions were over, he would go down on his knees and beg Gia Campbell to forgive him... would court her incessantly until she took him back... Happily, that had proven unnecessary. Love had triumphed, and after the nightmarish confrontation in his grandmother's secret lab, after the reunions and parties, they had spent the better part of the night reassuring each other of that fact. Now it was morning... truly, the dawn of a new day. There were no longer any secrets to keep them apart. He was, ostensibly, the Cassadine Prince, with nearly unlimited power at his command. But somehow, the simple act of walking down towards Kelly's, with his arm around his girlfriend's waist, in broad daylight, just to buy her breakfast, was all the power and splendor Nikolas could want... "We're not talking the $2.98 special here. I want eggs, and bacon, and Tammy's hashbrowns, and orange juice, and..." "All that, and the girl still manages a supermodel figure." She gave him The Look. "Even a supermodel has to eat, you know." "Gia, you can have anything you want. I mean it." His tone touched on seriousness. "Anything." "All I want... all I've ever wanted... was your unconditional love and trust." He smiled. "Well... there were a couple of other things you wanted once." She pouted. "Ok. But... things change. People change." "I know how much you've changed, Gia. I know better than anyone. And you've helped me change, too." He paused and put his other arm around her, drawing her in for a long, tender kiss. She smiled at him as the kiss broke. "Guess I won't need sugar for my - Nikolas? Look, there's something washed up on the shore." He turned to look at whatever she was seeing. The small patch of what passed for a beach in Port Charles was kept clean by volunteer crews, but there was something big washed up, for sure. Big and dark... As they walked towards it, Nik thought it might be an animal, but getting closer, he realized it was probably a person. He quickened his step, noting that Gia was keeping up nicely. It was a person - a man. Nikolas started to bend down, to see if he was still alive, when he froze. "No," he whispered. "It can't be." "Oh, my God," Gia said. "Is he... alive?" "I don't..." He searched the soaking wet, unconscious figure for a pulse, finally finding one. "I don't understand," he said. "How did he end up here?" He looked up at Gia, who shook her head and pulled her cell phone out of her purse. She dialed Port Charles General Hospital, and told them to send an ambulance to the waterfront. Stavros Cassadine was, once again, alive.   Chapter Two   "What I want to know," Alexis was saying, "is how did this happen? How is Stavros alive again - or still - or whatever he's managed to do this time. She was pacing the waiting room at GH, glancing towards the door from time to time. "I have no idea," said Stefan, who was utterly still, but no less anxious or unhappy. "I wish I did." While waiting for the ambulance, Nikolas had called his uncle, and they had all met at the emergency room. Now doctors were working on Stavros, and a uniformed policeman was hovering nearby... "I mean, I really thought it was over. I really thought he was gone this time. Not that I didn't think he was gone last time. Everyone thought he was gone last time." She thought of Kristina. Had she been insane to think that Kristina was finally safe? That they all were? "I suppose," Stefan said, "that it is foolish to ever assume anything about this family." He looked at his nephew. "Nikolas, are you all right?" Nikolas shrugged and nestled closer to Gia. His face was a study in confusion. His father, long lost, appallingly found, tantalizingly, briefly connected with, then lost again, now, what? Found again? To what end? Gia was lost in her own thoughts. Just as the whole crazy Cassadine/Spencer feud, with all it had implied for her and Nikolas, seemed to finally be over, the scheming and deception and violence behind them, Nik's demented father would have to wash up on shore. Alexis continued to pace, but no one spoke for awhile, mostly because there seemed nothing sensible to say... After what seemed like a long time, Tony Jones came out. Stefan looked surprised to see him. "Yes, Dr. Jones?" "Well, we think he's going to make it. He shouldn't have... he suffered some severe physical traumas and he was underwater for some time... some of his injuries are hard to account for... do any of you have any idea how he ended up at the harbor?" Stefan filled him in on the 'bottomless pit' in Helena's lab. Tony nodded. "It's possible that the trauma of the long fall... the thing could have emptied out into the harbor... that would account for his injuries... and there are chemicals, drugs in his bloodstream... they're not normally found... Anyway, his overall constitution is extraordinary and we have every expectation that he's going to make it." He looked at the confused, anxious faces surrounding him and found himself in sympathy with them. He went on. "They called me in because there were some questions about his brain function." "What questions?" Alexis asked. "He doesn't seem to remember much." "What do you mean?" Stefan asked, an ominous feeling stealing over him. Stavros was entirely capable of faking amnesia to get away with his murder of Chloe... and all his other crimes. "I've called in Kevin Collins for a psych evaluation. There could be a number of causes, including the trauma. But right now your brother just doesn't seem to remember much beyond his name." No one had any more questions for him, so he went on his way. His name, Stefan, thought. Yes... to the end, Stavros Nikolai Mikkosovich Cassadine would remember his name... After a moment, Alexis said, "There are some legal implications here. He can't be held legally liable if he doesn't remember what he did." "That's if he really doesn't remember," Stefan pointed out. "He might be faking it." "If he is, we should be able to prove that." "And if not..." Stefan thought for a moment. "It would be sufficient mental impairment to block him from any involvement with the Estate." Nikolas looked at his uncle. "Why are you talking about the Estate now? Is that the only important thing?" "No, but it needs to be considered... It is your legacy, Nikolas, and I'm bound to protect it." "Why?" Nik said irritably. "I've told you a hundred times, I don't want anything to do with it. Gia and I just want to be... left alone. To get on with our lives." He took Gia's hand and she nodded. Alexis said, "I'm hungry. Anyone want anything from the cafeteria?" No one did, so she went alone. When she came back, nothing had changed. Finally, Kevin Collins came out. "Doctor?" Stefan rose to greet him. "I've only done a preliminary series of tests," Kevin explained, "but it seems pretty clear to me that the combination of physical trauma, emotional stress and, well, possibly the side effects of some pretty weird stuff in his blood work, has created a dissociative trauma in Mr. Cassadine." Stefan said, "Dr. Jones said that he did not remember anything." Alexis said, "Is this like what happened to Jason Morgan?" Kevin shook his head. "This is somewhat different, though the causes may be similar. Jason completely lost his personality, and an edgier, angrier one took over. Your brother has become more of a... Tabula Rasa." "A what?" Nikolas asked. "It's actually a philosophical term. Locke, I think... It means the mind as a blank tablet, one that experience has not written on... Mr. Cassadine's basic, essential personality is there... in a skeletal way. He will know who he is and he may have a visceral response to key relationships... but he has no memory of his experiences, and his personality is as if they never affected him." "I would like to see him." Stefan said. I will know, he thought. I will see through him. "He's asleep now. He'll be doing a lot of that for awhile. But when he wakes up, a short visit. A short, peaceful visit..?" "I will try not to distress him," Stefan said grimly. Alexis said, "Kevin? Is this going to be... permanent?" "I can't give you a definite answer, but... it's possible." Alexis nodded and he left. She said to Stefan, "I really should go tell Kristina. Is there anyone else you think needs to know right now?" He thought. "Laura, of course, and her family." He hated the thought of telling her, but she deserved to know. Then Nik looked up. "What about Grandmother? She's in jail. She doesn't know." They all looked at each other. Helena. Safely in jail at the moment, but what would she be capable of, if she knew her beloved older son lived yet again?   Chapter Three   "I want to see him," Kristina said, sounding exactly like a little girl. "Well, you can't, Alexis told her. "In the first place, I doubt they're going to let him have visitors beyond the immediate family - " "I'm his sister. How much more immediate do we need?" "And secondly... I don't want you to." "But Alexis, he's the only one I haven't met yet. You said he was dead." "Well, that's a recurring problem with Stavros. He never seems to stay very dead. Look, Kristina, I spent a great deal of time and energy keeping you safe from him and Helena. Do you really think I'm going to deliver you to him at the hospital like some sort of get well present?" "You just said it yourself, he's in the hospital. How much of a danger could he be to me from a hospital bed?" "You might be surprised," Alexis muttered. Gia had coaxed Nikolas down to the cafeteria for something to eat. Alexis had gone home to Kristina. Stefan was putting off seeing his mother, and had decided not to speak to Laura until he had more concrete information for her. Something more concrete than, "You know my demon-seed brother, who came back from the dead? Well, he did it again..." "Tabula Rasa." He turned the words around in his mind. Was it just a fancy phrase for amnesia? Would he find, in the place of his boyhood tormentor, adult rival, an empty vessel? The image was both reassuring and strangely disturbing. Stefan went down the hall. The police officer was still in front of his brother's room. "The doctors said I could visit him." The officer offered no resistance. Stefan went inside. Stavros was wearing a hospital robe, and he was stretched out on top of the bed. He was a little paler than before and there were some bruises on his arms and legs... Stefan assumed that there were other injuries as well. "Hello, Stavros," he said. His brother cocked his head slightly and smiled, a quick glimpse of the white, flashing smile he had once used to seduce or mock, depending on his mood. "Hello." "Do you know who I am?" "I think so." His brown eyes did a quick, efficient appraisal. They were the same eyes, yet not the same. Something seemed to be missing - or perhaps it was only masked. "You are my brother." "You remember me, then?" Stavros considered the question. "It's not quite remembering. It's more a kind of recognition." He hesitated. "We don't like each other, do we?" There was something in the way he asked the question, a kind of innocence, if Stavros had ever possessed anything like innocence, that made Stefan smile in spite of himself. "No," he said. "We never have." Stavros leaned forward. "Why not?" There were so many reasons. "I suppose we were raised to hate each other... to look for ways to be cruel to each other... And then there was Laura." "Laura?" "Don't tell me you don't remember Laura, Stavros." He shook his head. "Obviously I should... Perhaps if I saw her..." "No. You will never see her again. You tormented and terrorized her long enough." Once, those words would have been enough to send Stavros into one of his fierce rages. But now... nothing. Not even a flash in his eyes or a tightening of his jaw. Just then a nurse's aide came in with a tray. "Thank you," Stavros said, but I am not hungry." "You should try to eat," the girl said. "I just said I am not hungry. Take it away." He made a brief, imperious movement with his hand, and Stefan smiled in recognition. The nervous aide tried to coax Stavros into at least trying the broth and other things on the tray, but he remained uninterested. Still, he did not raise his voice, did not dash the tray to the floor. Stefan remembered Kevin Collins' words... an "essential, skeletal personality" would remain. Of course, he thought. The essential nature of Stavros would have some imperiousness in it, some inbred sense of entitlement. But what else? What else was part of the essence of being Stavros Cassadine? "Who are you?" he asked meditatively. Stavros laughed. "You know who I am. You came in and called me by name. You know as much as I do. Possibly more." He leaned forward again. "Maybe you could help me figure some of it out." "How could I do that?" "Talk to me. Tell me things. Bring people to see me." "Like Laura?" Stefan said carefully. "If you think so." Again nothing, not the slightest hint in his eyes or tone to indicate his obsession with her. "Well, maybe..." He noticed that Stavros had not mentioned Helena yet. Or Nikolas. Just then Kevin Collins came in. "We've got a specialist coming in. I don't mean to kick you out, but..." Stefan said, "I understand. Will you come talk to me afterwards?" "Of course." He turned to his brother. "I will see you later, Stavros." He nodded. "Thank you for coming." A simple courtesy that sent Stefan's mind reeling. Who are you, Stavros? he wondered as he walked down the hall again. What is going on here? What is your agenda now..? It is almost impossible to keep a secret in a place like General Hospital. There are too many people and too much going on, and sooner or later the thing you want to keep secret will be heard or seen by one person too many, or the wrong person, and will come out. So it was with the second return to life of Stavros Cassadine. Mac Scorpio tried to keep a lid on the news. The Cassadine family certainly wanted it kept quiet. But gradually word got out. Reactions varied. The Spencer family was stunned. They had believed the twenty-year vendetta was finally over, they had started to make plans to move on with their lives. Now it seemed they might never be able to do so... The Quartermaine family, now possessed of the knowledge that Stavros, not Stefan, had murdered their Chloe, were enraged. They wanted him punished to the fullest extent of the law, and then punished further. And in spite of her younger son's intention to be the one to tell her, his desire to control that potentially critical moment... in her cell in the basement of the Port Charles jail, Helena Cassadine heard what she had at first been certain of, then hoped for.... Her older son... her only true son... still lived. Dara Jensen sat at her desk and examined the report the Commissioner's office had sent her. DNA tests were now complete and it was 99% certain that Stavros Cassadine had killed Chloe Morgan. There were other possible charges as well. He was probably his mother's accomplice in the abductions and biochemical manipulations that had been going on over the last several months. Neither she nor the Commissioner were sure that they could work out everything that had happened, but there was enough evidence, and enough of a... linear sense of things to conduct a trial. Except for one thing. Cassadine's doctors were insisting that he was in a dissociative state. He allegedly had no memory of his crimes, or much of anything else. This created a potential mess, legally. A good lawyer could make a reasonable claim that Cassadine was not liable for his actions. Dara was sure of one thing. She was going to be damn sure that this was not a scam before she signed off on any deal. The Cassadine family had wreaked havoc on Port Charles for a long time, and she was not going to give any of them a pass if there was the slightest doubt that it was the right thing to do. Dr. Nancy DaSilva had Stavros brought to her office, where she greeted him and his police escort pleasantly. She had thoroughly gone over the records of his examinations by Tony Jones and Kevin Collins, and knew exactly what she was looking for. ''Mr. Cassadine, I'm going to do a series of physical and psychological tests on you, some of which you've done already, but mostly not. This will take several hours, so we probably won't finish today. I want you to let me know if you get tired at any point, or feel confused or ill, all right?'' Stavros nodded. ''I will.'' He could not help but notice that she was attractive, though it was not a loveliness that particularly stirred him. She was dark, with long hair, and everything about her suggested an appropriate roundness... her eyes, her full mouth, her curves... He appreciated her the way he might a fine painting he admired without wishing to possess it. It was probably just as well... there was so much uncertainty in him that he was not looking to complicate things. Nancy DaSilva asked the policeman to wait outside. When he hesitated she assured him that she would call for help if she needed it, but she doubted that she would. When he left - but only to stand outside the door - she said, ''Let's begin.'' They started with word associations and other verbal tests, and he looked at pictures both real and abstract. She asked him to retell a story, and to give her a list of items she had mentioned at the beginning of their interview. He counted and recounted, and solved puzzles and it did go on for hours... Finally, she said, ''We'll have to continue tomorrow. I can see that you're tiring, and frankly, it is getting late. There are some medical tests I need to run, and I would like to hypnotize you as well.'' ''Hypnotize me?'' ''Yes, I'm going to try a retrieval... to see if your memories are really gone, or just repressed.'' He said, ''I do remember some things...'' ''I know. Dr. Collins thinks you may have a specific sort of disassociation. That's what I'm trying to narrow down.'' She leaned forward slightly. ''Tell me what you do remember.'' ''Well, my name. And I seem to know more than one language. And I can read.'' She nodded and motioned for him to go on. ''When I saw my brother, I knew he was my brother, and I understood... recognized... that we do not get along. But I did not remember why, or any of the details of our family life together.'' He smiled at her. ''I know that I do not like mashed potatoes. Or cranberry juice. Or my bed in this hospital.'' She laughed, and said, ''As you continue to recover, your tastes and feelings will seem clear. If we can't recover your memories... you will make new ones. The important thing is to move forward with your life.'' ''I think I understand.'' ''You've been through a physical and psychological trauma... whatever landed you in the harbor did a number on you.'' He shook his head. ''I do not even remember that.'' ''Try not to get too stressed about it.'' He made a face and she laughed. ''I know, I know... it's easy for me to say that.'' ''It is just... I feel my life is just a little out of reach.'' ''Your past life may be. But the rest of your life is not.'' She hoped she wasn't misleading him. From what she'd heard about Stavros Cassadine, he might be on his way to jail. The police officer escorted him back to his room, where a nurse helped him back into bed. His injuries were healing quickly and he did not think he needed the help, but he accepted it and smiled at her... An aide came in a little later with his dinner tray. He picked at his food and tried to watch some television, but nothing caught his interest. Slowly, the door opened, and a young man came in. He moved towards the side of the bed, a tentative, curious expression on his face. Stavros knew him, in the same visceral way he had recognized Stefan. ''You are my son.'' Nikolas nodded. ''You know me. Uncle Stefan said you might. He - he doesn't know I'm here.'' Stavros smiled. ''Then we will not tell him.'' He put out a hand to the boy, who looked at it for a moment, uncertain, and then took it in his own. ''Do you - know my name?'' Stavros shook his head. ''It's Nikolas Mikhail Stavrosovich Cassadine.'' ''And I am Stavros Nikolai Mikkosovich Cassadine.'' They both smiled. It was like a formal introduction and somehow it seemed right. ''I remember my own name. I remember other things sometimes as they come to me. As soon as you said your name... I recognized it as the right one. But when you asked if I knew... I could not have named you to save my own life.'' ''But you know I'm your son. Even though - '' ''It is as if your blood calls me. It is the way I felt when my brother came in, only more so.'' ''You really don't remember... anything?'' ''Not the way you mean, no. When I woke up in this room, it was - '' ''Kind of like being born?'' ''I think so, yes... Perhaps you can tell me about myself.'' Nikolas hesitated, torn between wanting to help this man who was looking at him with such innocent affection, and his Uncle's warning that they needed to be very careful... ''The thing is,'' he said, ''there's a lot I don't know either. I don't really know you.'' ''But I am your father.'' ''I know, it's just that - '' Just then the door swung open and Stefan came in. ''What are you doing in here, Nikolas?'' ''I told you I wanted to see him.'' ''And I told you it wasn't the right time.'' ''When is the right time, Uncle? Sooner or later, we're going to have to make up our own minds. I'm going to have to make up mine.'' Stavros said, ''He is my son. Why shouldn't he see me?'' The strain of the past several days was starting to show. Stefan said, ''So help me God, Stavros, if this is another trick...'' ''I do not understand. Why would I trick you? Why would I trick Nikolas? When is someone going to tell me who I am? And why...'' Suddenly it dawned on him. ''And why everyone seems afraid of me.'' Stefan realized he might have gone too far. ''This isn't the time. The doctors need to finish their work. We will all talk soon... it will... all be worked out. Nikolas, come.'' ''When will it be time?'' Stavros said, with mounting frustration. ''Who am I, Stefan? What have I done that there is a policeman outside my door all the time? What is it that I can't remember?'' Stefan wanted to answer, wanted to remind him that he had murdered the woman Stefan loved, had committed countless crimes against man and God... but something stopped him. Mercy? Fear? Uncertainty as to whether or not Stavros' mind had really been washed clean in the harbor? Whatever it was, it stayed his hand. ''We will talk again soon,'' he repeated. ''Nikolas, please. You are not helping him this way... it is not time.'' Hesitantly, Nikolas nodded and followed his uncle out to the hallway. Frustrated, Stavros leaned back against the pillows. Who am I? he thought. Why does my own brother hate me? Why does my own son not know me? The questions repeated themselves over and over through the tortured night...   Chapter 4   Stefan Cassadine strode into Nancy DaSilva's office and slammed the door behind him. ''I hope you know exactly what you're doing.'' She looked up from the file she was reading. ''Mr. Cassadine,'' she said in an even tone, ''did we have an appointment?'' ''You finished the tests on my brother yesterday. The medical tests and the hypnotherapy session... And now you're saying this... dissociative state of his is real? And permanent?'' She said, ''So, somehow you managed to see my report?'' ''Doctor, I am the trustee of the Cassadine estate and, until recently, was the legal guardian of my nephew. In addition, my brother recently framed me for a murder he committed. Let's just say I have a healthy interest in what is happening to him. So yes, I 'somehow' saw your report. And I ask you, are you absolutely sure?'' ''Mr. Cassadine, I'm a responsible physician. Or at least I prefer to think that I am. So yes, I wrote that report because I was sure of my facts.'' ''Stavros is not pretending?'' She got up and went over to the wall, pulling down several frames, which she then handed to him without a word. Her medical degree. Her board certifications in Neurology and Psychiatry. Her PhD in Psychology. A certificate of appreciation from the National Society for the Study of Dissociative Disorders. After he finished looking at them, she took them from him and said, ''I would stake my professional reputation on this, Mr. Cassadine. Your brother Stavros, through a combination of physical and mental trauma, and, possibly, the effects of certain drugs that were found in his system, is in a dissociative state. He is not faking it.'' ''What you do not understand is how devious - and dangerous - Stavros can be.'' ''I think I do. I don't evaluate patients in a vacuum. I have a pretty good history on your brother. Some of it is a little sci-fi, but - '' ''That, Dr. DaSilva, is a hazard of dealing with the Cassadines,'' Stefan said, with a grim smile. After she returned her frames to the wall, he said, ''Even if you are right, and this is real... how can you be sure he won't remember again?'' ''I can't be a hundred percent sure, but the memories did not respond to retrieval under hypnosis... and the condition he is in now... the specifics of it... I can't give you an ironclad guarantee, but I can tell you my professional opinion, which is that Stavros Cassadine is starting his life over again. He will recognize some people, as he did you and his son... but he will not remember the experiences of his life. And he will be lacking the cumulative effect of those experiences on his personality.'' ''Are you willing to take responsibility for your beliefs, Doctor? I am told Stavros will be discharged from this hospital soon. Will you continue to monitor his progress? Intervene if necessary?'' ''Are you asking me to take him as a private patient, Mr. Cassadine?'' ''I have done my homework, Dr. DaSilva. I know you take a limited number of them. You have indicated that Stavros' condition is an interesting one. And I would make it worth your while.'' ''If I do take him as a patient, I will only act in his best interests. I will not be a spy or a stalking horse for the Cassadine Estate.'' ''I would expect nothing less, Doctor. And believe me, as long as Stavros does myself and the people I love no further harm, he has nothing to fear from me.'' The same report Stefan had read was sitting on Dara Jensen desk, where Marcus Taggert had just tossed it. They looked at each other. ''I don't think I've got any choice here. If I press charges against Stavros Cassadine, any halfway decent lawyer is going to get it thrown out.'' Taggert frowned. ''I don't like it. The guy terrorized this entire town for months, and he gets away with it?'' She didn't even want to think about that, let alone Taggert's very personal stake in it all - that his sister had been deeply involved with Cassadine's alter ego, Lucien Caine... ''Well, the good news is, we still have Helena Cassadine. Who I think was the real mastermind of all this lunacy.'' ''Speaking of Mrs. Cassadine, she found out that her son lives. And she wants to see him. In fact, she's being insistent about it.'' ''She can insist all she likes. The lady is no longer making any of the rules.'' ''Actually, I don't think it's a bad idea. She might say things to her twice-dead son that she wouldn't say to anyone else. And there's no privilege involved. If we keep an ear to the grindstone...'' Dara considered it. ''We'd have to be careful. But there are still a lot of holes in the case against Helena Cassadine, and we might be able to fill some of them in.'' Taggert nodded. ''I'll talk to Mac. We'll have to transport her there... under the best possible security.'' ''Do better than that,'' Dara told him. ''We can't afford to give her even a small chance of slipping away.'' Stefan reserved the ''small'' boardroom at the hospital for the family meeting, rather than face the logistical hurdles of everyone coming to Wyndemere. Nikolas sat on his left, with Alexis on his right. Gia sat next to Nik, and Kristina next to Alexis... Stefan outlined the principal ideas in Dr. DaSilva's report. ''It seems as though Stavros is going to be in this condition permanently. Obviously, he is a member of this family, and we have a responsibility to see to his care. I have made some inquiries, and there is a facility near Saratoga that has a good reputation. They will make him very comfortable, and - '' ''Excuse me,'' Nikolas said. ''Why does he need to be institutionalized? He doesn't remember things, but he doesn't seem to be impaired in any real sense.'' ''Nikolas, Stavros has forgotten everything that has happened to him. He may not, on the surface, seem damaged, but there will be challenges he will not know how to meet.'' Alexis nodded. ''In a very real way, your uncle is trying to look after your father.'' ''I think there's a better way,'' Nikolas said. ''I've been thinking about this, ever since I saw him, and I have an idea...''   Chapter 5   Helena was pacing in her cell when two female police officers came in. One was holding the dress she had been wearing when arrested. She handed it to Helena and said, ''You got your wish. You're getting a short visit with your son at the hospital.'' She smiled. ''At last.'' It was unpleasant that the two doltish officers insisted on staying in the cell with her while she changed, but such a relief to be rid of that dreadful jumpsuit, even for a little while, that she would overlook it. And once she and Stavros were truly reunited... prison garb and metal trays would definitely be part of her past. ''I think we should make him one of us,'' Nikolas said. ''Nikolas, what are you talking about?'' Stefan said, and Alexis added, ''Stavros can never be one of us.'' ''Alexis, weren't you the one who said that we - those of us sitting at this table - represented all that the Cassadine family could be?'' ''Yes, but - '' Nikolas put out his hand in a gesture so princely that it made Gia smile. ''You said that we could redefine what it meant to be a Cassadine. And we all swore that we would do it together. Well, now is our chance. If we could... show him what it really means, what it CAN mean... he doesn't remember the evil things he did. But he recognizes us as his family. We can work with that. We can... retrain him. Show him new ways of being.'' Stefan said, ''You don't know what you're talking about.'' ''Don't I, Uncle? Haven't you done things that you're ashamed of? Things that were forgiven?'' ''I vote with Nikolas,'' Kristina said. ''You don't get a vote.'' Alexis shook her head. ''Why not?'' ''Because... you haven't even met Stavros yet.'' ''That's not MY fault.'' Nikolas continued. ''All my life I wondered about my father... at first I missed him desperately, then I was horrified by him... but I never stopped wondering. Then I met him and, almost immediately, he was gone again. Now we have another chance. And this time it can be on the right terms...'' He looked for support to Gia, who smiled and squeezed his hand. Alexis said, ''This is crazy. This is... not sensible. I mean, in a fairy tale world, it would be possible... but in the real world? No. Not with Stavros. Not ever. Tell him, Stefan. Tell him that his father can never be... turned from the dark side.'' Stefan sat there quietly for what seemed like a long time. He thought about the long, lonely years growing up, and then about that day, several weeks ago, when he had stood in the crypt at Wyndemere and asked what he thought was his brother's tomb, ''Is it too much to ask for? The love of a mother, of a brother?'' He knew that Helena would never love him, and that he might never know why. But a brother... this brother... who looked at him not as Stavros had, but as he might have done... ''No, Alexis,'' he said. ''I can't tell him that. Because... he might be right. And maybe we have to try.'' Stavros looked up from the book one of the candy stripers had brought him, at the almost impossibly elegant woman entering the room. There were police everywhere, it seemed, two or three with him as well as the one who still guarded his door. As he had known Stefan, and even more so with Nikolas, he felt that stir of recognition. ''Mother,'' he said. ''Yes, my darling.'' She looked at her escort. ''A moment alone with my son. Is that too much to ask?'' They looked around the room. A secure window. No sharp objects. No other doors. They indicated that they would be just outside. When they were gone, Helena approached the bed and gave her beloved son a kiss. He smiled at her and she said, ''I knew you weren't dead. I knew you would come for me... and you would have, if they hadn't brought you here first.'' ''Mother, maybe you can tell me... no one else will. What have I done? Who am I really? Why are there police guards? Why is my brother afraid of me?'' ''Oh, Stefan... he was always afraid of his own shadow...'' She shrugged. ''My son... does not know me...'' ''You were cheated out of that, both of you, by the Spencers, and by your brother.'' ''I don't understand... Mother, please, tell me...'' He gazed at her imploringly, yet there was something steely in his insistence, something she recognized and clung to. ''I will tell you, my darling... including everything I have done for you... everything...'' She leaned forward, whispering intimately, a hushed kiss into his ear... Stefan was coming down the hallway, talking with Alexis, when they heard the scream. It was unmistakably the howl of rage Stefan had heard from Stavros on many occasions in the past. But it was different this time. This time it was mixed with something else. This time... it was a scream of horror....