Alexis leaned back against the wall of the elevator in her apartment building, her head resting, her eyes closed, as she took the interminably long ride to the empty rooms that waited for her.

'There should be joy in my home,' she thought, 'joy and toys strewn everywhere and the smell of baby powder at every turn.'

Her heart sank at the vision her mind had conjured. Her home...with her beautiful, precious baby girl in it...it felt like the impossible to her right now. And she knew that if Edward had his way, it would never happen.

She had gone to Nikolas today, cashing in her last option. Her nephew had been unable to track Stefan down, and so despite the fact that being a single man in his early 20s could count against him, Nikolas had agreed to step in for his uncle. He would file a petition for full custody of Kristina and try to get her away from the Quartermaines. It was a long shot, but it was the one hope she had of legally getting her little girl out of that hateful house where Edward would make it his life's work to turn Kristina into the heir he'd failed to create with Ned, AJ, Jason and Emily.

The bell on the elevator made a slight "ding," and Alexis stepped out, keys in hand, and walked slowly toward her door. There was no reason to hurry. She had spent the last several weeks rushing around...running to Jax, to Cameron, to Ned, even to Sonny, begging for help, but all of her cries were going unheeded. If one more person told her it was "only six months," Alexis knew she would scream. Only six months...how could they say that to her? Her baby had spent the first two months of her life fighting for it, and every day she had on this Earth was as precious to Alexis as the most valuable jewel imaginable. Only...six months was a lifetime right now.

She opened the door and pushed it open, her hand reaching to the wall to turn on the lights. Her eyes took in the stillness and the coldness, and Alexis felt her stomach tighten as she stepped inside and shut the door. She dropped her keys and purse on the desk, slipped her coat off, added it to the back of the desk chair, and then she plodded over to the couch. As she sank down, her hand reached out to secure the soft piece of fluffy fur that sat on the arm.

Alexis drew Kristina's lamb against her chest and held it tightly. She still felt a little guilty about keeping it, but when Ned had left it at the hospital and Cameron had brought it to her, Alexis had been unable to surrender it. It was a poor substitute for her daughter, but it was something to hold on to.

Sighing, Alexis put her feet up on the coffee table and closed her eyes. Why the hell had she ever let Ned talk her into signing those papers? She should have turned to Nikolas the moment Stefan couldn't be found. If she had only thought to draw up papers to the effect of who had custodial rights to Kristina if she couldn't care for her...but Alexis had been so focused on saving herself, and everyone else, from paying for Alcazar's murder...it was a horrid detail to have left uncovered, and though it was likely Judge Farmer would have ignored her request given how judgmental the woman was, it would have been something, some hope, that Kristina wouldn't now be in the custody of people who thought of her as a possession and not a child.

She kicked her foot in frustration and felt the heel of her shoe make contact with something that she immediately knew wasn't normally in that spot on the table. Alexis sat up, placing her feet on the floor, and her eyes fell to the large, thickly padded envelope that stared back at her with "Alexis Davis" scrawled on the front in unfamiliar handwriting.

A chill immediately ran through her as Alexis jumped up, grabbing a candlestick that sat on the mantle, and began searching her apartment. She checked the locks on the windows and found them all secure. Her front door had been locked when she arrived home, but someone had clearly been inside her apartment to leave the package. She didn't like the feel of that, of having her space so purposefully invaded, and after making sure no one was hiding anywhere, she returned to the couch and, setting the candlestick aside, carefully reached for the envelope.

She turned it over gingerly in her hands, and Alexis suddenly laughed at herself. She wasn't a "mob mouthpiece" anymore, so it was doubtful there was a bomb inside, and while Cassadines weren't above killing their own, they certainly didn't usually do it via the mail. No, poison on the tip of a hatpin was more their style. Shaking her head, Alexis found the flap on the envelope and tore it open. She peered inside and found a neatly assembled stack of files. Pulling them free, Alexis dropped the envelope after finding no further indication of who might have sent it. Her fingers flipped open the cover of the first file, and within seconds, Alexis' throat went dry.

Phone records...phone records belonging to Edward Quartermaine, Scott Baldwin and Judge Nancy Farmer...of calls that had taken place for the four days prior to Alexis' hearing. Alexis jumped to the second folder. Bank records for Scott Baldwin and Edward Quartermaine. The third held a copy of a letter of support from Scott to the district court that mentioned how wonderfully Judge Farmer had performed as of late on the bench. The fourth...a letter from Edward Quartermaine to his "old friend" Federal Judge Winslow...mentioning that Judge Farmer should be considered for the next open judgeship at a higher level.

Alexis' blood chilled. She had known Edward was pulling strings, and Scott's duplicity didn't surprise her, but the judge...to have a judge, a female judge with kids of her own, help plot to steal Kristina away from her, it wounded the very core of the attorney who had still clung to her belief in the justice system.

There were more files...photographs of Ned and Faith, records of their machinations against Sonny...it was a dossier on each and every person who had somehow played a part in Alexis losing custody of her daughter. The information was powerful and explosive...and, Alexis knew, it could all be a trap. Whoever had left this for her could have done it so that she'd rush into action and get caught with evidence that could be proved to have been obtained illegally. That would surely mean she would lose her license for good, Alexis knew, and that would only give the Quartermaines more ammunition against her. In fact, Edward himself could have...

No, Alexis realized, Edward wouldn't take that chance. But someone had...someone had handed this to her, but before she used it, she needed help. She had to be sure what she had was trustworthy and that it wouldn't destroy her already tenuous situation professionally and personally. The problem was, who could she trust to help?

Alexis stood and walked to the phone. She dialed a number she knew by heart from her years of wheeling and dealing in Port Charles.

"Hi, it's, um, it's Alexis Davis. I...I need your help."

Thirty minutes later, a knock sounded at her door, and Alexis, who had been pacing since she'd hung up the phone, practically ran to the door, throwing it open. Mac Scorpio stood on the opposite side.

"Alexis, are you all right?"

"Yes," Alexis said, ushering him in, "well, no, but I'm not in any physical danger."

"Then what's going on?" Mac asked. Alexis led him to the sofa where they sat down together. Alexis picked up the files and put them in her lap, her hands folded on top of them.

"Mac, I know that you have a job to do and an oath you've sworn, and you are one of the few people I believe honors that oath in this town. I know that I can't ask you to violate that, but I am asking you to understand the chance I'm taking, coming to you with this."

Mac's face grew full of concern, and he turned more so that he was facing Alexis.

"Look, Alexis, you and I have had our rough spots, but you do know that I respect you. I can't promise much without knowing what's going on, though."

"I know," Alexis agreed, and she picked up the files and handed them to him. "I don't know where these came from. They were sitting here in this envelope," Alexis pointed to the torn paper on the coffee table, "when I got home tonight. Mac, if what's in here is true, then it proves that...that there was a conspiracy to rob me of custody of my child."

Mac began to look through the carefully selected stack of paper Alexis had given him. The files on Ned and Faith were tucked away, deemed by her irrelevant in this particular matter, but very, very relevant if Ned tried to get in her way if this proved to be true. Alexis watched as Mac's face turned from doubtful to shocked and finally, to horrified.

"My God...I knew Baldwin was corrupt but...Alexis, I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"I don't doubt that, Mac. But you see why I'm worried? If I try to use this without being able to verify it, well, it could be disastrous. But there's no one I can go to who can check this out...except you."

Mac closed the files and looked back at Alexis. "You have no idea where these came from?"

"No," Alexis answered, standing. She began to pace a little to the far side of the sofa. "If it were Jax or Nikolas, they would have handed me the information. Zander doesn't have the connections to get this kind of paperwork, and the only other people I know who do, Jason and Sonny...well, neither of them gives a damn about me anymore, so why would they bother? As for Ned...he'd use this against Edward himself, he wouldn't give it to me."

"Stefan?" Mac asked, and he watched as Alexis shook her head.

"Stefan's been out of contact for months. At the very least, he'd have put a note telling me it was from him. Mac, I have no idea who did this or how they even got in here to leave it, I just know that...that if it's true, I have got to get my daughter out of that house."

"Alexis," Mac said, standing to join her by the mantle, "I...I will check this out, and for now, I'll keep it quiet. But you do realize that even if this is all true, I mean, Alexis, you have a serious illness. There's very little chance that any judge will give you full custody of Kristina back right now."

"I know," Alexis said, closing her eyes for a moment at the painful admission. "But if they would let Nikolas take her, I'd know she was safe, she'd be away from the Quartermaines, and maybe a judge not on the take will see that barring me completely from my daughter is just...I know what I did, Mac, but I don't deserve that."

Her voice had begun to tremble as she spoke about her daughter's situation, and Mac brought his right hand to her shoulder.

"No, you don't, and neither does Kristina."

Alexis smiled at his act of compassion, and then Mac turned and walked back to where he had left the files on the couch.

"You trust me to take these?"

"I made a copy already. Benefits of a home office."

Mac smiled. "Good point. Okay, I'll be in touch as soon as I can. As much as I'd hate to have to acknowledge this, I hope for your sake it checks out."

"Thanks, Mac," Alexis said, her gratitude evident in her voice. She walked him to the door and locked it behind him after he'd left. She turned and started to walk away, but then she remembered that someone had been inside her apartment that day. A feeling of unease overwhelmed Alexis, and she took her desk chair and shoved it up against the door to block the knob. It was more of a gesture than it was a real security measure, but it helped a little. Wrapping her arms around herself, Alexis walked back to the sofa and sat down, her eyes fixed on the lamb, which was now sitting on the coffee table.

"Just hold on, Angel. Mommy's trying to make it all right again. Just hold on."

*****

It took two agonizing days for Mac to retrace the paper trail Alexis had given him, and at each and every turn, Mac felt his disgust for Edward, Scott and Judge Farmer double. There was absolutely no denying it...they had conspired to take Kristina from her mother...and clearly, the intent was to keep the plot going. Mac had no doubt that were this information not to have come to light, Alexis' hearing at the six month marker would have resulted in little more than supervised visitation, and a setup to somehow make her misstep at a session so that the Quartermaines could permanently bar her from the baby.

His own legwork had been done alone, and Mac had documented everything so that he could present his own case, not depending on the copies Alexis had provided him. That way, the evidence couldn't be questioned. Now, though, it was time to take things to the next level, and for that, he needed help. Mac picked up his phone and buzzed the detective squad.

"Yeah, can you come in here for a minute?"

Taggart opened the door and stepped inside. He walked over and sat down across from his boss.

"What's up?"

"Taggart, I need to ask you a question, and I need an honest answer, okay?"

"Always, boss," the cop replied, and he leaned back in his chair. "Shoot."

"How do you feel about Alexis Davis?"

Taggart's forehead furrowed as he pondered the question itself and the why of it.

"What do I think about Alexis Davis? Well, I think she's brilliant, half-crazy, probably still the best attorney we've ever gone up against, and I think she's a smart woman who made one very big mistake named Sonny Corinthos."

"What about the Alcazar thing?" Mac asked, and Taggart shrugged.

"You know, I can't condone that, but...I mean, if it were Gia...if it were my child...I don't know, Mac...everyone has their breaking point."

"So if you could help her, you would?"

Taggart shook his head and then looked pointedly at his boss. "What is going on, Mac?"

"This department has been misused by some people who need to be taken down for it. Doing that will help Alexis, which I have no problem with, but now I need some help. So can I count on you or would you rather beg off?"

Taggart considered the question for less than a second. "I'm in."

*****

Alexis heard the knock at the door and, as she had a few days earlier, she rushed toward it, throwing it open. Mac, Taggart and Dara Jensen walked inside and they all quickly took seats as Alexis joined them.

"So?" she asked, her mind afraid to let her hopes rise until she heard what Mac had to say.

"It all checks out, Alexis," Mac replied. "Whoever put this together for you covered every base. They nailed them all, dead to rights."

Her hand flew to her mouth as she tired to cover the sharp intake of breath that accompanied her relief. Dara smiled at Mac and then looked at her client.

"Mac and I are headed to Albany. We have an appointment with the attorney general, and we'll present him with the evidence and ask for an immediate hearing to set aside Judge Farmer's custody declaration. Now, Alexis, you realize that they may also decide to set aside her decision in the criminal case as well?"

Alexis nodded. "Dara, I don't care. I'll stand trial, I'll do whatever I have to do, but I have got to get my daughter out of that house."

"Okay," Dara said, "and you're sure Nikolas is willing to take custody?"

"Yes, he's ready to take her as soon as we can get her out."

"Well," Taggart spoke up, "that's where I come in. I've got a man watching the grounds right now. Kristina is definitely on the Quartermaine estate. I'll head over there myself to make sure they don't try to take her off the property, but it would be a hell of a lot easier to keep an eye on her from the inside."

"Jax!" Alexis exclaimed. "I can...I can get him to find an excuse to be there...he'll do that for me once I tell him what's happened."

"Okay, then do that," Mac added in. "Alexis, we're heading up there right now. So just keep your fingers crossed and let yourself have some hope, okay? We're gonna find a way to fix this."

Alexis hugged Mac impulsively and then she stood back, a bit embarrassed. "Thank you all so much."

"Thank us when we get your daughter with her family...her real family," Dara said, and Alexis nodded.

The three of them left and Alexis immediately called Jax. She gave him a brief synopsis of what was going on, and then implored him to step in and help her.

"Jax, if Edward finds out we know, he'll try to get Kristina out of town, you know he will. Please, any excuse, stir up ELQ trouble, I don't care, please, just get inside that house and don't let Kristina out of it, not even for a walk. Please."

Jax agreed, and Alexis began the longest wait of her life since the day of Kristina's open-heart surgery. The seconds ticked by, each one tearing at Alexis' heart and at her sanity. Horrible thoughts of Edward handing her daughter over to AJ or some servant and running to a plane bound for parts unknown plagued her. Her phone rang three times, each a call from Cameron "checking up on her," but Alexis rushed him off the phone each time and screamed at him when he offered to come by. She knew she could tell him was going on, but for some reason, she didn't want to. She needed to wait this out on her own...and wait she did.

The phone rang again at 4:27...and Alexis' heart leaped into her throat.

"Hello?"

"Alexis, it's Dara. Get Nikolas to the courthouse as soon as you can. The AG issued warrants for Scott, Judge Farmer and Edward and the circuit court gave us a stay on the custody order. Taggart's moving in at the Quartermaines right now. They'll bring Kristina to the court." When there was no response, Dara's voice grew a bit panicked. "Alexis, did you hear me?"

"I did...I...we'll be there," Alexis assured her, and she hung up, grabbing her cell phone as she picked up her keys and coat and rushed to the door.

"Nikolas, it's Alexis. They did it. I need you at the courthouse right away."

*****

By 7:30 that night, Kristina Davis was asleep in the room Stefan had once called his own at Wyndemere. Alexis had phoned Bobbie and asked her if she knew any nurses she could trust and recommend as a baby nurse, and to Alexis' great shock, Bobbie had offered to come and help for a few days while she assisted Nikolas in finding a permanent caregiver. For the first time since she'd been born, Kristina seemed to be truly safe, and though it still broke Alexis' heart to leave her, she knew that this time, she could leave without being afraid. Her baby girl was with someone she believed in, and thanks to the ruling by Judge McAfee, Alexis now had visitation rights with her daughter, though Nikolas or Cameron had to be present during them. She didn't care...she could hold her daughter and love her, and to Alexis, that was what mattered most.

Ned had been given visitation rights as well, and Alexis was willing to let him keep them so long as he held his tongue about the current arrangement. One word from him she didn't like, and the file on Faith Roscoe and he would come into good use.

Meanwhile, Alexis walked to her apartment with a smile on her face for the first time in ages. Edward, Scott and Judge Farmer had all been arrested and processed for a variety of charges. They had tried to destroy her life, so Alexis felt no regret about what might happen to them. She had done what was necessary to protect her baby...and she would do so with every breath she took for the rest of her life.

Alexis opened the door, the new lock sticking slightly as she worked the key. Tonight she was anxious to go to sleep so she could wake up and have it be the next day. She had an appointment with Cameron in the morning, and then she had a four-hour visit with her daughter. Just thinking about spending four hours with her little girl was enough to restore Alexis' battered spirit.

She had been so happy, so focused on the change in her circumstances that Alexis had skipped her usual habit of turning on the main living room lights as she walked in. Instead, she clicked on the small desk lamp when she realized it was still dark, and then she turned to head to the kitchen to grab a snack, her stomach growling from the lack of food it had received during the day. But she never made it to the kitchen. Instead she froze as her eyes locked with the dark set of nearly black eyes that stared back at her from a face she had thought to never see again.

"Stavros?"

He smiled at her, his arms unfolding, legs uncrossing as he stood up from where he sat on the sofa and walked toward her.

"Hello, Alexis. Long time, no see."

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