PG-13 for sensual imagery


He woke to the feeling of her nails drawing gently down his back.

Lorenzo smiled, the action hidden from Alexis because his face was turned away from her, but the deep, nearly purr-like sigh that escaped his body told the woman he adored that he was awake.

"Don't move," she whispered.

"Yes, ma'am."

Alexis shifted on the bed and then Lorenzo felt her palms resting fully against him, just above his shoulder blades, before she began to expertly move her hands. The massage was heavenly--her fingers kneading into his muscles, caressing his skin. Lorenzo let his eyes drift shut again as he breathed deeply and just surrendered to the pleasure and relaxation her touch offered.

It had been nearly 48 hours since they had learned about their baby--about Gabriel. Alexis had begun to refer to him with that name almost immediately after Lorenzo had recounted the story of his childhood memory to her. It was making his child--his son--vividly real to him. Her musings about what he might look like, be like, her thoughts on watching Kristina's reaction to her little brother--they were brush strokes painting a portrait of the little boy to come.

They had stayed up far too late that first night, talking, laughing, dreaming and planning. Alexis had learned the hard way that pregnancy was unpredictable, and that she couldn't necessarily count on having every last minute of her nine months to get ready. She wanted them to get the Asilo corporate offices settled. He agreed with her logic. Neither of them were going to want to work much once Gabriel arrived, which meant they needed to finally sign the contract for the office they had settled on and get it ready for their staff to move into. They had focused on that, on their future together, rather than talking any more about his past or the WSB or the confession he had made to her.

The more they had talked, the more Lorenzo's worries settled and his genuine joy began to take over. He already thought he was blessed beyond reason by having Alexis and Kristina in his life. To have this added gift was almost too much to hope for. And even though his growing happiness had faltered a tad when Alexis told him she wanted to wait to tell her daughter about the baby, her explanation had eased whatever fears had tried to resurface.

[i]"I just don't want to confuse her. Once we have sonograms that look more like a baby and I'm showing, then it'll make more sense to her."[/i]

The thought of it all overwhelmed and excited him. Sonograms that looked more like a baby... Alexis' belly rounded from their son growing inside her... it was all so miraculous and terrifying and wonderful...

And it could all be in dreadful danger if he didn't finish what he'd begun with Renata before he'd ever imagined a life as incredible as the one he had now.

"Hey... no thinking seriously yet," Alexis scolded. "Till we leave this bed, we're still on perfect day time."

Lorenzo chuckled and shifted his face so it rested on the opposite cheek. "Yes, Ms. Davis. No more serious thinking."

Alexis laughed and returned to her massage, her hands moving out to his upper arms. After their long night of talking, he had let her sleep in the next morning. When she'd woken up, Alexis had looked at him and said, "You know what today is? It's make-up "perfect day."

He was feeling a little too overprotective of her less than 24 hours removed from her hospital visit, so they had skipped over the making love part of their plan and gone straight to breakfast with Kristina at Kelly's. The banana waffles had been excellent, as usual, and then there had been playing and naptime and a family dinner. To insure the peace and quiet of their special time, Lorenzo had asked Nano to hold any call that wasn't life and death and he'd sent a message via Hector to Robert asking the same--no contact unless something critical happened.

Regrettably, their lovely day ended as all days do, and Lorenzo had asked to put Kristina to bed, wanting a little time alone with her after his long absence and the somewhat herky-jerky nature of their lives since he'd gotten home. She had immediately demanded a story and then another and then another. Three books, one dance and two renditions of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" later, his favorite little girl in the world had fallen asleep, and Lorenzo had lain her in bed, turned out the lights and then headed back to his favorite "big girl" in the world.

He had found her waiting for him on the edge of the bed, his black satin robe draped around her body. Lorenzo laughed, thinking of how baggy it was now and how often he'd teased her about it. But soon enough, it would be a perfect robe for a very pregnant, very sexy woman to steal from the back of bathroom door.

[i]"It's a good thing I wasn't very attached to that."

Alexis smiled and stood up, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as her hands played with the ties of the garment she wore.

"It's just so comfy... and so you... how could I not love it?"

She reached for his hand, and Lorenzo gave it and let her lead him to the bathroom door. He peeked inside and saw that she had filled the enormous tub with warm, bubbly water while he'd been in the nursery.

"I'd undress you, but you keep worrying about me overtaxing myself. So I'll just meet you in the tub."

Alexis' flirty wink and devilish smile were all the incentive Lorenzo needed to start unbuttoning his own shirt, but when she turned her back to him and dropped the robe from her body, then slowly eased herself into the tub, he realized that Alexis was sending him a message, not just about her desire for him, but about her well-being in general. She was fine, and when she wasn't she would let him know. In the meantime, she was ready for him to start treating her like Alexis, not like a fragile, pregnant woman.
So who was he not to cooperate fully with whatever the lovely lady had on her mind?

"Are you sure there's room for me in there?" he asked, a small grin on his face as he continued to work on his shirt buttons.

"Well," Alexis said as she stretched out in the tub, "if you sit really close to me... I think we'll be okay."

"Mm-hmm." Lorenzo deposited his shirt on the floor and quickly stripped out of the rest of his clothes. A jolt of pride ran through him as he watched Alexis watch him. He loved seeing how much she wanted him. "Really close you say?"

She scooted forward as he stepped into the tub and settled down behind her. Once he was seated, Alexis leaned back against him, drawing his arms around her.

"Really, really close."

He sighed and nuzzled his chin against the top of her head, expecting that they'd just sit together and snuggle for awhile. But after a moment, Alexis broke his hold on her by pulling away and making a half-turn towards him.

"No good. I think maybe closer."

She rotated so she was fully facing him, and Lorenzo chuckled as Alexis slowly and purposefully crawled into his lap, her legs wrapping around him.

"Much better."

Her laugh sounded in his ear and rumbled through his body.

"I'd have to say, this definitely qualifies for perfect day status." He stopped and raised his hand to her cheek, drawing her face down so they were eye to eye. "Thank you so much."

"Thank you," she whispered, then her lips touched gently down upon his. "Thank you for trusting me and for loving me... and most of all, thank you for not listening to me when I said this could never be."[/i]

The reminder of their first night together as lovers, of the electricity of their union on the balcony, stoked the fire building between them there in the bath. But unlike that night, when they'd succumbed to a new, wild passion, last night, they had taken their time with one another. She teased his lips with kisses that ranged from deep and probing to soft, gentle nibbles. He traced his hands over the contours of her body, slowing down when he reached one of those spots he knew responded in the most delightful ways to a tickle or a feather-light touch. When Alexis moaned his name against his ear, his drew her even tighter against him and melded his body with hers. Water ebbed and flowed and swirled around them as they finally shared the physical reunion they had both craved so much before his return home... before their world had spun wildly upon its axis only to land in an even more amazing place than it had been before.

The erotic memories of the night just passed combined with the feel of Alexis' caress along the length of his spine had Lorenzo shifting his thoughts from the past to the present. His desire for her always startled him on some level--that incredible need that he could only let himself feel because she made it so safe for him to do so. And finally, there were no secrets standing between them. Though he'd have truly doubted it were possible, Lorenzo realized their connection was even deeper now that Alexis was free to choose his whole life--and had done so without a moment's hesitation.

"When we go back out into the real world today..." Alexis' voice had a husky, unimaginably sexy quality to it as she leaned down close to his skin. She interrupted her speech just long enough to plant a light kiss against his shoulder. "Remember that we carry all our burdens together, the same way as we share the joys and the pleasures. No more going it alone... you hear me?"

Now she teased him, her fingers pulling gently on his earlobe like a scolding mother, though Lorenzo's thoughts of her were anything but maternal at present. He laughed, easing his torso up so he could twist back to look at her.

"Does pregnancy make you extra bossy?"

They laughed together, their bodies maneuvering so she now lay beneath him and their eyes were unable to look anywhere but at the others.

"Everything shared," he whispered, "as you wish, my lady."

The embers that always lay simmering between them caught flame and burned, their kisses becoming more and more heated, the return to the "real world" put on hold just one more loving moment longer.

"Want Mama!"

There was instant resignation in both of them as Kristina's irritated voice reached out from down the hallway. It was rare for her to throw tantrums over anything, but when they happened, they were usually because she was tired or not feeling well, and much as she loved Alice, she wanted no substitute for her mother.

"I guess I'll have to get very used to this," Lorenzo said as he sat up, releasing Alexis from beneath him.

"Yeah, you've had it pretty easy up till now," she teased, climbing from the bed and pulling on her own robe, which covered her far more decently than his. "Then again, you and Gabriel may be able to strike some secret boy's club deal so he has better timing."

Lorenzo watched as she strode out of the room, one last smile thrown back to him over her shoulder before she left. With a bit of disappointment swirling inside him, he let his body fall back against the pillows, his forearm drawing over his eyes.

The real world, it seemed, would be kept waiting no longer.

Alexis had already told him she was going to go to the realtor today to finish the changes they wanted to the lease on their new office property. He had meetings of a slightly less legitimate nature to attend to. And then he needed to go by to see Robert and find out if there had been any developments with Renata.

The second meeting of the day would be the trickiest. He and Nano would have their initial strategy session with the strike team Renata and Daoud wanted to utilize in their master plot. Their report back to the WSB on the activities they were being drawn into would be the only official record of the brewing terror plot the WSB had. In order to keep Lorenzo insulated, Robert's reports on his activities went straight to the director with nothing kept to lead back to Enzo's true purpose. That meant he had to be sure to work in all the information that needed to reach the agency into his conversation with the undercover operatives.

Rising from the bed, Lorenzo moved to the bathroom and climbed beneath a brief but scalding hot shower. By the time he'd dressed, Alexis still hadn't returned, and so he grabbed his suit jacket and tossed it over his shoulder, then headed for the nursery.

A peek inside revealed that Kristina had woken with a sore ear. The drops they used to treat her earaches were sitting on the side table beside her rocking chair, which is where he found Alexis. Mother and daughter had drifted off there, snuggled together.

He could see a different picture in his mind's eyes thanks to their dreamy discussions of the future... Alexis in the rocking chair with their dark-haired newborn son in his arms, Kristina possessively watching over both of them, fascinated by the new baby and happily shadowing her mother's every move as she learned to help care for her baby brother.

Lorenzo reminded himself that his musings were a vision, not a dream; a reality just months away. He took that image with him into the long, difficult day ahead.

*****

Skye had been laying beneath a rather energetic and quite delightful Coleman when Carly had phoned her... and when he'd reacted to the offending noise by tossing her phone across the room, the call had gone to her voicemail and been quickly forgotten.

It wasn't until late the next morning, after her late-night-sex/vodka induced hangover had let up, that she retrieved the message.

"Skye, it's me. We need to talk. Now."

Three hours later, Skye was tending to a Blood Mary at Luke's when Carly had walked in and plopped down across from her.

[i]"Where the hell were you?"

"I had a debt to settle," Skye quipped before downing another sip of her drink.

"Yeah, well, now I have one to deal with, too. That bitch is not going to win."

There was no need for Carly to explain who she meant. Skye's hand wrapped tightly around her cool glass.

"What the hell are you talking about? Sonny isn't going to drag her into court?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes as a sneer spread over her face.

"He's going to cave. He's going to do this on her terms."

Skye felt her jaw drop. "Wait, wait, wait. Sonny is just going to let her get away with this? Jesus, first she gets away with murder, then with trying to let me fry for it, and now..."

"I asked him point blank if he was going to take Kristina," Carly explained. "He said he didn't know. Trust me, that means he's not."

"Damn it." Skye picked up her glass and took a sip of her drink. She felt the vodka creep through her, but it did little to calm her nerves. "If Sonny doesn't get her..."

"I know, I know," Carly said dismissively. "Look, I played it just right. I acted outraged at the idea of having Alexis' brat in my house. I told him he should focus on the boys. I basically dared him to go after custody. I'm telling you, whatever she's been spinning, he's buying. He's still trying to act outraged, but Alexis is winning him over."

"So what do we do? Because I don't know about you, but I'm damn sick and tired of Alexis making the rest of us jump through her hoops."

"Please, you don't know the half of it. Years of my life have been spent trying to defend against the 'Alexis effect' where Sonny is concerned."

"What did he say, exactly?"

Carly sighed and leaned forward, her elbows pressing into the table. "Not much. He was pissed at me for going to see her highness without telling him, and then he started ranting about how Lorenzo wasn't going to raise his daughter. But like I said, when I asked him flat out about taking the baby, he couldn't answer me."[/i]

Skye couldn't believe it any more now than she could then. The great Sonny Corinthos was going to let Alexis get away with stealing his daughter. It was unbelievable to her after the way he'd treated his other "enemies." Carly's frustration over the whole thing was obvious, and while Skye did feel for her, Mrs. Corinthos' problems weren't her main concern.

A means to an end--that's what Carly was. If Sonny did what they expected, which was go after custody of his "stolen" child, then a friendship with his wife meant Skye would be able to see Kristina again. She was dependant on the change of custody, and on Carly's ability to convince her husband that her new friend was only interested in the little girl's well-being, to get back what Alexis had taken--in Skye's opinion--unjustly. And both women relished the idea of seeing Alexis exposed for the manipulative liar they believed her to be, so much so that Carly was ready to deal with having Sonny's "other" baby in her home if it meant Alexis would suffer.

But if the mobster really gave into Alexis as his wife suspected he might, their chance at revenge and Skye's hope of being back in Kristina's life would be gone. For Carly, a compromise would also mean her greatest fear would be realized--Alexis would be back in her life again, a constant presence, a constant temptation to a man who clearly still felt a weakness for her.

Neither woman was prepared to surrender, and they'd parted ways to think and to strategize separately. Skye, not in the mood to be alone, had returned to Coleman's. They had returned to bed and had spent another night "messin' around," as he liked to describe it. Sometime after a few drinks and a rather intriguing outing on the bedside table, Skye had begun prattling on about the situation with Alexis and Sonny.

[i]"Well, I don't see what the problem is," Coleman said as a chuckle erupted from deep in his throat. "Sonny hates Lorenzo, Lorenzo has his kid. So make Sonny's hate for Lorenzo work for you."[/i]

Her ego wasn't so big that Skye couldn't admit the brilliance of Coleman's observation. He was a simple man who was used to looking for easy solutions to big problems. She, on the other hand, had spent her life hopping from one big, convoluted scheme to the other. But this time, some elaborate plan wasn't necessary. They could use Sonny's temper against him, provoke him into going after Kristina not to get back at Alexis, but to get his daughter away from Lorenzo.

As she drove home now to shower and clean up after her extended stay at Coleman's seedy apartment, Skye smiled. Lorenzo Alcazar had threatened her and terrorized her. That her payback to Alexis would hurt him as well pleased her a great deal.

Now all she had to do was think of the perfect way to pit the mob boss and the gun dealer against one another. And then the fireworks would begin.

*****

"You'll assume full cost for the entryway remodel and the electrical upgrades," Alexis said, her hand moving over the rough draft contract in front of her. "We'll cover the costs of the security system and the interior changes. Agreed?"

The building owner nodded his head and Alexis jotted down her notes. Her main goal for today was about to be mission accomplished. The office suite was a 20-minute car ride from the compound, and the building owner was willing to allow all the security upgrades Lorenzo was going to require in any space they occupied. More importantly, the suite had a small atrium they could makeover into a nursery area for days they had to be here and wanted the kids nearby.

Kids. She smiled at the plurality. The joy she felt over Gabriel was an amazing thing, and though the looming threats around them remained, she believed absolutely that she and Lorenzo were going to endure and survive it all.

"Okay, if you'll initial these changes, we can finalize this and we'll cut you a check."

Alexis handed the now marked up contract to Asilo's new landlord and after he was done signing off on the changes, they sealed the deal with a handshake. It was just the first step in a long process, but they had the ball rolling now.

She decided to walk to Kelly's for lunch, her ever-present guards in attendance. Nano was at home with Lorenzo, but she had grown friendly with most of the men charged with her security and felt comfortable with them. Johnny was on deck from Sonny's crew today, but he remained at the house in close proximity to Kristina, who, after eardrops and a quick doze in the rocking chair with mama, was feeling better and enjoying some finger paints with Alice.

By the time she'd emerged from the nursery to get showered and dressed, Lorenzo had already been downstairs in his first meeting. Alexis decided against interrupting him, not because he would have minded but because now that she knew the whole story around what happened behind that closed door, she wanted to leave him totally focused on the task he had undertaken when that part of his life beckoned.

It hurt her heart to think of him living with the truth of who he was for so long without anyone to share it with. Even Nano, who she knew he trusted implicitly, had been kept in the dark, for his safety as much as Lorenzo's. Yes, Hector knew, but he was an agent doing a job, not someone truly concerned with Enzo's welfare as a man.

She knew the toll lies and secrets took on a person. The weariness she had sometimes spied in his eyes, the slight slump in his shoulders when he thought no one was looking--they all made perfect sense to her now. He'd been close to worn down from the enormity of pretending to be a man far different than who he was.

After they'd made love last night and crawled into bed together, he had whispered to her that he felt renewed by sharing the truth with her. Alexis prayed that was true, and she hoped that he knew she had meant what she said. She loved him and she believed in him. Somehow, he would find a way out of the monstrous spider's web his life had become.

Thoughts of the man who had drawn Lorenzo into the complex double life made Alexis' face curve into a scowl. Robert Scorpio might be a legend in the world of spies and secret agents, but to her he was no more than a manipulative user who had pounced upon Lorenzo's grief and turned it to his own purposes. She could acknowledge that, in some way, he'd probably saved Enzo, who undoubtedly would have gone after Renata on his own without the skill and training he'd learned from the WSB. Still, there was something in the story of how their alliance had been formed that rubbed Alexis the wrong way. Lorenzo considered Robert a friend, but she wasn't so sure that he should.

Her stomach growled and Alexis laughed. Gabriel was hungry. She was just turning the final block to the diner when her cell phone rang. A quick glance at the caller I.D. screen told her who it was, and she braced herself.

"Hello, Sonny."

"Hey... uh, I heard you weren't feeling well. You, uh, you doin' better?"

She sighed. Carly had no doubt given him her version of the Grille conversation. "I'm fine, thanks. Can I do something for you?"

"I would, uh, I'd like to see Kristina."

"Sonny... nothing's changed since our last conversation."

"Look," he said, "I haven't called the lawyer. I haven't done anything but read over these papers you sent. And... look, I just really want to see her. And you... so we can talk."

Alexis glanced at her watch. "She's going down for her nap soon. Let me call Alice and make sure she's doing okay."

"Was something wrong?" The concern that popped into his voice was unmistakable.

"Kristina's ear was bothering her earlier. It happens sometimes. If she's okay, I can call you after her nap."

"I could come over there if that's easier."

"Lorenzo's home. I don't think that's the best idea."

There was a long pause as they both considered where they might meet. The penthouse was certainly out, as was the park, since the little girl had woken up not feeling well.

"We could meet at the hospital again," Sonny finally said. "At your brother's office. Seems like neutral ground. Maybe I could take her by the nursery... show her the babies."

Alexis reflexively dropped her hand to her stomach. "That should be fine. I'll call you in about an hour, hour and a half."

An agreement reached, Alexis ended the call and headed into Kelly's, making her order of a club sandwich and fries to go. She decided she would head home, eat and make a few phone calls to start bringing the resort general managers in to interview for the new president position they were creating, and then she would see if Kristina was up for a visit with her father.

She couldn't help but wonder what Sonny would say when he found out she was going to have another child--a child with a man he absolutely despised. Alexis wanted to believe that there were enough remnants of their friendship left, tattered as they might be, that he could be happy for her. But the small chill that ran through her was a sad reminder that she wasn't sure he could be.

But she was sure of one thing... watching Lorenzo's emotions swirl following the discovery of their pregnancy had stirred up her guilt over the time Sonny and Kristina had lost with one another. Whatever the reasons she'd made the choices she had, Alexis knew now the best thing was for father and daughter to build a relationship in the most peaceful situation possible. The problem was, how did she let that happen, how did she help it to happen when every mention of the man she loved sent Sonny's anger into overdrive?

How in the world could she ever get Sonny to accept Lorenzo in her life? It was a big question with no clear answer. But it was imperative. Kristina and Gabriel deserved better than to have their relationship put in danger by their warring fathers. And Kristina didn't need to be trapped between two men who loved her and hated one another.

There had to be some way to make it work... and Alexis was determined to find it.

*****

It wasn't something he allowed himself to do very often. Too dangerous. But something made Robert decide that today was the day. So he logged onto his WSB satellite link, typed in the proper passwords to get through the quadruple-layered security system, and pulled up the video file marked "(RSParis)". He selected the most recent entry and clicked on it. Moments later, the images recorded within filled his screen.

Robin was sitting on her balcony, chatting with friends. Her smile was warm and genuine, and then she laughed about something and even though the video had no audio, Robert could hear the musical sound in his head.

When he'd returned to his life at the WSB but had made the choice to not let Robin or Mac know he was alive, Robert had put two conditions onto the agency he now dedicated his life to. Permanent round-the-clock protection for Robin and an open-door policy wherein Mac could request assistance from the WSB at any time and receive it. Trent had agreed. But it was Robert who had asked the head of Robin's security team to periodically pull video of her without being too invasive, just so he could see with his own eyes that his daughter was all right.

Sometimes it wasn't enough. Sometimes he flew into the city of lights to catch a glimpse of her as she walked from the Metro station to the hospital where she was doing her internship or as she walked in her favorite open-air market looking for treasures.

[I]"You want to tell her?" Robert asked.

"I need to tell her, but I don't know what will happen."

"She loves you."

"Your daughter loves you."[/I]

That brief exchange with Lorenzo continued to echo in Robert's head. Robin would understand, he knew it. She'd forgive him for the secrecy and probably even admire all the work he had done while he had allowed her to believe him dead.

His justification had always been, "It's safer this way. As long as I'm dead, no one knows to go looking at Robin as a way to get back at the phantom who just crushed their latest plot." It was his very own personal party line. And he knew that even though his daughter would grant him absolution, what Robert wasn't sure about was whether or not he could forgive himself. Too many times, Robin had needed her father, and he had let duty or guilt or fear keep him from her. If he hadn't had the courage to reveal himself to her then, what right did he have to go to her now just because the ache in his heart to hug his daughter was tearing at him once again?

The buzz of the security code being accepted by the garage keypad snapped Robert out of his personal thoughts and refocused him on business. He closed the video files and logged off the system, then walked back to his workstation, where he was presently working on a new bomb control panel mockup he needed to deliver to one of his field operatives. He was selecting color-coded wires when the garage interior door accepted another security code and Lorenzo entered. The moment Robert saw him, he saw the change in his friend's carriage.

"You told her."

Lorenzo nodded and smiled, then he crossed to the empty stool near the worktable. "Yes."

Robert smiled. "Told you so."

"Yes," Lorenzo agreed, "yes, you did. Alexis was... she was incredible. If anything, it's going to be easier to protect her now because she sees how much danger there really is."

"But she's staying with you?"

"Yes. And, Robert, there's something else. Something you should know."

He put down the tweezers and wires he'd been working with and gave the younger man his full attention. "What's up, mate?"

"We found out the other day that, um, Alexis is... she's pregnant."

The timing couldn't possibly have been worse. Lorenzo was knee-deep in a years-long operation that was finally coming to a head, his every move being watched and evaluated, the pressure coming at him and those he loved from all sides. But Robert pushed all that from his mind, thinking first of the man in front of him and of his agent second.

"Congratulations."

Lorenzo stood to accept his hug. "Thank you."

The promise he had made to this man suddenly rang in his ears.

[I]"Give me six months, and I'll get you out clean."[/I]

Robert thought about his own daughter and all the time he had missed with her. Then he saw the hope that burned in his protégé's eyes. The WSB veteran felt his resolve firm.

"You met with Zachery and Hirsch?"

Lorenzo nodded. "They made a suggestion for a more complicated bombing scheme, but they gave me sound logic to take back to Renata. He'll probably go for it, but even the time he'll take to consider it will give us a better window to get everything in place."

"Has he given you a timetable yet?"

"I haven't heard from him since I got back. Nano knew to interrupt me yesterday if he did, but nothing."

"That might change," Robert said as he moved toward the computer and opened up his Web browser. He quickly hit the World News site and pointed to the headline. "This was his. He's going to be looking to replace the shipment."

The news story burned off the screen toward Lorenzo. The U.S. troops in Iran had stopped a convoy of women and children for a routine security check near Basra. One of the soldiers had gotten a bad vibe and forced an evacuation of the vehicles for a closer inspection. When two of the women tried to run, the situation had gotten tense, but thankfully, no one had been injured. The net result of the incident, however, was that several hundred guns had been confiscated, lost to whatever rebels had been waiting for them at the convoy's rendezvous point.

"You're his likely first stop," Robert observed. "If he trusts you enough for this Afghanistan offensive, he'll think of you first to do an emergency replacement."

"Did this come from us? The tip, I mean, to the army."

Robert nodded. "Most likely. Trent likes to drop little tidbits like that to keep everyone thinking we're the guys with all the right contacts in all the right places."

"Do I deliver?"

"Yes. Your relationship with Renata is on too good of ground for you not to."

For a long moment, Lorenzo stared at the computer monitor. Finally, he turned his eyes toward Robert.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

The younger man ran his hand over his beard as he tried to find just the right way to phrase his question. Robert gave him the time, moving back to his work on the bomb façade.

"Trent... do you... do you trust him? I mean, do you really trust him?"

It wasn't an easy question and it didn't have a yes or a no answer. Robert trusted Trent in a sense, but after the betrayals he'd suffered from men like Sean Donely and Burt Ramsey, he knew no man in power was without the potential to be corrupted. Trent liked the clout his position gave him. He liked being the puppeteer who doled out bits of information to desperate government leaders looking for an angle to up their poll numbers or seal an election.

But Lorenzo didn't need to hear any of that. He was a man in the homestretch of a long, difficult and horrifying journey. He was a man in love who was expecting his first child and wanted peace. Just a little peace after so much unhappiness and pain.

"I trust him to do what he has to do to make this mission a success," Robert finally answered. "You trust me to make sure that you're okay when it's over."

"I do."

With their personal commitment to one another reaffirmed, the two then turned their attention to the best way to sell Renata on the diversionary ideas Zachary and Hirsch had proposed in their undercover roles as mercenary bombers-for-hire. Thirty minutes into the discussion, Robert's earlier statement turned from prediction to fulfilled prophecy.

"It's Mancuso," Lorenzo said after looking at his caller I.D.

Robert nodded and moved to flip the dampening switch that would make certain any background noise that might give away Lorenzo's position was undetectable on the other side of the phone line. Once that was done, he gave the okay.

"Alcazar."

There was a beat of silence as Lorenzo listened to what the blue-eyed psychotic had to say. A slight nod told Robert the call was about exactly what he'd expected.

"I have some inventory in Venezuela I could get to you within a few days."

The conversation continued, longer than Robert might have expected given the nature of the call. When he saw Lorenzo's face drop and his shoulders tighten, he knew something had happened to once again set his operative back on his heels.

"I'll have to get back to you on that. I understand, but there are other considerations. Yes, yes, of course. I'll phone you in the morning."

Lorenzo nearly hurled the small device toward the wall as the call ended, but reason stopped him and instead he gripped it tightly, then dropped it on the nearby worktable.

"What?" Robert asked.

"You were right, he wants me to replace his lost shipment. Mancuso says Renata is in South America on other business and wants to do the exchange with me personally in Venezuela."

"That's great. Look, Lorenzo, I know you hate the guy, but the more face-to-face contact you have with him, the more likely you are to get details that will help us shut him down that much faster."

Alcazar's vibrant blue eyes burned with fury as he focused his gaze on Robert. "You were right about something else, too. He wants to meet Alexis. He wants me to bring her with me."

Shaking his head, Robert walked toward his clearly troubled friend. "I understand you not wanting to, but you knew this was likely when you got involved with her."

Lorenzo's eyes widened and his jaw tightened. "Did you hear a word I said to you earlier? Alexis is pregnant, Robert. Pregnant. You can't possibly think I'm going to drag her any further into this."

Robert let out a long, slow breath and then placed a comforting hand on Lorenzo's arm. "I know you don't like it, but the truth is... you may not have any choice."

*****

Sonny approached the door of Stefan Cassadine's office, his eyes picking up both Johnny's location and that of the man he now knew as Nano--Lorenzo's head of security.
He was poised to knock on the partially opened door when the voice of the Cassadine patriarch sounded from inside.

"I could stay. The meeting with the lawyers..."

"Is very important," Alexis said, interrupting Stefan's attempt at being overprotective. "You need to cut off this move by the renegade cousins before they get enough stock to cause problems."

"You are important, too."

"We're going to be fine, Stefan, I promise. Nano is outside, Johnny is, too. I suppose there is a chance of bodyguard warfare, but other than that, I should be able to keep the peace between my toddler and her father."

Her attempt at a joke failed to amuse Stefan, but it brought Sonny's dimples to the surface. Even now, she amused him like no one else ever had.

"Uh, excuse me," he said as he pushed the door wider to reveal himself. Stefan stood in front of the desk, Kristina in his arms, her fingers deftly working on messing up his tie as much as possible. Alexis was across from him, her arms folded in front of her.

"Hi, Sonny, come on in," she said, welcoming him more warmly than he'd expected. Meanwhile, Stefan glared toward him.

"Corinthos."

Alexis moved over and put a warning hand on her brother's arm, then she reached for Kristina who tipped over and leaned into her mother's embrace.

"Kristina, do you remember Sonny? He came to play with you."

His daughter's eyes looked at him questioningly for a moment, and then Sonny watched as recognition hit her and she smiled and waved her hand. "Hi, Sonny!"

"Hey, Kristina. I'm so glad to see you again."

He didn't have to ask for her, Alexis shifted the baby toward him, and Kristina easily went into his arms. She giggled and shyly buried her face in his shoulder.

"Stefan," Alexis said as she took her brother's arm and led him toward the door. "Call me if there are any problems. And Lorenzo and I will see you Sunday."

Sonny could feel the scrutiny of Stefan Cassadine's gaze upon him as he settled down onto the blanket Alexis had set up with their daughter's toys. He also heard hushed words pass between brother and sister before finally, Stefan left, the door closing behind him.

"Look!" Kristina exclaimed as she toddled over to a shape sorter and picked it up.

"What you got there?"

She walked back and plopped down in front of him, her hands eagerly emptying the stars and circles and triangles out of the tall plastic tower that had held them. Sonny laughed as she seemed to explain the game to him, babble and clear words mixed together.

"She's actually already mastered this," Alexis said as she settled across from them. "But Miss Kristina was adamant about wanting to bring this toy, weren't you?"

"Couldn't leave the house without it, huh?"

She laughed. "Try saying no to that face."

Kristina glanced up at her father, her hand reaching toward him with a yellow plastic star.

"Star."

Sonny nodded and took the object from her hand. "It sure is. Where does it go?"

She looked at him as if he'd missed the easiest question on a test. It was the same look Alexis used to give him when he'd played dumb to her legalese just to get a rise out of her.

"Go there," Kristina explained, then she pointed to the star-shaped opening.

"Ah, okay."

The game continued for a bit before Kristina turned her attention away from the sorted shapes and instead handed Sonny a book.

"Read."

"Read what?" Alexis asked.

"Please," the little girl answered, though she did so with that attitude that all kids do when they're sick of being told to say please.

He settled his little girl more comfortably in his lap and then opened the pages of "Guess How Much I Love You." Kristina listened intently, pointing to pictures, laughing at the voices Sonny found himself naturally using. When he finished, she bounced up and down and said, "More."

"She wants you to read it again," Alexis explained. "She's big on the repeat right now."

He nodded and began the book again. Kristina nestled more against him. Her movement limited his range of motion but made his heart swell. She was comfortable with him. He hadn't imagined that would make him feel so much, so deeply, but it did. Maybe it was just because Alexis seemed more relaxed today, maybe it was the real start of his bond with his child. Sonny didn't really know. He just knew that the feeling was good.

"Bunny sleepy."

Sonny closed the book after the second reading and nodded. "Yep, very sleepy."

Kristina pushed herself up out of his lap and turned, her tiny hands touching down on his cheeks. "Me not sleepy."

Alexis laughed. "No, because who took a big nap today?"

"Me!"

Sonny watched as his daughter moved into her mother's arms, her soft giggles ringing out as Alexis lightly tickled her tummy.

"You ready for your snack?"

"Mm-hmm!"

[I]"So what, Sonny, are you gonna take her? Do you expect me to raise that brat and have Alexis banging on our door for the rest of her life, begging for five minutes with her?"

"I don't know," he replied.

"You don't know?"

"I don't know!"[/I]

Carly's question haunted him and did little to lessen the war Sonny felt within himself. His gut instinct was to be hard with Alexis, hurt her back the way he felt he'd been hurt, and yes, take Kristina. But that voice was being screamed down by the one that had forced him out of his drunken haze days earlier and made him realize that Alexis couldn't be his enemy if their daughter was going to have the life she deserved. That meant he had to compromise. But Sonny didn't do compromise well.

Kristina feasted on her sliced apples and then moved off to a big piece of white paper Alexis had set out with washable markers. As their budding artist became wrapped up in her work, Alexis pushed herself up onto the sofa, and Sonny followed suit, taking the seat beside her.

"So, uh, you said that you... you hadn't spoken to your lawyer?"

Sonny shook his head. "I mean, I talked to him to ask questions about the agreement you had Dara send, but not about..."

"About forcing me to move out of Lorenzo's house."

"No. Not yet."

He'd thought about it, especially after his fight with Carly. The reminder of how important his enemy was in his daughter's life had fueled Sonny's natural tendency to go for the jugular. Derek Hampton's card was just sitting there on the desk in front of the phone, taunting him, but something had kept Sonny from calling.

"I know that you hate him, Sonny. I'm not fooling myself into thinking that will change."

Alexis' voice was low to keep from drawing Kristina's attention to them. Sonny nodded and turned to face her more.

"But you need to understand that Lorenzo is a permanent part of my life. You cannot change that. And that means he's part of Kristina's."

"You don't trust Carly and you hate the idea of Kristina being around her," he replied. "Why is that okay, but my not wanting him around her isn't?"

"Sonny, has Lorenzo done one thing... one single thing since I got involved with him... to antagonize you?"

He answered honestly. "No."

"No," Alexis said, "because he knew that the last thing I needed was to have you and he at war with each other. He did what was best for me and for Kristina. Can you sit there and truthfully tell me Carly is capable of the same thing?"

The urge to argue was strong, but he knew the subject was the wrong one to fight over. The answer was no, he couldn't. Carly had proven that by going to confront Alexis rather than him about Kristina.

"She's never tried to kill you, Alexis. But you know what's gone down between Lorenzo and I."

For a fleeting moment, Sonny sensed frustration surging through Alexis. He was sure he was right when she drew her hand through her hair. Her eyes turned toward their little girl. Kristina's hands were a rainbow of marker colors, and her formerly white "canvas" was a swirl of color.

"I want you to think about something," Alexis said, her attention turning back to him. "I want you to consider what's going to happen if you try to force my hand on this."

Sonny shook his head dismissively. "I've been to custody hearings before, Alexis, remember?"

"Then you remember what happens once the process starts. Right now you can call and say, 'hey, I'd like to see Kristina,' and I can make that happen. We can find neutral ground and we can start her bonding process with you, and yes, there will probably always be tension because I don't expect you and Enzo to become drinking buddies, but it's manageable. But if you make this a court case, then I'm going to have to be the woman who's fighting you, Sonny. I'm going to have to enforce every rule the court gives us about visitation because to give you an inch would be to put my case in danger. You know that I won't have a choice."

It all sounded very familiar to Sonny. She'd told him almost the same things when he'd thought he would have to force Carly into giving him access to the son they had ultimately lost. And he'd heard some of the same warnings when it came to the many battles they'd had with the Quartermaines over Michael.

"The two of us will spend hours in offices giving depositions designed to do nothing but hurt each other. We'll be in hearings every time one of us wants to do something special with her on a day that doesn't fit with the others court ordered times."

"Alexis... I know all this. But it doesn't change how I feel about him being near my daughter."

His voice had gone hard, his own frustration showing. Sonny's eyes flashed toward Kristina, who was looking toward the adults with some concern.

"Hey, sweetie," he said as he forced a smile onto his face. "Can you put some purple on that picture? I love purple."

Kristina nodded and began her scrutiny of the markers to find the one she wanted. Relieved that he hadn't upset her, Sonny turned back to her mother.

"I do not trust Lorenzo Alcazar. I never will."

"You don't have to," Alexis said, "because I do. All you have to do is trust me. And I realize that's asking a lot, too, Sonny, considering what I..." Her voice caught and she cleared her throat. "I know that I kept her from you, and no matter how justified I felt, I know that hurt you. I'm sorry. I really, truly never wanted to hurt you."

Sonny tightened his jaw as he felt his eyes moisten.

"I know I stole time with her," she continued. He was reminded of watching her argue in court in his defense, only this time she was using her passion and reason against him. "You're going to steal time from yourself if you make this a battle. Hours that you could be with her you'll be with Derek instead, plotting strategy. Weekends you could be spending learning about her favorite foods and the things that scare her--you'll spend those being angry because you can't see her at all because some court order says so."

He startled when her hand reached out for his, and Sonny almost pulled away. But he didn't, and he looked down at her palm resting atop his.

"I realize that you will never accept my reasons for keeping her from you. I'm not asking you to say I was right or to even forgive me. I'm just asking you to love Kristina enough to not trap her between two men that love her--and he does love her, Sonny, no matter what you think."

The tremble in his chin made Sonny pull his right hand up, not to separate from her, but so he could try to hide the tears he felt he couldn't hold back anymore.

"I don't know if I can do it," he told her honestly. "I don't want to fight you, Alexis, I don't, and I believe you when... when you say you want her to know me, but..."

She reached up and took his hand down, pressing it between her palms.

"Just try. Can you just try, please?"

Sonny drew his eyes over to where their daughter sat. Kristina looked up at him and this time, she was not comforted by any fake smile or attempt at pretending he was okay. She pushed herself up and toddled toward the couch, her color-drenched hands reaching for him.

"Sonny cry?"

Alexis reached down and picked her up, but instead of pulling her into her own lap, she placed Kristina in his.

"Just try," she whispered.

His gaze dropped to the concerned face of his little girl. She drew her tiny palm to her mouth, kissed it, and then blew him a kiss. Sonny smiled a real smile in response and it drew her dimples out. Happy again, his daughter scrambled up in his lap and leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

Over her shoulder, Sonny nodded to Alexis. He would try. For Kristina, he would try.

*****

Trent read the communiqué again, then he picked it up and put it through the shredder. He then took those remnants and dropped them in the fireplace of his suburban home.
They were the actions of a man who didn't trust--not even those whose efforts would gain him immense glory were they to pay off as planned.

But it was still a "were" proposition. Robert Scorpio was without question the most unstoppable operative that he or anyone else involved in the world of espionage had ever seen. With him spearheading the mission, it should be destined for success. But while his associate was thinking of the end of the operation, Trent had to think about the fallout and the potential hazards that were out there waiting once Renata was put down.

The director hadn't always had faith the plan would succeed. When Robert had recruited Lorenzo Alcazar, he'd been a vengeance driven hothead. Trent hadn't expected him to last a year in his family's volatile business. But the young man had surprised him. Lorenzo had taken to the game far better than expected. And in recent years, he had mastered it, becoming so convincing at what he did, that not even two seasoned WSB agents planted in his organization doubted he was the ruthless arms dealer he appeared to be.

Renata's power base now sat on very unsteady ground, and that was, truthfully, all due to Lorenzo's work. But an operation that large wasn't going to disappear overnight. There would be consequences once the head of the snake was cut off... associates looking for revenge, wars between former Renata employees and allies to try to gain control of the assets they knew how to reach. And suspicion would be out there that someone had gotten too close, gotten into the organization and brought the once invincible-seeming man to his knees.

If that suspicion were allowed to grow, the other Renatas in the world that would be their next targets would get nervous. It would be harder to get agents close, to make inroads with potential double agents or informants. The only way to head that off was to give those who would question Renata's fall someone to pin the blame on.

Robert would understand, Trent reasoned. It was just the way the game was played. Sacrificial lambs came and went. And the reality was, the WSB's escape hatch was built into the setup. No one would even need to know Lorenzo had worked for them. It would be a case of double-cross. Alcazar had decided to burn Renata in the hopes of taking over his operation. The end result would be Renata busted... and whether Alcazar was taken out by the man himself or by one of his vengeful compatriots, it didn't matter. The underworld would buy the story and a good end could be achieved without exposing the agency's hand in what had happened.

He'd hate to lose a man with the contacts Lorenzo had. But some things simply couldn't be avoided if the big picture was to remain in focus.

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