Prologue

August 26, 2006

Mykonos Island, Greece

Cassadine Estate: Gardens

Misha Nikolaevich Cassadine was christened for the second time in his short life in the presence of a small group of family friends in his family’s ancestral home on the small island off the coast of Greece.

Nikolas Cassadine had kept the invitation list to the bare minimum, choosing not to invite those who had sought to keep Misha from him. He invited only his aunt and her family, his sister-in-law, Courtney’s brother and father, and of course, his new wife was present.

Misha, formerly John Michael Jacks, had had quite the life so far and was in fact, on his second father and second set of godparents. Though he was only seven months old and seemed no worse for the wear, his father was overly protective and insisted that he be renamed as to completely start again–as though they hadn’t been kept apart.

The guest of honor fell asleep shortly after the reception began and Tasha, his new nanny, took him inside the Gothic mansion to the nursery that Nikolas himself had slept in during his youth on the island.

Alexis approached the other new member of the family as the petite brunette stared out towards the Mediterranean Sea. “Quite a month, August has been,” she murmured.

Robin Scorpio glanced her, somewhat distracted, as she twisted the heavy emerald ring on her finger. Another part of the Cassadine legacy that she had willing entered into. “I’m glad we came here for the month,” she remarked. “It was good to get away from everything.”

“Yes,” Alexis nodded. “Are you ready to go back next week, to face…everything you left?”

Robin smiled faintly. “You mean am I ready to go back and face Patrick,” she clarified. When Alexis only smiled and tilted her head to the side, Robin sighed. “He and I were over before Nikolas ever proposed, Alexis. You know that.”

“Yes,” the older woman drew out, “but that doesn’t mean the feelings are no longer there. Nikolas has had a tumultuous year. I believe that you, and now Misha, are his best hope for a future. I would like to see three of you form a family.”

Robin glanced over her shoulder and peered at her new husband, standing with Mike Corbin and Misha’s new god parents, Elizabeth Spencer and Sonny Corinthos. The two men were talking to the young brunette quietly and Robin couldn’t help but hope they weren’t trying to give her advice again.

It had been surprising when Nikolas chose Sonny, but he had merely told her that he wanted to get over the past. Sonny, fresh from a mental breakdown, was in therapy for the first time in his life. He was receiving treatment to stave off the dark episodes that had for so long haunted him. His eyes were clear and he looked lighter than he had in months. Nikolas had wanted to honor Courtney by involving her family, and he and Sonny had a tenuous relationship now. One bolstered by the fact that Nikolas was quite relieved that Sonny and Emily were no longer involved.

“We will be a family,” Robin said softly. “We are a family,” she corrected. “Alexis, whatever I felt for Patrick Drake, it was one-sided and it was a mistake. I know that now. I saw what I wanted to see.”

Samantha McCall joined them and placed a hand on her mother’s forearm. “Kristina’s feeling a little restless. Should I take her in for a nap?”

“Let me do it,” Alexis smiled. “Keep Robin company.” She left and the two women stood there awkwardly, both cast-offs of the same man and each struggling to find their place in this new family.

“It’s nice that the two of you have bonded,” Robin said finally.

“It’s still a little weird,” Sam admitted. “But I’m mostly adjusted.” She bit her lip and turned her attention back to Sonny, Nikolas and Elizabeth. “They’re advising her not to file for divorce.”

Robin followed her gaze. “I suspected that. With Sonny’s health issues, he’d be a big fan of sticking it out and Nikolas is Lucky’s brother.”

“What do you think she should do?” Sam asked. “Stay with him? Wait until he’s out of rehab?”

“If she were by herself,” Robin said slowly, “I would tell her that she should wait until Lucky finishes his treatment. See where things are then. But she’s a mother first and what happened to Cameron was…” she shook her head. “I have no real connection to him but I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to help him.”

“But you did,” Sam said. Her eyes narrowed speculatively. “And so did Dr. Drake. The two of you make a good team.” She paused for a moment. “I’ve heard talk around the hospital there’s no better surgical team than Patrick Drake’s and that you and he work better together than most.”

“He’s a brilliant surgeon,” Robin admitted. “He did the hard part. Pediatric neurosurgery is rough; you lose more than you save. I only kept Cameron stable with my drug treatment for the surgery. Either way, I’m relieved it worked out. But if I were in Elizabeth’s position, I’d do what’s best for my son.”

Sam nodded. She shifted restlessly. “I was surprised when Nikolas announced your engagement,” she admitted. “I thought you were dating–”

Robin held up a hand to ward her off. “Patrick and I were sleeping together,” she remarked bluntly. “But we ended that when I–I couldn’t do it anymore.”

Sam nodded. “It’s just–” she paused and licked her lips nervously. “Nikolas has been really good to me since he found out about Alexis. And I wouldn’t want–marriages don’t seem to last very long in this town.”

“I never would have married him if I didn’t believe we could make it work,” Robin said softly. “I’ve never been married before, Sam. I’ve never even been engaged. It’s an important step, not one I could ever take lightly.”

“I understand,” Sam replied. Before she could press the matter, Elizabeth escaped the good intentions of Sonny and Nikolas and joined the ladies.

“Save me,” she pleaded. “Sam, can’t you distract them from giving me advice?”

Hearing Elizabeth’s subtle request to be left alone with Robin, Sam smiled and excused her self. Elizabeth cleared her throat. “I thought you might want an update from home.”

Robin shook her head. “I appreciate the thought, Elizabeth, but it’s not necessary. I don’t need to know who Patrick’s sleeping with or–”

“Robin…” Elizabeth put a hand on her forearm. “Despite the fact that I intend to divorce Lucky, Nikolas is my brother and you are now his wife. We’re family. You should be prepared when you go back to Port Charles.”

Robin exhaled slowly. “You’re right. What’s going on?”

“Well, he’s not sleeping with Carly.”

That one statement released a knot in Robin’s stomach that she hadn’t realized existed. She didn’t know just how much she wanted that to be said. “How–how do you know?”

“Because after you left for Greece, I took Patrick aside and smacked him,” Elizabeth said. “And I hope you don’t mind, but I gave him a cliff notes version of exactly what kind of hell Carly’s put you through.”

Robin hesitated. “What exactly did you tell him?”

“Nothing specific,” Elizabeth assured her. “But I thought he might appreciate knowing that Carly was only using him to punish you and as soon as I explained that, that pissed him off. And when I told him that Carly had a history of lying about the paternity of children, he seemed to understand that you were involved in the last round of lying, so I guess that was enough for him. Or maybe he really didn’t like being used to hurt you.”

“Well, I suppose that’s a point for him. It doesn’t really matter, Elizabeth. I didn’t marry Nikolas because I was angry at Patrick.”

“I know that,” Elizabeth said with a faint smile. “But that doesn’t mean you weren’t in love with Patrick.”

“We should focus on Misha today,” Robin changed the subject. She put a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder. “This is his day.”

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