A.E. and Stefan have come face to face.

" Hello, Papa."

Stefan moves closer to her. " Are you alright?"

" I will be. Thanks to a friend."

" A friend?"

" Yes. Someone that I met on my vacation. I had the good fortune of sitting next to a nurse on the plane. When I was injured, she did not hesitate and the doctors here say that she saved my life."

" Well, then I must thank her. Who is this nurse?"

" Well, you know, I never knew her name. But, I know that she is going to return soon."

Stefan, by this time is sitting next to A.E. He takes her face in his hands. There are tears forming in his eyes.

" When I got to the hospital, I did not know what to expect. You cannot imagine what thoughts were going through my head. I feared that I had lost you."

" But, I am fine, as you see. Or will be."

Stefan kisses her on both cheeks. " And thank goodness for that. I don't know what I would have done if anything had happened to you..."

" But nothing did. Nothing that time won't heal. I am SO glad to see you Papa. You don't know how much."

" Well, with the way circumstances have been between us, I am very happy to hear those words coming from you. So, tell me about your friend."

" Well, we met at the resort. We became fast friends. I have not been so relaxed around someone in quite a while. I cannot wait for you to meet her. I think you will find her quite pleasant. So, where is your wife? Alexis? Niko?"

" There are things that I must tell you. Circumstances that have changed in Port Charles. My wife and I...."

Bobbie enters the room.

" Well, here is my Florence Nightingale. Papa, meet my Savior."

" Barbara?"

" THIS is your father?"

" THIS is the nurse that saved your life?"

" BARBARA? What about L.D.? (to Stefan) THIS is your wife? (to Bobbie) HE's the snake?"

" Barbara, I demand to know what's going on here."

" Just like you, Stefan to go around DEMANDING things. Well, I guess I will tell, since it seems I am the only one who knows all. (Bobbie extends her hand) You wanted introductions? How do you do...I'm Barbara Jean Cassadine."

" I thought you were Barbara Jean Spencer."

" And I thought Alicia had disabused you of THAT notion. And you are..."

" My name is Anastasia Ekaterina Cassadine. What about L.D.?"

" Oh, that. Well, I didn't want to be found on my vacation, (shoots a look over to Stefan), because some people can be such spoilsports."

" I adored the gifts, Barbara. "

" Oh, I am so happy, Stefan."

A.E., noticing the tension between them, interrupts, "Well, I suppose that we did indeed today prove the old addage "That they're only 75 people in the world. Who would have thought, of all the people."

" Yes, of all the people. Well, I just came in here to check on your progress. I will check back later. It was nice to finally meet you, Anastasia."

" The feeling is mutual, Barbara."

Bobbie is about to leave the room when Stefan says, "Barbara."

" What Stefan?"

" I just wanted to thank you. Katya says that you saved her life."

" I'm a nurse. It was my job. But, you're welcome." Bobbie leaves.

A.E. turns to Stefan, " What happened to "Cassadines Don't Divorce?"

" There are circumstances that you don't quite understand."

" Well, enlighten me."

" I don't believe that you are up to hearing the saga of my marriage."

" You can't avoid the subject forever."

" I suppose I am more interested in this trip you took with Barbara."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikolas and Emily are walking by the Nurses Station, when Amy sees him.

" Nikolas, what happened to you?"

" I was just cut. That's all."

" That's all?"

" Actually, Amy, Nikolas is a hero."

" Well, I know that, Emily. Nikolas is a big hero of mine. (Nikolas blushes) Isn't he just the best? You know what Nikolas, seems as if GH is overrunning with Cassadines this evening. There was an A.E. Cassadine brought in earlier. Any relation?"

" A.E. Cassadine is here? Why? Why, Amy? Where can I find her? Amy you HAVE to help me!"

" Nikolas, calm down. I'll look her up. OK...she's in room 634. Nikolas...NIKOLAS..."

Nikolas is already running down the hallway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A.E. and Stefan are talking.

" So, Papa. Are you going to enlighten me about your wife? No. OK. So, where are Alexis and Niko?"

At this moment, Nikolas bursts into the room.

"Sasha?"

" Hello, Niko." She notices Nikolas' bandages. " What happened to you?"

Stefan notices also. " Yes, Nikolas. What is wrong?"

" I just got a cut, that's all. I'm not the one in a hospital bed."

Nikolas goes to the bed and hugs Sasha. He is completely worried.

" Are you alright? What's the matter? Why are you here? How did you get here?"

" I was involved in a plane crash. I was inured, but, fortunately, I was sitting next to a nurse who saved my life."

" A nurse? From here? Who? I will thank her."

" Barbara saved Katya's life."

" Bobbie? You met Bobbie?"

" Well, from what people tell me, I suppose I have."

Nikolas looks at Stefan. Stefan understands.

" Well, I am going to go check with your doctors and have them give me a breakdown of your condition. I will check back with you later."

Stefan comes over and gives Sasha a kiss on the forehead. He leaves.

" Well, is it my imagination, or was there a chill between you and Papa just now?"

" I don't think this is the time or the place to talk about it."

" That is an affirmative, I see. How did you find out about me?"

" Just by chance. I was walking in the hall when Amy, that's Laura's sister, told me that an A.E. Cassadine had been admitted. I got your room number and came as soon as possible. ARE you OK?"

" I am fine, Niko. How are YOU?"

Nikolas looks away. He cannot meet Sasha's eyes.

" I am doing fine."

" Yes. I can see that. Just fine. Your letters became not only more terse but infrequent, to the point where they came not at all."

" I wrote you a letter. But it came back "return to sender."

" Oh. I see. You don't know how I looked forward to them with an almost frightening frequency. Wherever I was in the world, my staff made sure that those letters came to me."

" You could have called."

" No, I could not have called. Becasue I knew that if I heard your voice, I woudl not be able to stay away when you asked for me. And I also knew that you had too much Cassadine pride to ask me to come in a letter. So, I was protecting myself."

" From me?"

" No. Not you , Niko. You know that. Never you."

" Then from HIM."

" Yes, him. Niko, what has happened between you two? I have never seen the two of you so distant."

" Uncle is not the man I thought he was."

" None of us can live up to ideals, Niko. Each of us makes mistakes. I am sure that Papa wants to correct his with you. If you only give him the chance to..."

" I DON'T believe this. I am here but a few minuted and here you are defending him? Sasha, don't you think it is a BIT hypocritical for you to be defending him, considering that the two of you have not spoken in over a year?"

" Niko. Our situations are completely different. You know the innerworkings of our relationship are..."

" Yes, I know. What is between Uncle and Sasha, is between Uncle and Sasha. Private Propert. No tresspassers. No outsiders allowed."

" Niko, please. Yes, I have difficulties with Papa. But, that does not mean that I still don't love him...and you. And that I would not want for there to be a strain between you two. I didn't plan on coming to Port Charles. But, here I am. I missed my family. <quietly, almost a whisper> Desperately."

" Well, he never said it. But, he missed you like crazy. There would be times that I would see him check his watch at 5:30, and sometimes he would even pick up the telephone. This seperation was hard on him too. But, we are having problems."

" I see that. So, how is Wyndermere?"

" I wouldn't know. I moved out."

" MOVED OUT?"

" I am staying with a friend. Her name is Katherine."

" Uh-huh." Sasha winces.

" Are you in pain? I can go get a nurse."

" No. You are better medicine than anything a nurse could get me."

Bobbie walks in.

" Hello, Nikolas." (to Sasha) I see that you are still alive and kicking."

" Thanks to you."

" Bobbie, I just wanted to thank you for saving my cousin. She's very precious."

" Well, you're welcome Nikolas. But, you know, she's as stubborn as you are when it comes to following orders."

Nikolas says to Sasha, " Don't mess with General Jones here. She is tougher than she looks, and is an exacting taskmaster. She always wins here at GH."

" I'll take that under advisement." (to Bobbie) So, how am I doing , General?"

" You are mending nicely. Well, I'll see you in the morning. Bye Anastasia. Bye Nikolas." Bobbie leaves.

" Niko. Do you know what went wrong between Barbara Spencer and Papa?"

" She tried to drug him and ransack through his belongings."

" Drug him? Are you serious?" Sasha Laughs " I could see her doing that. Why?"

" Cause the great Luke Spencer told her to. (to himself) Everything Luke says, Bobbie and Laura do. He told her to marry Uncle so that he would have a spy in the Cassadine camp."

" Niko. You don't really believe that. You can't."

" Yes, it's true."

" No. Niko, in all your letters to me those first few months when you came to Port Charles, do you know the only consistent positive subject about which you continued to write? It wasn't Lesley Lu, because after your mother cut you out of her life..again, you nad nothing happy to say about her, except for how much you missed her. And it certainly wasn't your mother. No, the only topic of constant joy for you was your friendship with Bobbie Spencer. "

" But, it was all a fraud."

" I don't believe that. I must say that I was suspicious of her at first, but your letters won me over. I don't think that you are stupid Nikolas, and could be fooled. And I spent a lot of time with Bobbie over this past week in Hawaii. We didn't know who the other was, and we talked about things. Like the man she was leaving. She sahs that the most bitter part of the breakup was that his son thought that she did not love him; that he thought she never did. Her eyes welled up with tears Nikolas, as she told me of this. She told me of how she was motherless, and how she wanted so much to help and love this motherless stepson of her. She had such a tone of regret at all that happened, Nikolas. Nothing she felt for you was  phone. I may only knew her from your letters and a week in Hawaii, but I don't think she would be capable of such deception and treachery on a grand scale. I saw the way she looked at you, such gentleness. She cares Niko. She cares."

Nikolas whispers , " You really believe that, Sasha?"

" I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. Remember, I always tell you the truth."

" It's the backbone of our deal."

" Yes, it is. And always will be."

" Well, I'm going to let you get some rest. Sasha, I am SO glad that you are here. You've been here only a few hours, and already I feel better."

" You are not such bad medicine youself."

Nikolas leans over and kisses Sasha.

" Now, get some rest."

" Yes, sir. General Cassadine, sir." Nikolas is about to walk out the door. " Niko?"

" Yes?"

" I love you."

" Same here. Nite."