Stefan is in the Convervatory when Sasha comes in.

" Hello, Katya." Stefan kisses her. " How was your trip?"

" Very, successful, Papa. I acquired Telestar."

" That's quite a coup for you. You must be pleased."

" That I am. Enough of small talk, Papa. Don't you think that we should discuss matters?"

" Such as?"

" Let us begin with Niko. How is it that he no longers resides with you? How could you lose control over him like that?"

" Oh, and when you were his age, I had you under control?"

(laughs) " No. Point taken. I still believe that it is completely inappropriate, where he is dwelling."

" I am  not pleased myself, but Nikolas will have to come home, in his own time."

" And PUBLIC SCHOOL?"

" I know. Enough said on that subject."

" And your wife?"

" Barbara and I would be divorced if it were not for a clerical error."

" I understand that. But, I still do not understand why you thought that you had to divorce her."

" She tried to drug me, Katya."

" Oh, Papa, please. I know the history of the Annals of Cassadine Marriages, and she didn't even succeed. It's a blip when comparing it to other marriages."

" And this is supposed to satisfy me? Or appease me?"

" I'm just saying that maybe you were too harsh on Barbara and should reconsider."

" Did  I miss the time when you went and furthered your education and became a marriage counselor?"

" No. But, I do know you, Papa. You aren't over with Bobbie Spencer, despite your posturing. If you were...."

" IF I were...."

" Then you would do anything and everything in your power to dispatch her from your life. As it is, you seem to enjoy this game that you have going on with her."

" That's ludicrous. I cannot wait to have Barbara exorcised from my life once and for all so that I..."

" Can be with your mistress? Please, Papa, I had more respect for you than for you to become so stereotypical. Leave your wife for your mistress..That's so...AMERICAN! But, I must say, she is your type."

" Type?"

" The type that you have paid for years: blond, buxom, fairly entertaining on a good day, but not much there."

" And this is the type of woman that you believe Katherine is."

" This is the type of woman that I KNOW Ms. Bell is. And you can add pathetic to boot."

" Pathetic?"

" What else would you call a woman who falls in love with the man who shot and paralyzed her?"

" And how do you know this? Nikolas, or Alexis?"

" Does it really matter? What matters is is that you are about to go through a messy divorce. And over what?"

" I will NOT discuss my relationship with Katherine with you."

" Fine. But, you can't avoid me forever, Papa. And you know it. So, how about the reason that you wanted my help in the first place."

" Yes. The takeover of ELQ."

" Exactly."

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

Dara is in her apartment, when the doorbell rings. She opens the door to Jax, standing there , with a dozen roses.

" So. Did you miss me?"

" Well, Mr. Jacks. How was London?"

" Boring without you. Did you miss me?"

" Maybe. Are those for me?"

" Who else? And this is also for you." Jax gives her a box. Inside is a beautfil gold and onyx bracelet with matching earrings. " I was going through Harrods, looking for something for my mother, when this caught my eye. I thought that it was you immediately. "

" Jax. This is so beautiful. Thank you."

" I was hoping that you would wear it on our first official date. Tomorrow night?"

" Fine. Jax, I have to go to take a deposition, so..."

" So, you have to go. That's fine. I'll see you tomorrow night then. Around 7."

" Around Seven."

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

" So, tell me Papa. How much does Alexis know of our plans?"

" She believes that all we are after is ELQ Jakarta."

" And not the entire company."

" Correct."

" Eventually, we will have to tell her of our plans."

" True. But, are there not certains plans that must be accomplished first?"

" True. And I am on top of them, Papa. The first matter of business, is to get the Cassadines a seat on the ELQ Board. I will take care of that matter quite soon."

" I certainly hope so, Sasha."

" Papa. When all is said and done, ELQ will be destroyed. It will so devastated that we will be able to come in and sell it off. Be patient, Papa. You know that I am the best at what I do. That's why you had me do it in Jakarta."

" I did indeed. Would you like to inform me of your plans?"

" Not really. Not until they've begun to take shape. I have begun to explore an entirely new angle, though."

" Oh?"

" Justus Ward. I believe that he may be more useful to our plans than I could have originally have conceived."

" Well, would you like to meet our next conquests?"

" What are you proposing?"

" I have to go over to the Quartermaines for a meeting of the General Hospital Board. All the main Quartermaine Board Members will be there. It would be an excellent chance for you to evaluate them."

" Is it that project that you faxed me, that you wanted my input on?"

" Yes. I wanted to see how well you work on your feet. I saw the prospectus. It was superb."

" Did you think that I would do anything other than excellence?"

" No. Shall we go?"

" Fine."

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

Edward and Justus are looking over some papers when Ned comes into the Q Den.

" Well, hello Justus. Still smarting from losing Telestar?"

" Not at all, Ned. It wasn't mine to lose. It was your baby."

" That you couldn't bring in. You seem to be slipping, Couz."

" As much as your slipping cost us 2 plants in Venezuela. You know what they say about people in Glass Houses...COUZ..."

" Will the two of you stop your sniping. Suffice it to say, ELQ has taken some hits in the past week. It would have been miuch better for the company if BOTH of you had succeeded, but both of you FAILED...MISERABLY."

" Way to go, Edward. Build up our confidence."

" You want a cheerleader, Justus, go out and hire one. The bottom line, is that I want no more losses for ELQ. Now, if you two will excuse me, I promised Lila that I would take her to lunch at the Club."

Edward leaves and Justus and Ned are just left there.

" You know, Justus, he's right. About us both messing up, and that we should do what's best for the company."

" Ned, PULEEZE! You fully sabotaged the Telestar deal. Did you not think that I would go back and check all the numbers. I did that, and we still lost the deal. So, COUZ, take your phoniness somewhere else."

" You really can't stand me, can you?"

" We don't have to get along, Ned. We're family."  Justus leaves to go workout.

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

" Nikolas, where are you taking me?", Emily asks while being blindfolded.

" You'll see." Nikolas takes off the blindfold and Emily is at the Cassadine Retreat, and she is at the pool. There is a view that would take your breath away. " Do you like?"

" Yes, Nikolas. I like."

" Now, I called your house and got your bathing suit size. There are several choices for you, in the pool house. That is if you want to swim."

" I do."

Emily and Nikolas swim for a bit. They are sitting on the edge of the pool when Nikolas begins to talk.

" You know what I like about you, Emily?"

" No, what?"

" That I can talk to you and that you have some concept of what I'm going through."

" Well, we both have strange families."

(laughs) " That's an understatement."

" So. How's your cousin?"

" I think she's fine. But, I wonder what she's up to?"

" Is she always up to something?"

" Yes."

" Are you happy to see her?"

" Really happy. You see...she's the only one in my family that tells me the truth. No matter what. And in my family, that is a rare quality indeed."

" I understand that. Lying is definitely a Quartermaine Way of Life. Nikolas. Why aren't you living at home?"

" Because I found out some things about my Uncle that I just cannot deal with right now. You think I'm silly for not living with him?"

" No. I get it why you would want to be elsewhere. When it was getting time for the Quartermaines to adopt me, I freaked out. I didn't think that I wanted to join their insane asylum, so, I hit the road."

" YOU ran away?"

" Yes. All the way across the country."

" By yourself?"

" No. Lucky helped me. "

" Oh, Lucky."

" Yes, Lucky. Your brother is quite resourceful. Of course, all we did was come cross country. You switched continents. When you came to see your sister."

" That I did. Emily, what do you do when everybody lies to you?"

" I don't know. You know they say that the lies are done to protect you."

" So, you get that excuse too?"

" All the time. But, why don't they see that the lies just make it worse?"

" I don't know. I went rollerblading with Lucas and Bobbie the other night."

" Does your Uncle know?"

" No."

" How did it make you feel?"

" There was a minute, when everything was right with the world. I miss Bobbie. And Lucas."

" Then, how could it be wrong for you to be with them?"

" After what Bobbie did..."

" What did she do?"

(whispering) " She tried to poison my uncle."

" You mean kill him?"

" No. She said that she was just drugging him. But still."

" I know that was bad an all. But, what does it have to do with you?"

" Emily, he's MY Uncle!"

" It's still NOT you. I suppose, living in the family that I do, I had to learn that in order to live with the Q's, you have to take them one on one. And how they relate to you specifically. Cause if you try and take sides on what people do to one another, it gets all confused. Understand?"

" I think so. "

" Like the way that you seperate Lucky from Lesley Lu. They both are your siblings, Nikolas. You just choose to acknowledge one and not the other. A relationship between you and Bobbie shouldn't interfer with you and your Uncle. Has Bobbie ever tried to turn you against your Uncle? "

" Never. In all the time that they were together. Even when.."

" When?"

" Even when he was seeing Katherine on the side, she never said anything bad about him."

" Well, if Bobbie thought enough to keep things between your Uncle and herself, then why can't you do the same? I know that your Mom isn't here, Nikolas. And I can imagine how  much that hurts you. Why should you cut out of your life, someone who clearly means so much to you. What about Katherine Bell?"

" She's my friend, Emily. But, I can't really see her as this Mother Figure. Bobbie was that to me. And when she left, it was like I lost my Mother all over again."

" But, you didn't lose her. I'm not saying that overnight all will be well. But, you gotta grab good relationships where you can. Look at me? I have two brothers and a cousin who don't really care for each other. BUT, I have carved out good relationships with all three of them. Put them in a room together, and they begin fighting with one another within 2 minutes. But, they all love me. I can't do anything about how they deal with each other. Only how they deal with me. I don't think that you can fix your Uncle and Bobbie. But, you can decide if what you had with Bobbie is worth fighting to keep."

" How did you get so wise, Emily Quartermaine?"

" I think by having life sock me in the teeth so many times."

They both laugh and go enjoy the meal Nikolas had prepared.

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

Setting: The Quartermaine mansion. Stefan wants for Sasha to help with the rebuilding of the GH endowment, and he wants for her to meet with Edward, Ned and Alan about financial plans. She has reviewed Stefan’s plans and made some changes. They are in the living room. Alan is running late, and so is Ned. Edward and Stefan are talking about the upcoming AIDS Ball, so Sasha decides to take her own private tour. She is mildly perturbed that Mai has yet to get her the report on Justus Ward. But she promises that it will be on Spoon Island when she returns from the meeting.

Meanwhile, Justus has just come from an extensive workout in the Q’s gym. He heard Stefan and Edward in the living room. So, as per his request, Cook has some nourishment ready for him in the den. He’s sitting quite comfortably, drinking OJ on the couch and reading the paper when someone sees him.

" Do the Quartermaines know that their House Counsel is so at home here?"

" Wait. I know that voice. But it can’t be. (Puts down the paper and sees Sasha) What the hell are you doing HERE?"

Before Sasha can answer, in walk Ned, Alan, Stefan and Edward.

" Ah, here she is. Katya, we  were looking for you.

Edward says, "  I see that you’ve met Justus."

" Yes, I was just remarking how “at home” your House Counsel seems to be."

" Well, I certainly hope so. This is his home."

" Pardon?"

" Justus is not just ELQ’s legal counsel. He’s my grandson."

" Your grandson? (to Justus) You get more interesting each time we meet."

" Well, Katya. I think that you should meet the Chief of Staff, Dr. Alan Quartermaine. And Ned Ashton, CEO of ELQ. My daughter, A.E. Cassadine."

Justus is astonished. "YOU’RE A.E. Cassadine?"

"  Guilty as charged. (extending her hands to Alan and Ned) Very Nice to meet you."

"  Shall we go into the library and have our meeting?" Edward ushers everyone out.

The gentlemen listen and approve of the changes in the financial proposal that Sasha has made. Stefan stays silent, just watching with admiration at the savvy and finesse with which she handles each of their questions, challenges and concerns. By the end, she has had her way on all accounts. A True Cassadine, Stefan thinks. The meeting breaks up. On her way out, she sees Justus, who waited for her.

" I think that you owe me dinner, Ms. Cassadine."

"  Owe you? For what?"

" Your shameless con. Seriously, I would like to take you to dinner. Say tomorrow night at 8? Are you staying at Winderemere?"

"  Yes."

" Then, I’ll pick you up, tomorrow, on Spoon Island."

"  It’s a date then."

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

Mai is in Sasha's suite at the Port Charles Hotel, when Sasha comes.

" Hello, Mai."

" Sasha."

" So. Is everything ready for Mr. Corinthos?"

" All is in place. When are you going to see him?"

" There is no time like the present. I must say, Mai. I am disappointed in your information about Justus Ward. There was nothing..."

" Of his ties to the Quartermaines. I know. That information took more time. But, here it is."

" Excellent. I have a date with Mr. Ward tomorrow night."

" Well, you will be well prepared. And I think that you will find that Mr. Ward is full of surprises."

" You have me intrigued. But, I must go see Mr. Corinthos."

" Good luck."

" Luck has nothing to do with it, Mai. And Mr. Corinthos is going to know that. Very soon. Bye."

" Bye, Boss."

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

Setting: Sonny’s penthouse. Jason opens the door. Sasha is there.

" Yeah?"

"  I would like to see Mr. Corinthos."

  (curt & sarcastically) " Who shall I say wants him?"

"  Tell him Anastasia Cassadine is here with a business proposition."

Jason leaves them alone.

Sonny enters. "Well, Ms. Cassa-DYNE, what business could we possibly have to discuss? Are you any relation to Stefan Cassadine?"

" He's my father.  And I would like to make you an offer for your ELQ stock."

" I’m not selling."

"  You have not even heard my proposal. It’s quite fair. A swap of sorts. Your ELQ Stock for 3 companies if equal value. They are all legitimate businesses, of course."

"  Maybe your hearing is bad. I said that  I’m not selling."

"  I see. " (gets up and walks towards the door. suddenly turns around and throws something at Sonny) " CATCH!"

(Sonny catches the object, a disk) " What the hell is this?"

" THAT is the evidence that disappeared from the evidence files of the FBI’s RICO Files. Now, shall we sit down and negotiate?"  (Sonny is staring at her) " I am glad that I finally have your attention. Please sit, Mr. Corinthos, and I will outline the plans for our deal."

Sasha outlines the deal. " You currently own 12% of ELQ. Now market value has that priced at around $75 million dollars. You purchased said stock for $3 million. Sort of puts new meaning in the phrase “Robber Baron”. I am willing, to trade 3 legitimate companies, one in the US, the others in Thailand, and Chile to your control, for exchange of said stock. I will be signing over my voting proxy to you. In the eyes of the Quartermaines, you will still be the owner. Because they are a privately held corporation, I do not have to inform them of my ownership for 6 months. The three companies total value is around $60 million, which is what the  stock was worth when you originally purchased it. I thought that we would have the other $15 million be a “good faith” gesture."

" “Good Faith” gesture?"

"  Yes. I kept you out of the jaws of the FBI. I think that is a big faith gesture on my part."

" But YOU were the one who set me up with Ignacio in the first place."

"  Am I? You KNOW that?"

"  Come on. Let’s not play stupid. And what’s gonna stop me from arranging, for you,  one of those “accidents” that seem to befall people that cross me."

" My life insurance policy."

"  Life-Insurance?"

"  You cannot possibly think that what you have is the original, Mr. Corinthos. Please. Whatever names I have been slandered with, fool is not among them. That is but a copy. And the original is with someone who will make sure it gets into the “right” hands upon any “misfortune” that might befall me."

" I see."

"  I am glad that you do. I see it as a life-insurance policy, with both you and I as beneficiaries. As long as I am alive, then you will have the freedom that you so cherish. But if I am the victim of an unfortunate “accident”, you will for the next 25 years, become the boyfriend of someone named “Shorty”. I think that this policy is better than Lloyd’s.  Don’t you agree? Now, let me just sign this voting rights proxy, and I will be on my way."

"  What makes you think that I won’t go to the Quartermaines right after you leave?"

"  1. There’s no love lost between you and the Quartermaines.

2. You would enjoy sticking it to them, knowing something that they don’t.

3. You wouldn’t want for me, one day at breakfast to decide that you aren’t a man of your word and force me into contacting old Harvard friends of mine at the Justice Department. You will vote the shares, as usual, until I tear up the proxy. I hope that I am finally clear. (getting up) Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you. (is in the door on her way going out)"

"  Your father is smoother."

"  True. But I’m no less effective. Have a good day, Mr. Corinthos."