Chapter 7


The sunlight came through the tall louvered window in Nikolas’ room and splashed itself in ribbons on the hardwood floor. Nikolas stirred in his bed, bits and pieces of the events from the previous night scattered about in his mind and he struggled to rope them into some semblance of order.  A long car trip, an intruder, rain, city lights, everything jumbled together and culminated with a memory of Gia lying curled up like a child on her bed, her brows creased with worry even in sleep.   Suddenly, Nikolas was awake, blinking at the light and dashing about the room getting dressed.  As he passed Gia’s room, he noted the open door and proceeded down the stairs to find Lucky sitting cross-legged on the sofa, a cup of coffee in his hands, the television tuned to a newscast.

“Good-morning,” Nikolas said.  “Is Gia here?”

“Up and gone,” Lucky replied, turning the TV. off.  “She left a half hour ago for her interview.  Said she’ll be back before lunch.”

“Oh, I see,” Nikolas’ voice was flat, disguising his disappointment at having missed seeing her.  “Was she okay?”

“She seemed fine,” Lucky shrugged, watching his brother closely.  “She didn’t say much, just that she was in a hurry and wanted to make a good impression.  I told her you got home fine and that I filled you in on what I knew but she would have to give you the details.”  Lucky got up and walked with Nikolas into the kitchen, sat at the table.  His brother retrieved a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator, shook it and determined it was empty and placed it in the trash, then tried another carton with more success.

“I was wondering why the empty orange juice. carton was in the frig but I didn’t know if I should throw it out,” Lucky remarked as Nikolas filled a glass with juice and joined him at the table.

“Gia believes food is regenerable and if you leave an empty box, jar, carton sitting around long enough, it will magically re-fill,” Nikolas joked straight-faced and took a sip from his glass. 

Lucky laughed but his uneasiness with the events of the night before was foremost on his mind and he soon turned serious.  “Nikolas, I’ve been thinking about what happened and I can only come up with one solution.  You’re not going to like it but let me finish before...”

Lucky stopped talking as the sound of the doorbell rang through the house; the brothers exchanged a knowing look before Nikolas rose reluctantly to answer the door.  Not surprised to find Helena was his early morning visitor, he stepped aside, wordlessly allowing her into the house while Lucky watched from the kitchen door, his blue eyes narrowed, his hands in his jeans pockets.

Helena made her way across the entry-way and into the living-room, tugging delicately at the fingers of her cream-colored leather gloves as she spoke.  “Good-morning, darling.  And Lucky, what a pleasant surprise to find you here; you’re looking well.”

Lucky nodded and leaned against the door-frame, crossing his arms across his chest and saying nothing.

“Come to assess the damage, Grandmother?” Nikolas asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Helena’s fine features wore a look of mild puzzlement.  “What damage?” She looked about the neat, comfortably furnished room as though inspecting for broken glass and over-turned chairs.   “I came to talk to you about the countess’ wedding; it’s in a few days, you know.  It will be our first public appearance since your unfortunate uncle’s demise,” she continued, feigning a sigh.  “I wanted to lend my support to you, my darling, by attending with you; social gatherings of this size can be trying under normal circumstances.”

“And for that, you felt obligated to come all the way to my home, unannounced?” Nikolas pointed out.  “I receive invitations like the countess’ almost weekly, you’ve never come to discuss any of those personally before.”

“Who’s the countess?” Lucky asked from his spot holding up the kitchen door-frame. 

Nikolas turned to his brother and explained,  “Yet another far-flung relation, this time a Parisian, is indulging herself by throwing a huge wedding reception for herself in order to show off her latest husband.  My grandmother, of course, sees this as an excellent opportunity to demonstrate to her world that I support the way she connived and bullied her way into seizing control of the Cassadine estate.”  With that, he turned back to Helena, “I will not be joining you on your trip, Grandmother.  I am very busy and, furthermore, Thursday is a holiday and I will be spending it with family,” he said looking pointedly at Lucky.

“A holiday?  You mean Thanksgiving?  How quaintly American of you Nikolas, and how unwise,” Helena advised.  “I beg that you reconsider.”

“I will not.” Nikolas walked to the front door, indicating to Helena she was being shown out. 

Helena lifted her purse and gloves from the side table where she’d laid them and followed Nikolas sedately.  “And where is your feisty little friend today?”  She asked.

“Ah, there’s the real point of this visit,” Nikolas spat out.  “I assume you mean Gia, and it’s none of your business where she is.  Didn’t your henchman report back to you, yet, Grandmother?  Your nasty plan didn’t work; your hired help is truly lacking subtlety and talent these days.”  Nikolas suddenly changed his tone, his eyes hard as they bore into the woman’s face, his voice cold, “And what the hell was your plan?  Your desperation is showing, Helena. Really, sending a thug to break into my home!  Are you so deluded you believe I wouldn’t know it was your doing?  Call off your dogs, Helena, your guerrilla tactics will not work on me.  You forget who raised me.”  Nikolas yanked the door open and gave Helena room to pass.

“I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re talking about, darling, but it sounds quite serious.  A break-in, you say?  I hope you notified the police.  And your young friend must be terrified.  Isn’t her brother a lieutenant with the police department?  Surely, he and his mother must be beside themselves with worry,” Helena purred as she passed through the door.   “I can see you have much on your mind today, my dear and I must go and prepare myself for my trip.  I will see you when I return.  Good-by, Lucky.”

“You know, Helena,” Lucky called out as she retreated down the walk-way, “Paris is lovely this time of year, perhaps you should consider extending your visit a bit.”

Nikolas slammed the door shut and stared at it for a moment as he struggled to gain control of his temper.  Helena’s smug response to his accusations and her parting words regarding Gia’s family were ominously clear.  She’d found a way to get to him yet again and for the millionth time since the night before, it seemed, he asked himself how Stefan would handle the situation.

“Nikolas, come sit,” he heard Lucky say.  Nikolas joined his brother in the living-room but chose to stand by the window, his nerves on edge, his body too tense to remain still for long.  “You said you have a way to deal with this?”  He asked.

“I do.”  Lucky leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.  He knew that his solution was simply the most obvious one but he also had an inkling Nikolas didn’t want to hear it.  “Gia ought to move out.”  He held his hand up as Nikolas turned, ready to argue.  “I know your reasons for keeping Gia here go beyond the lame excuse that you need help with the rent, which you don’t.  Thing is, though, this is one time you should let Helena win a round.  The stakes are too high; she’s obviously prepared to do real damage to get her way.  If Emily hadn’t shown up and spooked that guy last night, neither you nor I know how bad it would’ve gotten, but the possibility that you could’ve come home to a tragedy is very real and you can’t ignore it.”

“I’m aware of the stakes, Lucky,” Nikolas replied.  “It seems I can’t take so much as a breath without there being stakes involved.  Yours is the same conclusion I reached even before I fell asleep last night.  When Gia gets home, I’ll talk to her.”  He paused to consider before continuing.  What bothered him almost as much as not having Gia in his home anymore was admitting defeat to Helena, on any level.  She would press her advantage even more now once she realized she’d been successful in muscling Gia out of the cottage.  But as Lucky had pointed out, taking risks with a friend’s life was not an option.  “It makes me fume to think she’s gotten her way, though,” he admitted aloud.

“I know that,” Lucky agreed.  “Still, there’s no way around it.  We need to choose our battles carefully.”  Lucky walked to where his brother stood, still staring at the barren trees in the front lawn.  “I’m going to go to work, I’m already late.  You’ll be okay here?”

“Yes, of course, go.  And thank you, Lucky,” Nikolas turned extending his hand.  Lucky clasped it with his own and gave an encouraging smile.   “I’ll talk to you later tonight, then?”

Nikolas nodded as he walked his brother to the door.  “I’m going to L&B in the afternoon for a while and see if I can get some work done.  I need to fill Ned in on what went on in New York but I’ll be back here by 6:00.”


Helena dialed the number on the business card and leaned back on the Rolls Royce’s leather seat.  She tapped her perfectly manicured nails on the polished mahogany arm-rest and waited.  “Hello,” came the response.

“I am not pleased,” Helena hissed, foregoing any niceties. “The execution of a simple assignment is obviously beyond your abilities.”

She waited, listening to the man’s hesitation and was about to continue when he answered. “There was an unexpected interruption but despite that, my guess is Miss Campbell will not be residing with your grandson much longer.  After all, that is what you desire.”

“I don’t like guesses,” Helena answered becoming more annoyed with each passing second.  “Guessing has no place in our agreement, sir, and I expect you to hold your end.  Do not forget, you approached me for assistance and I merely requested a small show of faith before I invested myself in your project. 

“I do remember.  I’m also telling you…”

Helena ended the connection not wanting to hear more of the man’s excuses.  She gazed out the car window as Andreas sped them on their way to the docks.  What a miserable place to be stuck in all this time.  Soon, she would be back where she belonged.  Her plan was fool-proof save for the particular fool she just talked to, but he was not a necessary part of her scheme and could be dealt with easily.  Years of experience, as well as an innate talent for concocting air-tight plots had taught her never to rely on any one person for anything.  This time was no different; Helena always had a back-up.



Nikolas entered the cottage carrying a paper bag full of cartons from Gia’s favorite Chinese restaurant.  He proceeded to the kitchen and set the bag down then went back to stand at the bottom of the stairs. 

“Gia,” he called out, “are you home?”

“Yes,” he heard her answer as she came out of her room.  Dressed in a short black leather skirt and a pink angora sweater, she came bounding down the stairs, smiling.  For a split second, he pictured her coming right into his arms but she stopped short in front of him, still smiling and he shook his head at his foolish and inappropriate day-dream.  His chest tighten as he looked at her beautiful face and tried not to think about how empty his house would be once she was gone.

“What?” She asked.  “Aren’t you glad to see me?”

“Of course,” Nikolas answered and grabbed her hand.  “Come with me, dinner awaits.”

“Oh, good, I’m starving,” she exclaimed and followed him on bare feet into the kitchen. 

They set the table together in silence and sat opposite each other.  Once the food was served and Nikolas felt he’d rehearsed his speech sufficiently, he looked up and spoke.

“Are you, all right?” He began.

“Fabulous,” was the unexpected answer.  Gia took a bite from a spring roll and busied herself with packets of soy and duck sauce.  “I was offered a job at Wyndham’s.  The buyer in the men’s department needs an assistant and he and I hit it off.  He likes my style,” she smiled as she said this and spread her arms out indicating her bright sweater and the neon beads in her braids as evidence, “and I like the position, so I’m leaning toward accepting his offer.  Then, I can buy you dinner for a change.”

“That’s terrific,” Nikolas replied, genuinely glad for her.  “I want to hear all the details but I think we should talk about what occurred last night, first.”

“What happened last night was scary,” Gia said around a mouthful of chicken, “but it’s over and done with.  I’m okay, nothing was stolen and now we know we have to install an alarm system in this place.  Come to I think of it, I’m kind of surprised you don’t have one already.  I mean the house is full of antiques and all kinds of stuff that could bring a pretty hefty bundle on the open market, you know.”

Nikolas watched as she continued to eat, somewhat thrown by her off-hand manner; he’d expected her to be worried and scared but she seemed far from either. 

“Gia,” he started again, “I don’t think an alarm system will solve this problem.  I know Lucky told you about my grandmother and he also filled me in on this Brad guy you talked about last night.  What’s going on here?  You’re acting as though nothing happened.”

“I know something happened,” Gia responded, eyes flashing with annoyance.  “I was here, remember?  It happened to me.  Now I don’t know about all this intrigue with Granny Cass and all the rest of yours and Lucky’s theories but I’m telling you it was just a robber.”  Gia stood up and glared at Nikolas knowing very well she was acting irrationally but unable to stop herself.  His bemused expression softened her a little and she took a deep breath to compose herself.  Maybe she was more rattled by the previous
night’s excitement than she was admitting to herself.  “Look, Nikolas, with all due respect for your loyalty to your brother, Lucky doesn’t inspire the same confidence in me as he does in you.  I mean, consider his insane solution to Emily’s problem last Summer never mind his choice of girlfriend.”

“Fine, we’ll leave Lucky out of it for now,” Nikolas agreed in the interest of keeping the peace.  “Now, I know most of what happened last night but I’m not clear on this Brad person you told Lucky about.”

“I wish I could keep it that way,” Gia said under her breath.  “This past Spring was a pretty tough time for me; I did things I’m not proud of, one of which was blackmailing Emily for money to get me out of a fix.”  She sat back down and drank from her glass as Nikolas set his food away from him, giving her his full attention. 

“Tell me about Brad,” he said.

“As I told the others last night, I became friends with a girl at school who introduced me to a kid named Matt; I dated him casually for a little while.  You know, a couple of parties, caught a movie with him and a few friends once and, finally, I had dinner with him one night in the Village which is when I first met Brad.  Matt and I had finished dinner and when we went outside, Brad was there with two others.  He told Matt it was no use dodging him and he’d better cough up the money soon.  They sort of walked away from me a little to talk and I didn’t hear all that was said but all of sudden, one of the other two guys punched Matt in the stomach and the other three took off.  I helped Matt into a cab and I told him I would get him home but not to call me again.  Thing is, I’d already decided not see him again while we were still eating dinner.  We had little in common and he made me nervous for some reason.  That night was the last I heard from him.”  Gia stopped talking and looked at Nikolas waiting for him to tell her how stupid she’d been to get involved with a bunch like that.

“I know the rest, I think,” he finished for her,  “Matt disappeared and Brad started pressing you to settle Matt’s debts.  What I don’t understand is, considering the nature of your relationship with Matt, why would you go to the lengths you did to give Brad money.  Why didn’t you contact the police and tell them you were being harassed.  At the very least, you could’ve told your mother or your brother.”

Gia leaned across the table as she spoke. “No, Nikolas, I couldn’t.  You know enough about my mother to know how she would’ve reacted if she found out any of this.  She would’ve hit the roof and so would Marcus.  They still don’t know the truth and never will.  All my life, for as long as I remember, my mother’s demanded I keep my nose in my books, stay out of trouble and do nothing to shame the family.  It doesn’t matter how innocent I was in this, I could never tell her any of it.  She’d be so disappointed in me, I couldn’t handle it.  And, obviously Brad knew more about me than I guessed.”  Gia paused and Nikolas watched as she unconsciously shredded her napkin to bits. 

“What do you mean?” Nikolas asked.

Gia looked down at the mess she’d made of her napkin and quickly gathered it into a ball and tossed it in the garbage.  She turned her attention to Nikolas’ handsome face, his eyes so dark and deep she thought a girl could lose herself completely looking into them.  His mouth, now set in a serious expression, could curve into a smile so beguiling and affecting she could forgive him anything, not that he ever did anything requiring forgiveness, she thought.  He’d been kind and understanding with her from the start and she felt she could tell him anything, let him see the person she was and he’d never look away.  A true friend, she thought, not yet willing to admit to herself that he may mean more to her already.

“Brad decided he wanted me to go out with him,” she continued.  “I saw no reason to go into this with Lucky and Emily and Liz last night.  Thing is, Brad made it clear he was looking for something more from me than information on Matt’s whereabouts.  When I rejected him, in no uncertain terms, he got ugly and threatened me.  That’s when he demanded I pay up for Matt.  He said he’d call my mom and tell her Matt and I owed him money for drugs we’d bought together.  I was afraid he’d make such a stink, I saw no way out so I told him I’d get him the money Matt owed him if he’d leave me alone.”  Gia stood up and began clearing the table, too uneasy to sit any longer.  “That’s all of it.  That’s what led me to that alley you and Lucky found me in that night.”

Nikolas moved to help her clean up.  “Let’s go inside,” he told her guiding her away from the sink.  She followed him into the living-room and sat down while Nikolas took a chair opposite her.  All the time she’d been talking, Nikolas had noticed how uncomfortable she seemed and decided not to press her for any more information about what had happened prior to her coming to Port Charles.  Right now, the most important thing was to get her to see how dangerous it was for her to remain under his roof.

“Given all that, I still believe last night’s fiasco was my grandmother’s doing,” he began.  “I did, in fact, arrange for a security system to be installed in the cottage tomorrow. That may help keep a burglar and even a low-life like this Brad person out of here, but it will be nothing more than a minor annoyance for my grandmother.  What she wants is for me to heed her every whim and I ignore them all.”  He paused, hating what he had to say next.  “You’re not safe here, Gia.  We have to move you out and soon.  It’s too risky for you to be here, not with Helena running lose around Port Charles, hell-bent on controlling my life.  I’m sorry I’ve placed you in so much danger already.”

Gia froze where she sat.  He was asking her leave.  Well, she’d be damned if she’d make it easy.

“No!” she shouted and slapped her hands on her knees, surprising herself as much as Nikolas with her exclamation.  “No,” she repeated.  “I’m not going.  Not just because psycho-Granny wants me to.”

“Listen to me, Gia,” Nikolas said to his hands, folded together between his knees.  “You don’t know my grandmother.  You don’t know what lengths she will go to…”

“And I don’t care.  She doesn’t scare me.  I live here, this is where I belong, with you.”  Nikolas’ head came up at that and she back-pedaled, too flustered to notice the hopeful look that crossed his face.  “I mean, as your room-mate, you know.  I won’t leave you to deal with her alone.”  Gia looked at him closely, her eyes narrowed, her voice measured.  “Unless you want me to go.  Not because you think I’m not safe, but because you really want me gone, ‘cause if you do then that’s different.”

Nikolas stared at the mantle behind her wondering when the conversation had taken this unexpected turn.  Of course he didn’t want her to leave, he hated the idea of her leaving but he had to do what was right.  He breathed in, gathering his resolve and chanced a glance at her, and was lost.  All his fine, noble intentions weren’t enough for him to look this girl in the eye and lie to her.  “No, I don’t want you to go.”  The words came out in a whisper but she heard and they remained as they were, their eyes searching each other’s face for something neither one would admit to feeling themselves. 

Gia broke the spell first, “Good, it’s settled.”  She stood and smoothed her hands over the soft leather of her skirt.  Nikolas followed her hands, his gaze coming to rest on her shapely legs as he considered how the hell he was going to explain all this to Lucky.  “I’m going upstairs,” she told him and he looked up, his expression grim.  “Don’t look so stern, Nikolas.  It’s going to be okay, you’ll see.  Even if you’re right and Helena is behind all this we’ll figure out a way to get through it together.”

Nikolas watched her walk up the stairs and then fell backward on the couch, his hands covering his face.  “Oh, hell,” he thought.


It was well past 11:00 when Nikolas finally shut off his laptop and went up to take a shower.  He turned the water on and stripped, then stepped into the tub only to jump back out, a mild Greek curse escaping his lips.  He looked down to see what he’d stepped on and found Gia’s rubber ducky, grinning cheerfully back at him.  He retrieved the toy and turned it over in his hands.  Gia had made no secret of the fact that she preferred his tub to hers and he’d successfully avoided any thoughts of her lounging about in his bathroom up until now.  The rubber ducky stirred up images of her soaking in the old-fashioned tub, her skin glistening, hair piled high on her head while the little child’s toy floated among aromatic bubbles.  “That’s enough,” he thought to himself, placing the toy on the vanity, “get a grip, man, or this shower will have to be a cold one.”

Chapter 8

Rubber Ducky Main

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