Castor's voice was gentle as it floated across the empty study. He'd been searching for what felt like hours, but his son had become proficient in the game of hide and seek years earlier. It could take a person hours to find him. It had amazed Castor sometimes, the way his son could conceal himself in the shadows of their majestic home. For him to remain silent and perfectly still at such a young age, to fool others into believing he was not there was a trait Castor had secretly admired for some time. Good things were going to happen with his son. He could feel it.

A cool breeze floated in through the open windows, sending shivers down Castor's spine. A feeling of uneasiness filled him as he once again called for his son. "Where are you?" he said, the urgency seeping into his formerly calm tone. No longer was there amusement to this game. Castor pulled open doors and searched the poorly lit room for light.

"Game over, come out at once!" he commanded loudly, hoping that his stern tone would send the boy scurrying forward.

No such luck.

"Sabastian? The game is finished and I need for you to come out now. Where are you?" he shouted, hearing the frantic echo of his voice as it bounced off the walls. His shaking hands ran through his jet black hair as he moved about the room. "Sabastian!?" he cried over and over as the wind whipped up into a frenzied speed sending various papers scattering around the room. Another noise began assaulting his ears.

Laughter. Not the joy of a child, but something more sinister, something that made Castor's blood run cold. He knew that laugh.

He had to find Sabastian. Now.

"Father?"

"Sabastian!"

"Father!"

Castor jolted upwards, gasping for breath as strong arms clutched onto his shoulders. "Father it's me!" Jace said loudly as he watched his Father's frantic gaze flit around the room. "You had a bad dream," he said gently, turning on the bedside lamp. Castor rubbed his face as light filled the room.

A dream?

Castor shook his head. It couldn't have been, it felt so real. "Sabastian," he whispered, accepting the glass of cool water Jace handed to him, gratefully quenching his parched throat.

"You dreamed about him again?" Jace queried as he took a seat on the bed next to his Father. These dreams were become more and more frequent since they had made their discovery.

Castor nodded, his face tightening with bitterness. "I couldn't find him in my study. He loved hide and seek, do you remember that?" he said softly. Jace nodded as his Father continued.

"All of a sudden the wind picked up and I started to hear laughter," Castor said, still feeling the chill prick against his skin.

"Laughter?"

Castor nodded firmly. "It was Helena. She was why I couldn't find your brother."

Jace's tight expression matched his Father's. Now it made perfect sense.

"She was the one who took him from us in the first place."

Castor's eyes shimmered angrily, "she mourned his death alongside all of us," he said coldly, the memory of the painful day he and Sasha had buried the child they had been led to believe was their eldest son.

"Only he had never died. She wanted the family dynasty for herself and so she took him and hid him from us, making us believe he had died in the crash," Jace's quiet voice filled the room, echoing the deep pain his Mother and Father had lived with since their eldest son had been taken from them.

Brushing the tears aside impatiently, Castor strode purposefully to the bay windows and looked out into the peaceful night. With an unbreakable will, his resolve solidified further.

"This is a betrayal that has demanded vengeance for over 20 years and I will have it. I will do to Helena what no one has succeeded in doing before."

Jace stood. "Then we better hurry if we're catching our flight to Greece."

Castor nodded. It was within his grasp now. The painstaking arrangements, the waiting and watching had all led up to this point. Greece and Helena awaited them and with that knowledge, Castor smiled.

"Soon, Helena. Very soon."

*****************

"So where to?"

Garcia smiled at Keesha's eagerness. Partnering with her had left him nervous at first and had earned him plenty of ribbing from the senior detectives on the force. A female partner had stigmas attached to it, but Garcia had known Keesha before she became a cop and he'd liked what he'd seen her do with Ward House. Initially, it had taken them awhile to click, but after a few months, Garcia was glad he'd listened to his gut instinct.

"You still buzzing after closing that Homicide?" he teased her as he pulled out of the precinct lot.

"I like being primary on a case," Keesha nodded. "It's a lot of responsibility but I felt comfortable being in control."

"Your interrogation skills are coming along great. I'll bet Philly was sad to see you go," Garcia remarked, hoping she'd open up about her time on their police force. Broaching the subject seemed a sensitive topic for her, but Garcia needed her to trust him and never gave up the opportunity to talk about it.

Keesha's expression tightened unhappily at the comment. He knew she didn't like talking about this, she'd told him several times but still, he pressed the matter.

He's your partner, she reminded herself. Trust is essential.

Garcia had never given her any reason to doubt him since partnering and Taggert had nothing but good things to say about him over the years.

"It-it was hard leaving Philly, but it was for the best," she started softly, gazing out the window at the busy sidewalks full of mid-afternoon shoppers.

Garcia nodded easily. "Yeah, you grew up there right?" Go easy, he urged himself silently. Don't push too much too soon.

Keesha nodded slowly, "but that's not why I left."Her voice trailed off and Garcia remained silent the duration of the trip. She wasn't ready to talk about it. Just the tone in her voice alone made him regret having pressed her so many times before. Whatever it was, a lot of pain was involved.

"Keesha?" he asked as they pulled into the restaurant parking lot.

"Yeah?"

Parking the car, Garcia shut off the engine and turned to face Keesha, giving her his full attention. He didn't want this to seem insincere. "Anytime you want to talk, no matter what the topic, I'm here to listen okay?"

Keesha considered the offer closely, reassured by his serious declaration. She appreciated it, but wouldn't take him up on it right now. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," she replied, giving him an encouraged smile.

But it was hard to imagine that Garcia would be so willing to even look her in the eye, let alone listen to her if she told him about the stuff that went on in Philadelphia. Her old partner hadn't. Neither did many in her division. All eyes were on her, whispering about the Internal Affairs investigation.

After weeks, she'd been cleared of any wrong doing.

And yet it didn't stop the suspicion or the insinuations from others.

What was worst was her own guilt over the incident. If the others were hard on her about it, then she was the hardest by far. The move to Port Charles had been a necessary one. She needed a fresh start.

And I'm gonna get it, she thought to herself firmly. I'll get past this no matter what.

No matter what.

****************

Sabrina DeLane walked briskly along the worn pathway, mentally preparing herself as she always did when she came here. No matter how much time passed, the pain never paled, in fact it seemed to grow worst. Yet here she was, returning to the place that reminded her that the happiest time in her life was now gone.

And once again, she was doing it alone.

The area was quiet with only the sound of chattering birds interrupting the silence now and then. By her estimation, the trees had grown since her last visit. The afternoon sun peaked in through the clouds, spreading a blanket of warmth over the area.

Still, no amount of serenity, warmth or growth could change where she was and why.

Sabrina exhaled, feeling her tears well up as she kneeled down, her trembling fingers reaching out to grasp the cool stone. Her sad eyes drifted to the lettering on the marker.

Luka Stefan Vitali
1994-1997
Notre Petit Prince

"You would be 7 now," Sabrina whispered, her fingers caressing his name over and over again. "So beautiful and full of life. You'd probably be dashing through Wyndemere on roller blades or one of those little scooters I've seen." Sabrina laughed gently, her heart constricting at the image of her little boy gleefully playing. Placing an anguished hand over her heart, she blinked as more tears slipped down her cheeks. "I know Papa isn't here today, but you can bet he is thinking of you. We both think about you everyday, we never forget and we never will."

As a bird flew overhead, Sabrina continued to fight the emotions that pounded against her wall, demanding release. Anger was one of them. Dominik still wouldn't visit his son's grave, not to her knowledge or anyone else's and it hurt bitterly.

Their son deserved better.

"You deserved so much more than what you had! It just isn't fair!" she cried, pounding her fists into the lush grass weeping as the pain pushed through the floodgates. She had lost it all in one brief moment. Her son and her life with the man she loved. She'd blamed herself terribly when it happened and although he never showed it nor admitted to it, Sabrina felt that Dominik blamed her too.

The Cassadine Curse.

Helena's wrath.

The fact that Luka's death was brought on by a mysterious illness.

It all weighed heavily on her shoulders as the days passed. She and Dominik drifted further and further apart but Sabrina couldn't stop it. She could do little more than get out of bed each day, always thinking of the time she had believed the child she had would never be allowed to live so long as Helena was still alive.

The child Helena had sworn would never exist. The ominous warning Helena had breezily tossed in her direction years earlier.

"Your seed ends with you. I will ensure it."

The words rang in her mind to this day.

Haunting her.

Telling her it was her fault.

*~*
Translation of 'Notre Petit Prince' is 'Our Little Prince'

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