Tracie noticed the dawn's pinkish hues in the distance along the nearly deserted highway she'd 
               been traveling on with the strange passenger looming over her silently in the backseat of her 
               Jeep. Glancing to the right of her hoping to be able to make contact with another traveler, she 
               noticed a truck along side of them. She noticed that the driver was asleep at the wheel and 
               realized that he wouldn't be of any service to her, so she accelerated in order to avoid any 
               potential accident. 

               "Doesn't anyone travel this early in the morning?" Tracie thought to herself realizing that there had 
               been nothing but large rigs on the highway as she felt the man's presence behind her. 

               "Where are we headed?" Tracie spoke up unable to tolerate the silence for another minute as the 
               Jeep moved down the highway. She waited a moment for a response, but was greeted with same 
               eerie silence she'd been subjected to most of the ride. Slightly irritated, Tracie spoke up again. 
               "Look, maybe you've got nothing better to do, but I have a life waiting for me once this little 
               adventure of ours is over with." 

               "Just keep moving." Kevin urged in a low, raspy tone thinking of Lucy as he shifted positions on 
               the seat behind her. 

               "You know, it's usually helpful if the driver knows where you're headed." Tracie pointed out 
               listening to the sound of her stomach grumbling. "You know we've been driving for quite some 
               time now and I'm going to need gas soon, along with the fact that I could really go for some 
              breakfast right now seeing as I didn't plan on being your personal chauffeur." 

               "We have to keep moving if we're going to make it in time." Kevin explained in a monotone voice 
               rubbing his eyes for a moment as he tried to ignore the pain in his head. 

               "In time for what? Just who are you?" Tracie questioned turning her head slightly hoping to get a 
               glimpse of her kidnapper. 

               "That's not important right now. We need to get to her." Kevin responded clenching his teeth as he 
               peered out the window at the rising sun wondering if this was only another one of the many 
               dreams he'd experienced over the last eleven months. Turning to glance at Tracie, he prayed that 
               this time it was the real thing. 

               "You know if you tell me who you're looking for, perhaps I could help you in some way." Tracie 
               suggested suddenly struck with a strange feeling that she'd encountered him before. Feeling a bit 
               bold, she thought of the newspaper clippings she'd found back at the asylum. "Does this have 
               anything to do with Lucy Coe?" 

               "You talk too much. Just keep driving." Kevin snapped back realizing that there wasn't anyone he 
               could trust as he noticed the exit up ahead. "Get off here." 

               "But that isn't road going to take us anywhere." Tracie began to protest trying to place his voice 
               as she noticed the scalpel in the large soiled hand next to her. 

               "Just do it." he insisted feeling his heart pounding in his chest as Tracie moved onto the exit 
               ramp. 

               "All right," Tracie reluctantly agreed wondering just when and where their trip would end as they 
               traveled along the unpaved back roads leading away from the highway. She tried to ignore the 
               fear growing inside of her imagining all that could happen as she wished that she would've only 
               stayed with Chris at the cabin instead of chasing after her story. 

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

               Eve opened her eyes starting to stretch out only to discover that she was still draped in Chris's 
               arms. Feeling him hold her close, Eve gradually sank back into him as images of their passion 
               filled night flooded her mind. Letting out a muffled yawn, she closed her eyes wishing that they'd 
               had more time together before having to face the world around them. Allowing herself a moment, 
               she gently kissed his hand trying to fight the sinking feeling in her chest knowing what she must 
               do. As if on cue, she felt Chris's hand clench upon her own as he let out an exhausted sigh. 

               "Mmm.........so it wasn't a dream." Chris murmured running his fingers through her thick, dark hair 
               as his eyes slowly adjusted to his surroundings. "Please tell me the night's not over yet." 

               "I'm afraid so." Eve responded with a hint of sadness listening to the sound of his heart beating as 
               she snuggled in against him. 

               "It wasn't supposed to end so quickly." Chris continued tightening his hold on her knowing that 
               he'd have to act fast if he was to have any chance at keeping this moment from ending. "Last 
               night was incredible Eve." 

               "Chris......." Eve trailed off suddenly aware of where this was going as she turned to place her 
               hand over his mouth. "Don't. Don't say it." 

               "Everything about last night was so perfect Eve." Chris insisted slowly kissing her finger tips 
               before bringing his other hand around her chin and forcing her to look into his soulful eyes. "Even 
               you must admit that." 

               "Chris what we did last night was........." Eve trailed off feeling logic betray her wishing that she 
               could pull together the strength to walk away, but she remained frozen in place. 

               "........everything I'd ever dreamed it would be." Chris finished bringing his lips to hers for one 
               perfect kiss not allowing Eve's hesitancy to spoil the moment. He pulled away from the kiss and 
               began to trace the outline of her swelled lips with his index finger. "You and I are meant for one 
               another and last night proved that." 

               "Chris.........please............" Eve started tearfully moving away from him. 

               "Eve I know we promised that last night would be a one shot deal, but waking up with you in my 
               arms this morning changed all of that for me." Chris confessed laying it out on the line. "I've been 
               struggling to keep my emotions under control for so long, but I can't ignore what's going on inside 
               of me any longer Eve." 

               "Don't do this Chris." Eve insisted shaking her head as a single tear fell down her face. 

               "But it's true." Chris continued knowing what this was doing to her as he reached out to touch her 
               shoulder. "Last night only reaffirmed my feelings for you." 

               "Chris, this is crazy. Would you listen to what you're saying?" Eve snapped trying to knock him out 
               of his romantic mode as fear consumed her. "Last night never should've happened, but it did, and 
               now we have to find a way to move beyond it without complicating things any further between us." 

               "That's just it Eve. I don't want to move beyond it." Chris insisted reaching out to take her hand in 
               his before kissing it softly. "What's happening between us just feels so right." 

               "Chris you don't know what you're saying." Eve spoke up feeling her stomach tighten as she 
               searched for the right words. "No matter how wonderful last night was, it doesn't change who we 
               are or what our lives are like. You've made a commitment to Tracie and you can't tell me that 
               doesn't mean anything to you." 

               "Right now isn't about Tracie. This is about us." Chris replied struck with a pang of guilt at the 
               mention of Tracie's name. 

               "No Chris, this is about moving forward." Eve continued ignoring the inner voice that was begging 
               her to just keep quiet. "You and Tracie have something special, and I'm with Kevin right now. Last 
               night was just one of those things that just can't happen again." 

               "Oh would you just cut the Kevin act for five minutes Eve?" Chris questioned in disgust at the very 
               mention of Kevin's name. "I'm not going to let you use Kevin as your excuse to walk away from me 
               Eve." 

               "And I'm not going to let you use me as your reason to walk away from Tracie." Eve shot back 
               seriously. "Chris, I know how commitment phobic you are. What happened last night was just your 
               way of backing out of your relationship with Tracie before you were sucked into something 
               serious." 

               "That's not how it was Eve." Chris replied defensively. "Besides, I know for a fact that Kevin 
               doesn't make you happy." 

               "Chris, this is an impossible relationship." Eve insisted shaking her head in disbelief that things 
               had gone so far between them. 

               "Why Eve?" Chris questioned in confusion. "We know each other inside and out. What's so wrong 
               about us?" 

               "We just can't be together." Eve began defensively averting her eyes for a moment. "It's just the 
               reality of our situations.....the realities we've put ourselves in.." 

               "The reality is that you and I made love last night Eve." Chris bluntly pointed out as he pulled her in 
               for a hungry kiss. "Surely you can't deny this feels right." 

               "And as soon as we leave this place it's going to feel all wrong Chris. Trust me." Eve replied 
               breathlessly as she pulled away from him unable to find the strength to tell him the one thing she'd 
               promised herself that she would say. 

               "Fine." Chris sighed raising his hands in defeat as he took note of the tears falling from her eyes 
               and her trembling lip. Realizing what a mess he was making of things, he pulled her close to him 
               gently hugging her as he whispered in her ear. "I promised you just last night and now it's a new 
               day. I won't hold you here against your will." 

               "Chris you don't understand." Eve started wishing there was a simple way to tell him what was 
               weighing on her mind, but looking into his sad eyes, she couldn't bring herself to hurt him. 

               "Then enlighten me Eve. I want to know why you're so reluctant to be with me." Chris replied 
               brushing her hair out of her face as she cried. "Tell me why no matter what I do or say, I'll never be 
               good enough for you." 

               "Oh Chris, is that what you think it is?" Eve questioned in astonishment as she reached out to 
               touch his shoulder. "To tell you the truth, I've never felt this way about anyone. I've let you in on so 
               many levels already and that scares me. You're my best friend and if anything, I'm the one who 
               doesn't deserve your devotion. I mean think about it Chris. Think of all I've put you through over the 
               past year alone with my trials and tribulations with Kevin and Scott." 

               "Eve, what happened before last night doesn't matter." Chris insisted taking her hand in his. "We 
               both danced around this issue with each other in the past, but now we know what we feel for each 
               other is more than friendship. Eve, I'm......I'm in love with you." 

               "I...........I love you too." Eve sobbed harder as she pressed up against him feeling the warmth of 
               his touch. "I never meant for this to happen, but look at us. How could we let this happen now?" 

               "It was meant to be." Chris whispered wrapping his arms around her tightly feeling choked up with 
               emotions. "We're meant to be." 

               "Oh Chris, what are we going to do?" Eve questioned reaching out to hold him. 

               "Take it one step at a time." Chris informed her placing a soft kiss on her lips as the two fell 
               together once again caught up in the moment of tenderness. 

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

               Lucy Coe found herself mindlessly thumbing through her shoe catalog trying to rid herself of the
               headache that she'd awakened to when she heard the bell ring signaling someone at the front 
               door. Checking the time, she realized that Scott and Serena weren't supposed to be home for 
               quite a while as she wondered who was at the door. Setting the publication aside, she rushed 
               over to open the door only to discover Victor Collins standing before her. 

               "Victor, what are you doing here so early in the morning?" Lucy questioned a bit puzzled as she 
               took note of the disconcerted look upon his face as he stood before her. "What is it? Is something 
               wrong with Kevin?" 

               "May I come in and have a few words with you Lucy?" Victor questioned lowering his head a bit 
               as he spoke. 

               "Victor, you know you're always welcome around here. What's wrong?" Lucy questioned leading 
               him into the firehouse as he took a seat on the couch burying his head in his hands. "Victor?" 

               "Lucy, I'm worried about Monk." Victor confessed gazing up at her with sad eyes. "He's been 
               behaving quite peculiar for some time now, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why." 

               "Did something happen after you brought me home last night?" Lucy questioned remembering 
               how Kevin had seemed rather aloof after Victor had offered to drive her home since she wasn't 
               feeling well. 

               "Monk was in a rage when I'd returned to the lighthouse and he was cursing that I'd spoiled his 
               day with you by returning home unannounced like I did." Victor explained remembering his chilling 
               argument with Kevin. "I honestly didn't mean to intrude upon your time together, but you didn't 
               seem like you were up to driving." 

               "I wasn't Victor and I appreciated the ride home." Lucy replied taking a seat next to him. "Plus 
               after Kevin had received that phone call, he seemed upset and I didn't want him driving me home 
               in that condition." 

               "Those were my thoughts exactly, but Kevin took it as me putting my nose where it didn't belong." 
               Victor informed her as he drew in a breath and his forehead creased with worry. "I also made the 
               mistake about questioning him about Eve." 

               "You did?" Lucy questioned raising an eyebrow curiously. "What did he say?" 

               "He told me to mind my own damn business and quit butting into his life." Victor responded 
               shaking his head. "I know that I shouldn't have asked about her, but after seeing the two of you 
               together last night, I just assumed that the two of you were........." 

               "Well, so did I." Lucy admitted remembering all of Kevin's advances upon her before Victor had 
               arrived. 

               "Lucy, he hasn't been the same since he called off the wedding. He's been so stubborn and 
               irritable, but I never imagined that he'd behave so irrationally after I questioned him. I've never 
               seen him like this before Lucy." Victor continued remembering the mess he'd found after he 
               returned home. "Monk was so angry and it looked as if he ripped apart his desk while I was gone. 
               I tried to talk him down, but he wouldn't hear me out and before I knew it, he rushed out of the 
               lighthouse." 

               "That's odd." Lucy commented sinking back on the couch as she thought about what Victor was 
               saying. 

               "There's more Lucy." Victor explained facing her as he reached into his jacket and pulled out an 
               envelope. "I found this." 

               "What is it?" Lucy questioned noticing the post mark on the envelope. 

               "It's a letter from Greg Cooper." Victor answered as she wearily pulled out the letter. "I found 
               about twenty of them in a box hidden at the top of the pantry." 

               "Greg Cooper? Why would Kevin be communicating with Greg Cooper? According to this, Kevin 
               was...... " Lucy trailed off scanning a few lines of the letter shocked by what she was seeing. She 
               looked up at Victor in confusion. 

               ".......helping Cooper with the General Homicide murders." Victor finished shaking his head as the 
               words fell from his lips. "Apparently Greg Cooper wasn't the master mind after all." 

               "That's impossible." Lucy replied in disbelief as she handed the letter back to Victor. "I was there 
               with Kevin and Eve when Cooper and Julie talked about all of their twisted plans. They attacked 
               Kevin and bricked Eve and I up in a wall for God's sake." 

               "I've tried to find some reasonable explanation for this in my head Lucy, but as I continued to read 
               the letters, I began to question so many things......such as Kevin's attitudinal change over the past 
               year. It's almost as if he's gone over a personality transformation in your time apart, but it 
               happened so rapidly almost as if he's become another person." Victor confessed with tears in his 
               eyes as he pondered the thought of his son being involved with a murderer. "Lucy, no one wants 
               to believe that these are a bunch of lies more than me, but then I found this." 

               "Oh my God!" Lucy gasped as Victor held up Kevin's copy of General Homicide with notes in the 
               margins along with a note to Cooper congratulating him and Julie on a job well done written in 
               Kevin's handwriting. "It's impossible. My Doc would never take part in such a horrendous set of 
               crimes. He was devastated once he'd discovered that the murders were being based on his 
               book." 

               "Lucy, I don't want to believe it either, but the proof is just too overwhelming." Victor replied sadly 
               turning away from her in shame as he continued. "What if I couldn't save Kevin from the dark cloud 
               hanging over our family and now I have to live with the knowledge that both of my son's were 
               murderers?" 

               "No." Lucy snapped popping up from her seat as she crumpled up the paper in hand. "I refuse to 
               believe that Kevin was behind any of that and we're going to get to the bottom of this once and for 
               all. This has to be another one of Cooper's tricks. I refuse to believe that Kevin would ever 
               associate with the likes of Greg Cooper and we're going to prove it." 

               "We can't very well question Kevin about these letters...not after all that's taken place. If he knew 
               that I was snooping around his things, there's no telling how he'd react...." Victor insisted suddenly 
               paranoid. 

               "Don't worry Victor. Kevin's never going to know that you found those letters." Lucy assured him 
               reaching for her jacket. "It'll be our little secret." 

               "Then how do you propose we get to the bottom of this?" Victor questioned noticing the look in 
               her eyes as she zipped up her jacket. 

               "You and I are going to pay Greg Cooper a visit. If he was bright enough to find a way to 
               manipulate Julie Devlin into becoming a murderer, then there's no telling what he may have done 
               to Kevin." Lucy explained struck with a feeling that all the answers to these questions about 
               Kevin's bizarre personality transformation. 

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

               "Let go of me!" Tracie snapped as Kevin shoved her into the darkened cabin. 

               "Sit down!" He ordered shoving her towards the couch as he tried to plan out his next move. 

               "You can't keep me here." Tracie shot back at him as she fell back into her seat. 

               "Just be quiet." Kevin urged placing his hands to his head as the pain consumed him once again. 
               "Ugh......." 

               "Oh my God, you're bleeding." Tracie gasped noticing the bright red stain running down the side 
               of his face as she stood up to inspect him closer. 

               "Stay back!" Kevin reaching for the gun he knew would be hidden in the top drawer of the desk to 
               the side of him. 

               "Don't shoot. I'm not going to hurt you." Tracie replied raising her hands in the air fearing for her 
               life as the man before her grew more agitated. "I was just trying to help you." 

               "I don't need your help. Just stay away!" He screamed waving the gun at her as the voices 
               returned once again. "No, make it stop. Stay away. No!" 

               Tracie watched as he clenched his head tightly and fell to the floor curling up into a fetal position 
               before her. Seizing the opportunity to make her getaway, Tracie kicked the gun out of his hands 
               and reached for it eager to gain the upper hand in the situation. 

               "Don't move!" she instructed realizing that he was out of touch with reality as she watched him 
               sobbing before her. 

               "No, no more. Please don't hurt me." he cried out shaking violently as Tracie watched in horror 
               unable to move at the sound of his agonizing cries. "Please........no more." 

               Tracie moved in a step closer as his cries transformed into low, uncontrollable piercing sobs. She 
               instantly felt her rage transform into sympathy for the poor creature before her as he took on 
               animal like characteristics crawling around on hands and knees seeking some type of protection. 
               Still holding the gun tightly in her hands, Tracie watched as he sunk in under the coffee table 
               before her still shaking. 

               "No....no............" he bellowed feeling himself slip into the darkness until he felt another sharp pain 
               in his head and the world faded away once more. 

               "Hey, get up." Tracie called out cautiously moving towards the man as she noticed he'd stopped 
               moving. "Can you hear me? I said get up." 

               Tracie could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she lowered herself to the ground in front of 
               the man. She strained to listen for the sound of his breath, but the sound of her own labored 
               breathing filled the air around her. Extending her hand out to check for a pulse, she came into 
               contact with his weathered skin as his eyes opened. 

               "No!" he screamed as Tracie found herself face to face with the horror in his sunken brown eyes. 

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

               "Lucy you can't very well expect for us to go in there and be welcomed with open arms." Victor 
               began tugging on her arm as they stood before the front desk of the institution. 

               "We don't have any other choices here Victor." Lucy reminded him quickly as she noticed the 
               orderly approaching them. "Just follow my lead." 

               "May I help you?" the orderly questioned in a slightly irritated tone. 

               "Yes, I'm Daisy Mae Cooper, and I'm here to visit my dear brother Greg." Lucy began as she 
               flashed a smile at the young man seated before her. 

               "Hold on one second." the orderly replied clicking a few buttons on his computer before looking 
               back up at Lucy. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that your cousin has limited visitation rights." 

               "Oh couldn't you make an exception for little old me? Greggy and I haven't seen one another in 
               over five years and my ma and pa are really starting to worry about him." Lucy continued 
               innocently trailing her fingers along the counter top hoping the man would bend the rules. 

               "I'm sorry, but he isn't permitted to have any visitors except for his psychiatrists." the man 
               explained looking Lucy over for a moment as she casually leaned across the counter top giving 
               him a better view of her. 

               "But I traveled all this way to see him..." Lucy pouted noticing the man's eyes upon her as she 
               flashed him a smile. "Surely you could make one little exception in my case since I've already 
               come this far." 

               "I'm afraid that you'll have to come back at some other time." the man insisted snapping out of his 
               daze as one of his coworkers entered the room. "Rules are rules." 

               "Wait!" Victor interrupted moving forward to talk to the young man. "You have to let us in there to 
               see Cooper." 

               "And just who are you?" the nurse questioned eyeing Victor curiously. 

               "Why Dr. Kevin Collins of course." Victor replied quickly extending his hand out to the young man. 
               "Greg Cooper was a patient of mine back in Port Charles and I'll believe that you'll find that I have 
               the authorization for Ms. Cooper and I to have this visitation." 

               "Well, yes, you are on the list of visitors, but Miss Cooper on the other hand......." the man replied 
               eyeing Lucy appreciatively. 

               "I'm sure that there wouldn't be any problem if I brought her along with me for a few minutes." 
               Victor urged in a serious tone. "After all, I feel that it is detrimental that this patient has contact with 
               Ms. Cooper." 

               "I don't believe that I can allow it." the man protested as Victor reached into his pocket and 
               slipped a fifty dollar bill into the man's hand. Holding the crisp bill for a moment, the man carefully 
               tucked it into his pocket and stood up. "On second thought, I do believe that Ms. Cooper is also 
               on this list as well. Right this way sir." 

               "I had a feeling you'd see it my way." Victor nodded with a sparkle in his eye as he turned to Lucy. 
               "Are you ready?" 

               "After you Dr. Collins." Lucy replied with a smile as the orderly unlocked the door before them. 

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

               Rolling over in bed, Chris reached out only to discover a pillow beside him where Eve once was. 
               Sitting up a bit, his eyes focused as he looked around the room searching for a sign of where she 
               may have taken off to as he heard a loud screeching of the tea kettle coming from the kitchen. 
               Slipping into his pants, he moved out into the kitchen eagerly, only to discover it was empty. 
               Pulling the tea kettle off of the stove, Chris searched the rest of the cabin. 

               "Eve? Eve, where are you?" Chris called out to her approaching the bathroom door and knocking 
               on it, only to be greeted by silence. Feeling a tightness in his stomach, Chris pushed open the 
               door finding another empty room before him. Scratching his head for a moment before leaving the 
               room, Chris returned to the bedroom and discovered an envelope propped up on the dresser with 
               his name on it. Reaching for the envelope, Chris pulled out the letter inside already knowing that 
               Eve was long gone. 

               "Chris, I'm sorry that I had to do this, but it's best for both of us that I left. I know that last night and 
               this morning we made a lot of promises to one another that we just couldn't keep. Don't worry I 
               won't hold you to them, but I do want you to know that I meant what I said when I told you that I 
               loved you Chris. I care about you so much and that's why I'm giving you an easy way out of all of 
               this. Look on the bright side, you don't have to worry about all the complications that would've 
               come about from all of this." Chris began reading outloud feeling a lump forming in his throat as 
               he continued. "What you and I have with one another is very special Chris and I don't want to lose 
               that, but I'm confused right now. Things just happened so fast between us when neither one of us 
               were expecting it and now, well, now I'm not sure about anything anymore. I came here yesterday 
               with the intentions of letting you know that Kevin asked me to marry him and I'd accepted....." 

               "No Eve," Chris replied shaking his head feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of him as 
               his heart pounded in his chest and he forced himself to read on. "I was so sure that I was doing 
               the right thing in accepting his proposal, and now I'm more confused than I've ever been in my life, 
               but it almost seems too late to change things now. I never meant to hurt you like this Chris, but 
               trust me, it's for the best that we end this now before one of us ends up resenting the other down 
               the road. I'm not worthy of all of your love and devotion because you deserve better than someone 
               like me. If you step back for a moment to think about it, you'll see that I'm right. I just pray that one 
               day you'll understand why I had to walk away like this and I hope you'll forgive me down the road. 
               Love always, Eve." 

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

               Eve sat in her car outside of the lighthouse holding the diamond engagement ring in her hand 
               remembering when Kevin had given it to her just a few short days ago. She'd been reluctant at 
               first to accept it, but finally gave in and agreed to marry him. Twirling the ring between her fingers, 
               she thought of Chris and her painful good-bye letter wishing that she could change things between 
               them, but she knew that staying wasn't the solution to all of her problems. She had to find a way to 
               bring about closure in one way or the other, and now sitting in the lighthouse driveway she knew 
               what she had to do. 

               Taking a deep breath, Eve opened her car door and stepped out into the cool morning air. Her 
               mind was racing with images of her and Chris together as she finally reached the front door to the 
               lighthouse ringing the bell. After a moment of waiting, Ryan appeared before her looking 
               somewhat surprised to see her. 

               "May I come in?" Eve questioned drawing in a breath as he opened the door and she breezed 
               past him. 

               "Eve, what a pleasant surprise." Ryan replied closing the door behind her as he watched her 
               cross the room towards the fireplace. "You know, I was just thinking about you. I called your 
               apartment a few minutes ago to tell you that I came home from the convention early." 

               "Kevin we need to talk." Eve explained feeling guilty as she noticed the tiny race car on the mantle 
               before turning to him. 

               "Eve, what is it?" Ryan asked in concern moving in to hold her in his arms. "Is something wrong?" 

               "Actually Kevin, something is very wrong." Eve began pulling away and noticing his black eye. 
               "What happened to your face?" 

               "It's rather embarrassing." Ryan laughed nervously taking a step back. "You see I woke up in the 
               middle of the night and walked into a door in my hotel room. I still can't believe that I was so 
               clumsy." 

               "That looks pretty bad for just walking into a door." Eve commented noticing a couple scrapes 
               along his cheek bone as she remembered Chris's story about running into Kevin and Lucy. "It 
               looks like someone roughed you up a bit." 

               "Nope, it was just the door." Ryan replied taking her hand in his and kissing it. "So what was it you 
               wanted to tell me again?" 

               "Kevin, I don't know how to say this.........." Eve trailed off struggling to find the right words as 
               Chris's words came back to haunt her. 

               "Eve, the guy's a jerk. I saw him last night with Lucy Coe. In fact, your boyfriend was the one who 
               did this to my face.........No matter how bad you want to keep denying it to yourself Eve, it's the 
               truth. He's in love with Lucy and no matter what goes on between the two of you or how many 
               promises he makes, that fact still remains." Chris's voice rang out. 

               "Eve, what is it?" Ryan questioned taking note of the blank expression on her face. "You look 
               confused about something." 

               "No, not at all. In fact for the first time in a long time, everything is perfectly clear for me." Eve 
               replied reaching into her jacket pocket and handing him the engagement ring. "I'm sorry Kevin, 
               but it's over." 

               "Eve, what are you talking about? How can it be over?" Ryan questioned staring at the ring in his 
               hand. "Surely, you must be joking." 

               "It's no joke Kevin." Eve continued standing taller as she felt as if an incredible weight had been 
               lifted off her shoulders. "You and I have just been fooling ourselves all these months into believing 
               that we could make this work." 

               "We have made this work Eve." he reminded her taking her hand in his. "What you and I have 
               together is incredible." 

               "It's not real Kevin." Eve insisted shaking her head as she pulled away from him. "While it's been 
               a fun ride, we aren't in love with each other Kevin and we'd be making a big mistake if we 
               followed through on this." 

               "No you're wrong Eve." Ryan snapped back at her raising his voice a bit. "I love you and you love 
               me. You told me yourself." 

               "Kevin, I was wrong. I'm sorry." Eve replied watching his face grow red with anger. "Look, I'd 
               better get going." 

               "No, I'm not letting you walk out on me Eve. We love each other." Ryan insisted grabbing her and 
               holding her close to him. "We belong together." 

               "Kevin, let go of me." Eve cried out feeling him squeeze her tighter as she tried to move away. 
               "Kevin, stop it!" 

               "We belong together Eve." Ryan urged forcefully pressing his mouth to hers as she struggled to 
               break free from him. "Don't fight it Eve. We're meant to be." 

               "Kevin..............get your hands off of me!" Eve shouted fighting to push him off of her as he gripped 
               onto a chunk of her hair forcing her to look into his face. 

               "No Eve, I won't let you walk away." Ryan insisted digging his fingers into her arms as she let out 
               a pained cry. "I won't let them take you away from me too. Do you hear me?" 

               "Kevin, what's wrong with you?" Eve questioned suddenly frightened by his overwhelming 
               presence as he brought his hand up around her neck and began squeezing it. "You're hurting 
               me." 

               "I love you Eve." Ryan whispered tightening his grip around her neck as she gasped for air. "Stay 
               with me forever." 

               "Please........." Eve trailed off with tears streaming down her face as she struggled to break free of 
               his grasp. As the lightheadedness began to take over her, Eve started to fear for her life realizing 
               that Kevin was just too strong. 

               "Don't go breaking my heart........." Ryan sang as he hummed a couple bars of the song they'd 
               sung together at Johnny La La's. He shook his head disapprovingly as he ran one of his hands 
               along her smooth shoulders. "You promised me that you wouldn't break my heart Eve." 

               "Kevin please....." Eve begged feeling her legs weakening as he drew her in nearer to him. 

               "Say you love me Eve." Ryan pleaded listening to her cough violently. "Say you were just joking 
               about what you said before. Tell me that we belong together." 

               "Kevin..." Eve coughed realizing that he wasn't going to let up on her. 

               "Say it Eve." Ryan repeated noticing the color drain from her face as tears streamed from her 
               eyes. "Say you love me." 

               "I...........I love you." Eve whispered hoarsely in between coughs as she closed her eyes. 

               "Do you mean it? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better?" Ryan questioned eyeing 
               her closely. "I wouldn't want you to lie to me." 

               "I do.........I do love you." Eve cried out gazing up at him as he dragged her across the room not 
               letting up on his hold on her. 

               "I knew you did. I knew that you wouldn't let me down like this." Ryan replied with a smile releasing 
               her as she fell to the floor gasping for air. Watching her move about on the floor before him 
               weezing, he knelt down beside her and began stroking her hair. "Don't cry Eve.....I didn't meant to 
               hurt you, but I had to make you understand. I love you and nothing's ever going to change that." 

               "Kevin........." Eve began trying to move away from him as he reached out to her once more this 
               time forcing another kiss on her as he ran his hands down the sides of her body. "Please........" 

               "Make love to me Eve." Ryan urged tugging at her shirt as she let out a muffled cry. "Show me just 
               how much you love me." 

               "No!" Eve shouted reaching for the vase on the coffee table next to them and slamming it into his 
               head before pulling together the strength to dash across the room. 

               "Damn you!" Ryan cursed charging after her and seizing her before she reached the front door. 

               "Ugh," Eve grunted kicking and screaming as he held onto her tighter. "Someone help me!" 

               "You belong to me Eve.........." he explained tearfully as he began shaking her. "I won't let you let 
               you leave me.......not now.......not ever." 

               "Help! Someone!" Eve cried out fighting to break free of his hold on her as she felt a sharp 
               stabbing sensation in her neck. 

               "I'm sorry Eve." Ryan whispered pulling the needle out of her neck as she collapsed in his arms 
               like a rag doll. "I just can't let you leave me." 
 
 

               "Well, well, well. If it isn't my dear father......." Greg Cooper called out noticing the duo waiting for 
               him after the guards had escorted him into the small visitors quarters. "And WHAT do we have 
               here? Ah, why it's Lucy Coe.........or is it Baldwin now? I have to apologize for my ignorance, but 
               I'm afraid that I haven't been able to keep up since they locked me away in this wretched place." 

               "Cooper we need to talk to you." Lucy began drawing in a breath cutting straight to the point as 
               she disregarded his comment. 

               "You want to talk to me? Am I hearing this right?" Cooper questioned in astonishment taking a 
               seat at the table in the center of the room. "Well, what did I do to be lucky enough to receive a visit 
               from the two of you? Surely, this must be something good if you two traveled all this way from Port 
               Charles to see me." 

               "Greg, it's very important that we talk to you. We have a few questions that we'd like you to 
               answer." Lucy continued taking a seat across from him as the smell of disinfectant filled the air. 
               She opened her mouth to speak once more, but was greeted with a faint howl in the distance 
               causing her flesh to crawl a bit. 

               "Don't worry Lucy. You get used to that after a while and before you know it, the sounds become 
               somewhat intoxicating...almost enticing.....the way it creeps upon you...takes a hold on your soul. 
               Can you feel it?" Cooper continued hearing another scream as he sensed the fear in her eyes as 
               he spoke up again. "The feel of death........the unavoidable sensation it brings....Come lovely and 
               soothing death, undulate round the world, serenely arriving, arriving......" 

               "What is he doing?" Lucy questioned in bewilderment turning to Victor as Cooper continued 
               speaking the words to himself. 

               "He appears to be reciting something, but I can't quite place it." Victor explained noticing the 
               wicked expression cross over Cooper's twisted features as he continued. 

               "......in the day, in the night, to each, sooner or later......delicate death........." Cooper finished with a 
               placid sigh as he directed his attention back to Lucy once again. "So tell me Lucy, does the mere 
               thought of death frighten you?" 

               "Cooper we need you to explain a few things to us." Victor insisted observing the dark man 
               before them. 

               "I want to know. Any sinking thoughts you'd care to share with me now that it's over?" Cooper 
               continued ignoring Victor's comments as he centered his attention on Lucy. "What did it feel like 
               when you were in that enclosement with Eve? You know, I must admit that Marsha and I weren't 
               anticipating your fateful rescue, but I suppose that everything couldn't have gone as planned once 
               you stuck your nose in it, now could it? I have to admit that you were one of the only ones who'd 
               survived one of our masterpieces. I suppose with a little more planning things could've turned out 
               much differently for all of us." 

               "Cooper, look I need you to answer a couple of questions." Lucy insisted trying to ignore the 
               nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

               "No Lucy. It doesn't work that way." Cooper cracked back at her with a sinister chuckle. "We're 
               going to play by my rules." 

               "What does that mean Cooper?" Lucy questioned sitting up straighter as his eyes glistened with 
               delight. 

               "En toute chose, l'on ne recoit qu'em raison de ce qu'on donne." Cooper added in a cryptic tone 
               as he studied Lucy. 

               "In all things, one receives only in accordance with what one has given." Victor translated moving 
               towards the table. "What do you want Cooper?" 

               "What do I want?" Cooper repeated with a laugh. "Is that what you think this is about? My wants? 
               Oh you both should know better than that." 

               "All right. I'll answer your question." Lucy nodded in response reluctantly. 

               "Good, I knew that you were never one to back down from a challenge." Cooper responded 
               pleased by her decision. "Now that we've got that out of the way, why don't you start by telling me 
               exactly what thoughts were running through your mind as you drew in what you believed to be your 
               last breath of air?" 

               "It was a rather unpleasant experience for me being bricked up in that wall." Lucy answered coolly 
               unwilling to let Cooper manipulate her feelings as she sat before him. 

               "Unpleasant? Unpleasant during those moments when you were clinging onto your life by a mere 
               thread?" Cooper repeated twisting the word in his mind. "Oh Lucy, that's all you could think of? 
               Not frightening or horrifying? Couldn't you feel your life flashing before you as you sat next to your 
               worst enemy preparing to enter the great unknown together?" 

               "I answered your question Cooper, now I have one for you." Lucy insisted pulling the letter out of 
               her pocket. "What can you tell me about this?" 

               "Ah, I see you've come across the missing puzzle piece." Cooper nodded tossing the piece of 
               paper back at her with a laugh. "You haven't figured it out yet, have you?" 

               "Why did you write this?" Lucy questioned above her growing impatience. 

               "You drove all this way to talk to me about this letter?" Cooper questioned in amusement leaning 
               back in his chair a bit. "You could've saved yourself the trip if you would've just questioned your 
               precious Dr. Collins about this. I'm sure he'd love to explain everything to you." 

               "Why don't you explain everything to me Cooper?" Lucy suggested noticing the cracked skin on 
               his fingers as he tapped them rhythmically on the table top. "I'd rather hear it from you." 

               "In time Lucy, but first, tell me.......what is it like to wake up in the middle of the night without the 
               one you love by your side because of an ironic twist of fate?" Cooper questioned eyeing her 
               closely realizing that he was close to striking a nerve with her. "Do you find yourself longing to be 
               with him...hoping that one day he'll yearn for you once more....only to come to the realization that 
               you'll never have him in your arms again?" 

               "Just answer the question Cooper." Lucy insisted fighting to keep her cool as he continued to 
               ignore her request. 

               "Never to feel his soft touch...to kiss him...to have his arms wrapped around you.....never able to 
               experience the feel his hot skin pressed against yours. All those nights the two of you shared 
               together...." Cooper trailed off as his eyes devoured her hungrily. "I'll bet that your thoughts are 
               quite steamy when you think of him. Aren't they Lucy?" 

               "Answer the question." Lucy urged sternly placing the letter out on the table top once more. "Why 
               did you write this to Kevin?" 

               "Life without him hasn't been the same for you, has it Lucy? His absence has affected you deeply, 
               hasn't it?" Cooper continued raising his voice as he reached across the table to seize her arm. 
               "The more you remember the way things were, the more infuriated you become, don't you? When 
               you think of him and Eve Lambert together as lovers, it fills you with a fury that you believed you 
               were incapable of, doesn't it? Almost makes murder seem like a desirable option, doesn't it?" 

               "That's enough Cooper." Victor snapped unable to listen to any more of his nonsense as he 
               lunged forward at him. "Let go of her!" 

               "You know father you picked a fine time to finally pay a visit to your long lost son, but then again, 
               you never did care too much about the forgotten ones, did you?" Cooper laughed releasing Lucy 
               as he leaned back in his seat letting out a soft chuckle. "I can see that I disappoint you, but if you 
               want me to cooperate, then you two are going to have to cooperate with me." 

               "I know that you don't want to believe this Greg, but I'm not your father." Victor insisted watching 
               the animosity spread across the young man's features. "You have to believe me when I say that 
               your mother was pregnant before she and I were ever involved with one another." 

               "He told me you'd say that." Cooper shot back in annoyance. "He said you'd deny my existence 
               as long as you could in order to keep your own piece of mind. He told me that you'd run away from 
               the truth because you weren't man enough to admit it to yourself." 

               "Who said that to you Cooper?" Victor questioned suddenly interested.

               "He said you'd never be able to own up to your responsibilities after all you'd done to hurt him, but 
               I'd argued that you'd eventually come around and see the err of your ways once we taught you a 
               lesson." Cooper continued as his eyes clouded over with a mysterious luminescence as he lost 
               himself in another time and place. "All the years of abandonment.........now it's your turn to feel the 
               pain........" 

               "Greg, please......." Lucy urged realizing that he was slowly tuning out the world around him. "We 
               need you here with us for a few minutes longer before you go back to wherever it is that you're 
               going to. Now I've done as you requested and answered your question, so please answer mine." 

               "Lucy, this is pointless." Victor insisted watching Cooper slowly rock back in forth in his seat 
               clenching his fists together as he hummed a tune to himself. "I knew that we shouldn't have come 
               here. This was a bad idea." 

               "This can't be it." Lucy replied in desperation facing Cooper once again and noticing a crooked 
               grin upon his face. "We came all this way for some type of answer and for us to give up now 
               without anything........" 

               "He's not going to give us any information Lucy." Victor explained in a pungent tone as he was 
               struck with the urge to make a quick exit as Lucy stood up from her chair. "I'll signal for the orderly 
               to take him back to his room." 

               "Cooper please." Lucy insisted giving it just one more shot as she heard footsteps in the 
               distance. "At least tell me when you wrote this." 

               "You'd do anything to find your way back into the life you felt was yours no matter what the risk. 
               Wouldn't you Lucy?" Cooper spoke up watching Lucy turn away from him. "You'd risk it all if it 
               meant you'd be able to have the life that was rightfully yours......the life that had been stolen from 
               you."

               "What did you just say?" Lucy questioned facing him once again. 

               "He'll take what belongs to him and before he's done, you'll all know what it means to suffer and 
               the best part is that you'll never know what hit you until it's too late." Cooper explained with a 
               twisted laugh. "He will wrong the sins of the past and before he's through, you all will know the pain 
               and agony, and we'll have our revenge once and for all." 

               "Who Cooper?" Lucy asked probing the issue as the orderlies entered the room to pick him up. 
               "Who's going to have his revenge?" 

               "I shouldn't be telling you this Lucy, but Kevin's a dead man and the best thing you can do is just 
               forget about him." Cooper warned her as the orderlies reached out to him. 

               "Wait!" Lucy urged suddenly overwhelmed with fear. "What are you going to do to Kevin?" 

               "Kevin's long gone." Cooper chuckled in amusement twirling his hands in the air as he tried to 
               shoo the two orderlies away from him. In between protesting with the two men, he began to hum a 
               tune. "Bye, bye baby.........so long, fair well, bye-bye......." 

               "Wait a second." Lucy insisted as the two men hoisted him up from the chair as he laughed 
               wildly. 

               "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over." One of them explained as they pulled Cooper across the 
               room. 

               "You're all going to pay. You'll see." Cooper shouted out at them as he was carried away. "It's just 
               a matter of time before we get our revenge." 

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

               Kevin opened his eyes only to be greeted with darkness as his life passed before him. He could 
               feel his body trembling with fear as the memory flashes grew more vivid. The sounds of a child's 
               laughter filled the air, interrupted by cries, the tears of the ones they'd left behind.........the 
               darkness....the overwhelming fear of things to come. Kevin struggled to will the pictures away, but 
               there they were clear as day haunting him as he jumped into the past and noticed the small child 
               before him. 

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

               "Ryan," the small boy cried out struggling to break free of his father's powerful grasp as the house 
               grew smaller with each passing second. "We can't leave Ryan." 

               "Son, please." Victor had called out tearfully holding his boy tighter as the child's hot tears burned 
               against his skin. "Don't look back." 

               "We can't leave him." the child cried out in terror kicking and screaming as he rushed into the 
               back seat of the car banging on the glass window searching to find a way out before it was too 
               late. Kevin remained silent watching the child's useless pleas. "Dad please..........we need to go 
               back for Ryan......we need to help him......" 

               "I'm sorry son." Victor choked back tears as he continued driving towards the airport. Kevin sat as 
               an onlooker watching his father's retreat as he his heart broke in two knowing just what his father 
               had given up as Victor spoke again. "I'm so sorry Monk......so sorry." 

               "Ryan........." the child's voice cried out as Kevin was once again surrounded by darkness. 

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

               Clawing at the dense air around him, Kevin felt a sinking sensation take control as he tried to 
               move, but the pull on him was too strong as he was greeted by the sounds of laughter as Kevin 
               found himself back at the lighthouse watching the scene unfold before him. He tries to listen to the 
               voices of the people talking, but he couldn't make out what was being said as he steps into the 
               bedroom to find himself and Lucy together as he bustles around the room frantically trying to get 
               ready for work as Lucy tries to coerce him back into bed. 

               Kevin moves forward trying to make out their words, but is unable to hear them clearly already 
               knowing what they're discussing as he sees himself turn to Lucy. Closing his eyes for a moment 
               Kevin clearly remembers that morning when he's awakened late with Lucy by his side. He'd been 
               so upset that he'd overslept that morning since he had a conference in Rochester later in the 
               evening. He remembered how Lucy had made fun of him as he frantically searched for his green 
               thread jacket. She'd teased him playfully for a while as they both remained unaware of the fact that 
               Ryan was still lurking in the shadows waiting to make his next move. 

               Kevin re-opened his eyes hoping to savor the moment if only for a few short seconds longer when 
               another horrific scene played before him and he was surrounded by flames. Feeling the sting of 
               the heat pressed against his skin, he stood as an onlooker watching his brother go up in flames 
               as he remained motionless seeing the agony of his former self as he fell to his knees. 

               "The table's are turned now aren't they Kevin?" Ryan's voice bellowed out as Kevin brought his 
               hands over his ears trying to escape his chilling laughter as he reached out into the darkness 
               trying to fend off the demons eating away at him as the pounding continued in his head. The 
               images were suddenly replaced by the never ending horror that he'd grown accustomed to over 
               the last eleven months began to replay in his mind as he traveled back to that day.....the day when 
               he'd lost it all.......the day when he'd last been with her....his wedding day.....the day he'd lost Lucy. 
 
 

               ".....You are everything to me. You are the entire center of my life. Doc if this was so important, if 
               I'd just known that, then I never would have lied to you. I swear, I swear I will never, ever do that 
               again." 

               "I'm sorry Lucy, but your promises don't carry much weight any more." 

               "Doc, I love you. You--you know I would do absolutely anything for you. You go ahead. Ask me 
               anything, anything at all, and I'll prove it." 
 
 

               Feeling his heart pounding, he was faced with the image of her standing before him tearfully in her 
               wedding gown pleading her case to his unbending position. He struggled to find the words to 
               change the way things had become, trying to block out the mistake he'd made, but none the less, 
               the memory continued and his choice came back to haunt him once again. 
 
 

               "All right. You let me walk out that door and don't follow me." 

               "Are you--are you saying that you won't marry me?" 

               "I can't bring myself to say that, but I do know that I won't marry you today Lucy." 

               "No! Don't go Kevin." 

               "You asked me to ask you anything. Was that a lie?" 

               "No, no." 

               "Then don't follow me." 
 
 

               Feeling his body tighten up, he remained helpless watching himself walk out those doors after 
               telling everyone that the wedding was off. He could see himself in the church parking lot trying to 
               come to terms with what had just happened when the feeling had first struck him. In that instant 
               that he'd walked out on the ceremony, he'd made the biggest mistake of his life and before he'd 
               had the opportunity to turn back, he lost it all. 

               Trying to block the memory, Kevin struggled to bring himself out of the past, but it's pull on him 
               was too strong. The images became more vivid as he found himself reliving them once again as 
               an observer standing in the distance unable to change the way things had become. 

               "Oh Lucy," he had bellowed out fighting back tears looking back to the church once again as he 
               held onto the photographs Eve had given him, "where did we go so wrong? How could we come 
               to this?" 

               "Don't leave." Kevin pleaded with himself hoping to change the way things had become, but he 
               knew it was useless. 

               "Why couldn't you just tell me the truth about this?" he'd pleaded scanning over the photographs 
               once more feeling as if the one true thing in his life had been violated as he thought of the love of 
               his life he'd just left at the altar of all places. After a moment, he'd tossed the photographs onto the 
               ground unable to deal with the pain of the betrayal as he moved away unable to find the strength 
               to follow the inner voice of his heart and go back to her. 

               "No!" Kevin cried out as he watched his former self turn to the limo seeking a quick exit, before 
               his emotions got the best of him. Now as an onlooker, Kevin struggled to reach the limo in time 
               hoping to change the turn of events, but was greeted with thick black smoke as the limo took off in 
               the opposite direction sealing his fate as his mind was filled with another horrifying image brought 
               about shortly after his hasty retreat from the church. 
 
 

               "Where am I?" his voice bellowed out after coming back to consciousness as the blackness filled 
               the air of the tiny cell. 

               "Welcome to your new life Kevin." the voice had taunted him as Ryan revealed himself to Kevin 
               for the first time. 

               "No!" Kevin had shouted struggling to pull himself up from the thin cot as Ryan stood before him. 

               "Don't worry Kevin." Ryan had urged as Kevin had struggled to break free. "You'll get used to 
               living in solitude and before you know it, life won't mean anything to you anymore." 

               "You won't get away with this Ryan." Kevin had insisted as the throbbing in his head grew more 
               intense. 

               "We'll see about that." Ryan voice echoed as the darkness took over once again and Kevin found 
               himself alone. 

               "I don't belong here." Kevin cried out suddenly finding himself locked up once again in that dark 
               musty cell. "Please..........." 

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

               Chris entered his apartment with a sinking feeling in his chest half expecting to find Eve waiting 
               for him on the sofa as she'd usually done when they had something important to discuss with one 
               another. He'd managed to make it home safely although he couldn't remember much of the ride 
               home considering the state he'd been after Eve had left him. Closing the door behind him, Chris 
               thought of their evening together as the images of making love to her burned his mind and he was 
               reminded of his heart felt confession. 
 
 

               "Eve, what happened before last night doesn't matter." Chris insisted taking her hand in his. "We 
               both danced around this issue with each other in the past, but now we know what we feel for each 
               other is more than friendship. Eve, I'm......I'm in love with you." 

               "I...........I love you too." Eve sobbed harder as she pressed up against him feeling the warmth of 
               his touch. "I never meant for this to happen, but look at us. How could we let this happen now?" 

               "It was meant to be." Chris whispered wrapping his arms around her tightly feeling choked up with 
               emotions. "We're meant to be." 
 
 

               "I'm sorry Eve," Chris began snapping back to reality as he pulled her letter out of his jacket 
               pocket and held in hand, "but I refuse to let you go and as soon as you get home I'm going to 
               prove to you that we belong together." 

               Chris felt his heart pounding as he thought of Eve. Suddenly struck with an eerie feeling that 
               something was terribly wrong, he moved towards the answering machine hoping to find some 
               clue about where she'd disappeared to. Remembering her news about Kevin, he decided to head 
               off to the lighthouse before Eve made the biggest mistake of her life and followed through on her 
               promise to marry Kevin. As Chris reached the front door, the phone rang and he rushed over to 
               answer it. 

               "Eve," He answered breathlessly holding the phone close to his ear. 

               "No Chris, it's Tracie." her voice rang out over the line. 

               "Oh, Tracie," Chris replied suddenly struck with a feeling of guilt as he remembered their time 
               together only a couple days earlier when he'd assured her that nothing was going on between him 
               and Eve. 

               "Chris, I need to see you right away." Tracie insisted interrupting his thoughts as she listened to 
               the sound of him breathing over the line. 

               "Tracie, listen you and I need to talk about a few things very soon, but right now is not a good time 
               for me. I was just about to run out for a while." Chris explained realizing he'd have to act fast if he 
               was going to have any chance of catching up to Eve and stopping her from going off with Kevin. 

               "Chris, look I know that this is rather last minute, but I don't know who else to call in a situation like 
               this." Tracie pleaded directing her attention to the shaken man lying on the ground before her. "I'm 
               at a cabin on Jasmine Island. I believe it's the old Collins estate......" 

               "Jasmine Island? What in the world are you doing there?" Chris questioned in confusion as her 
               words sunk in. 

               "Look, I don't have time to explain, but it's of the upmost importance that you get here right away." 
               Tracie insisted shakily as she listened to the moaning of the man on the floor. "Chris look I 
               wouldn't ask you to drop what you're doing like this, but I need you here right away." 

               "Tracie, are you all right?" Chris inquired listening to the sounds of whimpering in the background. 
               "What is that?" 

               "Chris, I have to go." Tracie replied watching Kevin break into another series of convulsions. 
               "Also, please bring your medical bag with you." 

               "Tracie........" Chris started hearing a click as the other end of the line went dead. Hanging up the 
               phone Chris turned to Eve's letter still on top of the table. Scooping it up in his hands he let out a 
               reluctant sigh and tucked it away in his pocket as he reached for his medical bag. 

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

               Eve turned her head to the side and opened her eyes suddenly overcome with a feeling of 
               lightheadedness as her eyes slowly adjusted to her surroundings. She could feel the stinging 
               sensation in her arm as Ryan loomed over her finishing up his latest injection as she let out a tired 
               yelp. 

               "Shh.......honey don't worry. Everything's going to be okay." Ryan began stroking her hair as he set 
               the needle aside. "I promise that the sting will only last for a minute or two and then you won't be 
               able to feel a thing." 

               "Wh....where am I?" Eve questioned weakly feeling the world spinning around her as he slowly 
               came into focus. 

               "You're somewhere safe baby and I promise you, no one will ever bother us again." Ryan 
               explained trailing his fingers along her cheekbone. "It's just you and me now." 

               "No.........no.......don't touch me." Eve cried out as the memory of their argument at the lighthouse 
               flooded her mind. "Get away from me." 

               "Eve, please...please don't do that. There's no need to get worked up over something so trivial." 
               Ryan urged reaching out to hold her as she struggled to pull together the strength to move away. 
               "You're only going to hurt yourself if you keep this up. Please try to stay still and just relax." 

               "What...what did you do to me Kevin?" Eve questioned in confusion straining to lift her head. 

               "I gave you a sedative because I had to calm you down." Ryan explained caressing her soft skin 
               as he gazed her over in admiration. 

               "This was more than a sedative. I can't feel my arms or my legs Kevin. What did you do to me?" 
               Eve began gazing up into the deep set eyes she'd once felt very comfortable with. "Why are you 
               doing this?" 

               "You were so upset earlier and I couldn't let you hurt yourself Eve. I love you." Ryan explained 
               lowering himself to kiss her as she turned her head away letting out a whimper. "Eve 
               please.......don't do this to us." 

               "Kevin, let me go." Eve urged knowing that she was defenseless for the time being as he hovered 
               over her. "Why don't you just take me back home and we can talk about this rationally?" 

               "I'm afraid I can't do that Eve." Ryan explained shaking his head poignantly. "I've invested too 
               much time and energy into us just to let you slip away." 

               "Kevin, I'm not going to slip away." Eve insisted struggling to move her fingers as he reached out 
               to touch her once more. 

               "I don't blame you Eve." Ryan continued running his fingers through her soft, dark hair. "I know that 
               they've tried to poison you......make you believe that I'm evil, but my love for you is pure and true. 
               I've loved you since the day I first laid eyes on you Dr. Lambert." 

               "You're right. They did try to make me change my mind about you, but I can see that they're 
               wrong." Eve agreed fighting back tears as she noticed him take on a childlike persona. "Why 
               don't you just take me home and we can discuss this like rational adults?" 

               "Oh Eve, how I want to believe in you, but you've lied to me too much already." Ryan sighed 
               shaking his head as he pulled away from her. "After all I've done to ensure your happiness, you'd 
               think you would feel for me, the way I feel for you, but you don't do you? No matter what I do, I can't 
               make you love me anymore, can I?" 

               "Kevin, where are we?" Eve questioned taking note of the darkness as she notice him disappear 
               out of sight. 

               "Don't you recognize this place?" Ryan questioned looking around their surroundings with a light 
               chuckle before directing his attention back to her. "Don't worry honey. In time it'll all come to you 
               once you're feeling better." 

               "Please..........don't do this Kevin." Eve pleaded with tears in her eyes realizing that she'd never
               imagined Kevin turning into the image that stood before her. "Let's talk about this." 

               "Eve, did you ever notice that when people are in a bind, they're always so apt to using speech as 
               a way of communicating with one another? It's in those moments when they fear for their lives that 
               they're open to suggestion........willing to see things as they are, well, Eve, I have a confession to 
               make." Ryan confessed moving in beside her once more. "I'm not one of those people that feels 
               you can take away the pain with a few sweet words. You have to prove to me that you love me 
               before I'll believe a word you say." 

               "Kevin, think about what you're doing." Eve began trying to remain calm as she tried talking him 
               down. "If you loved me, then you wouldn't be doing this. You'd be...." 

               "Don't you dare tell me what I'd be doing if I loved you." Ryan snapped at her in a rage. "I've done 
               everything for you because I loved you. I gave you an easy out with Bennett Devlin when I spent all 
               that time with Cooper training Julie for her mission." 

               "What?" Eve questioned in bewilderment as he took note of her confusion. 

               "That's right Eve. You have no idea just how much I did for you especially after Lucy siphoned the 
               gas out of your car. I couldn't let her get away with hurting you like that, so I made sure that you 
               found the proof you needed to bring her down on her wedding day. Who do you think made sure 
               those pictures arrived in time?" Ryan continued as his brown eyes flashed in anger as he thought 
               the day he'd stepped into Kevin's shoes. 

               "But how could you........?" Eve questioned remembering how angry Kevin had been when she'd 
               revealed the photographs to him on his wedding day. 

               "Don't look so surprised. I must admit that I had my own reasons for wanting that wedding to be 
               stopped, and I must say you executed your part perfectly." Ryan explained approvingly as he 
               reached out to touch her once more. "You paved the way for us to be together that day when you 
               busted into that church service. In fact watching you that day only sealed my belief that we were 
               meant for one another. We're two of a kind Eve both stepping into the life we know we deserve. 
               Together we could be unstoppable Eve. Port Charles could've been at our mercy." 

               "What are you talking about?" Eve questioned overcome with chills as he bellowed out a low, 
               hollow laugh. 

               "I took care of the problem with Kevin and I can assure you that soon Lucy Coe will be nothing 
               more than a bad memory and there won't be anything standing in our way Eve." Ryan explained 
               happily as he gazed her over in admiration. 

               "No........." Eve trailed off in horror as the reality of the situation slowly sunk in. "Oh my God. 
               You're.......you're......." 

               "Ryan?" he finished with a grin amazed that she'd finally figured it out. "Why yes I am, but we don't 
               need to let that little factor destroy the love we have for one another, do we?" 
 
 

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

               Chris drove as quickly as he could up to the Collin's estate struck with worry after Tracie had cut 
               him off like she did on the phone. As he parked the car, he noticed Tracie fleeing from the cabin 
               towards him. 

               "Thank God you're here." Tracie gasped throwing her arms around Chris as she embraced him. "I 
               was so afraid that you weren't going to make it in time." 

               "Tracie, what's going on?" Chris questioned grabbing a hold of her arms as he took note of the 
               panic on her face. 

               "Chris, there's no time for explanations." Tracie urged taking his hand in hers as she led him 
               towards the cabin. "He's gone into convulsions once more and I'm afraid that this looks like it 
               could be the end for him." 

               "For who?" Chris questioned in confusion following Tracie into the dimly lit cabin as he noticed 
               the man trembling on the floor. "What the hell happened here?" 

               "Chris, he's been like that for quite a few hours." Tracie began tearfully watching the man as he fell 
               into stillness. "We can't just let him die." 

               "Okay, don't panic." Chris insisted reaching into his medical bag as he approached the horribly 
               bruised man. He cautiously knelt beside the man, placing his hand on his shoulder realizing that 
               there was still a pulse as he turned the man coming face to face with him. "Oh my God!" 

               ***Note: Parts of Kevin's wedding flashback taken from the actual episode of PC**