The Road Trip Series
by Cher

Canada Day - July 1, 2003

You have reached Alexis Davis. I'm not available, so please leave a message.

<beep>

Alexis, it's Cameron. Come on, I know you're there. Pick up the phone. <pause> Stop being so stubborn and talk to me.

Alexis stood arms crossed over her chest as she listened to the voice drifting from her answering machine.

We need to talk and I'm damn well going to keep trying until you listen to what I have to say. Alexis! <pause> Call me, please!

"I wouldn't hold my breath, pal," Alexis muttered at the message.

It was all Cameron and Zander's fault. She spent a sublime Flag Day in the mountains with Cameron and really tried her best to get father and son to work out their differences on Father's Day. She loved them both and it hurt her to watch them walk around in pain taking giant steps to avoid each other. She just couldn't understand why they refused to even try to work out their problems. One would think with her family and her life as a somewhat tarnished example, they would see that life was too short and it shouldn't be wasted on old grudges and past mistakes in judgment. So, she set them up on that yacht trip and little did she know it would all eventually blow up in her face - literally as well as figuratively. She thought about Father's Day and shuddered. Talk about an ill-wind blowing through one's well-meaning sails.

It started out fine by most standards as she managed to get them both aboard, even got them to band together to tease her after she chewed them out. Thinking about it, maybe her mistake was leaving them alone together without adult supervision or believing their problems were of a past that had nothing to do with present circumstances. But in the time it took to slip into something more comfortable, her master plan started unraveling like a demented ball of twine.

Seeing his father kiss her and their obvious closeness, he waited until she was out of earshot and then without allowing Cameron to utter a word, Zander started in on his father about Alexis, about how he was hurting her by not being honest about his 'secret' life and how it was just like him to give a damn about no one else but himself and what he selfishly wanted. No one ever mattered except him.

Cameron didn't appreciate the sentiment or the insolent tone, decided not to come clean about 'Dobson' or anything else for that matter and stonewalled his son.

One thing led to another and by the time she reappeared on deck, they'd retreated to opposite sides of the yacht, red-faced and angry, the spitting image of each other.

She first tried to reason with the father then the son and neither would budge. Words, even her usually persuasive words, were not working with these two stubborn hotheads. She got so frustrated, she finally did something she normally would never do but resorted to in her desperation. She stomped below, grabbed a golf iron from the set of clubs in the master suite and threatened to painfully tee each one of them off the boat if they did not sit themselves down and work it out. She must have looked pretty scary gripping that golf iron because they both sat down on deck quickly and quietly still not speaking but waiting for her next move.

She started off the conversation by laying down the ground rules - no cuss words, no hair pulling and no poking of sensitive body parts. If anyone were to have the pleasure of poking someone, she snarked, it would be the referee.

An hour later they were still sullenly sitting side by side like two unrepentant schoolboys called to the principal's office. About that time, Zander decided he'd had enough and tossed an offhand but very pointed comment at his father. Cameron batted back the comment and soon one petty word led to a petty phrase and on to an even pettier soliloquy of sarcasm. She watched from her lounge chair as they carried on two separate but equally snippy conversations, any momentary respite to draw breath an excuse for the other to lob one more verbal grenade onto the battleground and see how much collateral damage it caused. It was like a tennis game gone mad, the verbal back and forth out of control. They weren't talking to each other, they were talking AT each other and she doubted either one heard a single word the other said which was probably for the best given some of the more gut-wrenching editorializing that was being verbally written on the wind. The whole thing was giving her a migraine headache when all she wanted to do was catch some rays and see the two men she loved start to act less like hostile strangers and more like father and son. Not so much to ask, she thought, when my own life is such a mess.

As the volume increased, she stifled the urge to put her fingers in her ears when she caught a hint of gasoline in the air and saw smoke filtering out from below deck. She heard shouts and then a muffled 'POP!' as something exploded below and the yacht shuddered to a dead stop in the water. Cameron and Zander were so engrossed in their little verbal war they never even noticed the smoke until the shouting from the crew exceeded the decibel level of their argument. They ran over to her as she rolled her eyes, stood up languidly and bypassed them to speak to the captain. He spoke to her in Greek, she nodded then shrugged her shoulders and walked to lie back down on the lounge chair. Both Cameron and Zander looked at her quizzically and she told them the engine had blown but the captain contacted the Coast Guard and they were enroute to take the passengers back to Port Charles. It was, she thought, a blessing in disguise.

This was a bad omen and bad omens, her superstitious great-aunt Eugenia would likely say, were signs from the gods that you were knocking on the wrong doors. Alexis was not one to be ruled by superstition and portents but maybe her great-aunt was onto something after the events of this afternoon, not to mention those of the last year. Maybe Fate was telling her it was not her place to interfere and she was lucky to get off with just a blown engine and hurt pride as a stiff warning. Maybe Fate was tapping her shoulder telling her everything was wrong even her feelings for Cameron. She'd made mistakes before, perhaps this was just another in the pattern of her life. Heaven knows the last year whittled away her self-esteem and her perspective, could she even trust herself anymore where her heart was concerned?

So, she arrived at a decision - they were on their own. She had enough problems of her own to resolve and if she wasn't going to get any help from the two men in question, well… she was angry and tired of banging her head against the great big Lewis stone wall and just couldn't worry about them. They would either find each other again or not but it was their decision, their fight. As to her burgeoning love for Cameron, that would be placed on indefinite 'hold'.

So she applied some sunscreen, turned onto her stomach as she told them they could do as they pleased until the Coast Guard came including, but not limited to, jumping overboard and swimming with the sharks. She spent the rest of the time ignoring them until the Coast Guard arrived to ferry them home. That was Father's Day and she had not uttered word one to either of them since despite plaintive messages, verbal pleas including a volume of romantic poetic verse in script slipped under her door by Cameron and a virtual greenhouse of floral deliveries.

Let them stew in their own juices, she thought, I need a time out.

* * *

It was the first of July, a few days before Independence Day. She'd hoped for so much this summer, her first with her daughter - to show her how to search for shells along the beach, to ride the carousel, to have picnics in the park, to rock her to sleep on the terrace as they watched the stars twinkle above them. But her life was nothing like she ever imagined and all due to choices she made and the consequence she lives with each day, the hardest of which is not spending time with her baby girl. The Quartermaines always have a picnic in the park on Independence Day but would she be invited to share time with her daughter, to hold her? She had also envisioned spending more time with Cameron, horseback riding along the beach, sharing a picnic meal on a soft blanket, holding each other close as they look up into the sky and watch the fireworks explode over the harbor on the Fourth of July.

Right now, it seemed nothing would ever be as she dreamed.

She sat thoughtfully on a bench under a tree in the park and waited for Zander. She was determined to ignore him until he straightened things out with his father but he called her cellular and left a message, sounding like he always sounds when he's in over his head. Some things never change, although she wished they did, but she would never abandon him - even for her own anger and pride.

"I'm so glad you agreed to meet me, Alexis," Zander said earnestly as he jogged over and sat down.

She looked at his perspiring body and asked, "It is almost 100 degrees in the shade, Zander, do you have a death wish?"

"This from the woman who told me she believed Satan created exercise to take out the faithful," Zander laughed as he took a sip of water.

"Well, it wouldn't surprise me so I just avoid the pitfall. You know about pitfalls, Zander? You should walk around and not step right into them."

He looked confused. "What are you talking about? What pitfalls?"

She looked at him seriously. "Your call… it sounded serious, like trouble found you again - or the reverse."

He blushed slightly. "Oh, that… turns out it was nothing. I handled it."

She arched an eyebrow. "You handled it? It sounded to me like you needed my help because you couldn't handle it alone."

"Well, it really wasn't as bad as I thought. Besides, it gives me a chance to see you. I'm sorry about Father's Day, Alexis, I acted like a jerk and ignored all the stuff you told me. I know you are still mad and I hate that. I miss you."

It became clear as a bell and she was annoyed. "So…you made up a lie about being in trouble so I would come and see you? Zander, that is a cruel thing to do! I was very worried about you!" She got up to walk away.

Zander grabbed her hand as she stood. "Wait! Please, Alexis! Yeah, it was stupid but you know I have a history of doing the stupid, right?"

She turned to walk away and he clutched at her hand as he looked around the park. "Look, I was desperate! You were so angry and you never really stay mad at me but after you wouldn't answer my calls, I didn't know what else to do. You are too important to me - I can't lose you!"

She looked down at him and replied coolly, " You haven't lost me. I'm just very angry with you and your father right now and being around you isn't the best thing for any of us."

"Well, I for one would like to debate the merits of that last point with you."

She turned at hearing his voice and stared into Cameron's dark eyes. He was standing a few feet away staring right back, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans.

She looked down at Zander and pointed at Cameron. "Was this also one of your bright ideas?"

Cameron glanced at his son and spoke up, "You might say it was a group effort."

Alexis retorted, "Group as in gang as in gang up on?"

He smiled, "Well, when you refused to respond to my poetic overtures I decided it was time to play dirty."

She tried to remove her hand from Zander's and he just held on tighter. "Come on, Alexis, we didn't know what to do."

She glared at both of them. "So you decided together… my, what an unusual concept to ascribe to your unique familial relationship…to fake me out so I would meet you. The two of you working together… hmmmmm… I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. So, congratulations, I'm here, your ill-conceived plan was a success. Too bad you can't put as much thought and focus into working out your own problems. You'd certainly get a more lasting return than with this one."

She pulled her hand from Zander and started to walk away.

Cameron touched her shoulder and she stopped. "Please, just talk to me. I know you are angry but you've never been unfair."

That did it. "Unfair? You call me unfair? I try to get two men I care about together, two men hurting from all the pain they refuse to face, to face the nasty demons that are destroying them and you can't even try without fighting? Fine, I hereby throw up my hands. The white flag is now billowing at full mast. You are both on your own."

She started walking when she felt her legs leave the ground as she was thrown over Cameron's shoulder like a sack of flour. She opened her mouth to say something and found she was speechless.

Cameron started walking, Zander following closely behind. "Look, I didn't want to have to do this. I wanted us to take a drive and go somewhere quiet to talk but you obviously want to do this the hard way. That doesn't surprise me but I am more than up for the challenge."

She wriggled as he held on tighter to her legs. "Put me down now! You are making a spectacle of us."

"I don't care if I have to dance around the park nude. We are going to talk."

They reached Cameron's car, he opened the door and plopped her down on the seat. Zander stood guard outside as Cameron jumped into the front seat and gunned the engine. He saluted his son and screeched away.

Zander shook his head as he watched the car disappear down the road. He and his father stopped arguing long enough to see what their fight was doing to Alexis. They decided that divide and conquer was the only way to fix things and his father drew the short straw. Democracy, he snickered to himself, is a wonderful thing.

"Good luck, Dad, I sure hope you come back alive."

* * *

"Turn this car around now," she muttered as she gritted her teeth. She rattled the door handle and flipped the locks but each time Cameron relocked them.

He shook his head. "Sorry, no can do."

He glanced at her as she tried to open the door again. "Alexis, we are driving 55 mph, are you so angry with me that you actually want to jump out? That is somewhat disproportionate to the situation and besides you could get hurt."

She hated that he was right. She huffed and slouched back in the passenger seat defeated. "Just where in hell are you taking me?"

He smiled but not too widely so she wouldn't hit him. "I'm kidnapping you."

She looked at him with eyes wide and disbelieving. The man has gone over the edge, she thought.

"Are you out of your mind, Cameron?"

He smirked at her. "Out of my mind? No, that would be you."

She was getting angrier by the second. "You do realize that kidnapping is a felony if I press charges, right?"

He chuckled wickedly, "That is if they find you."

She made a face as she drummed her fingernails on the leather seat and decided to try a different angle. "Look, I can't just disappear. I have to be at the Quartermaines later today."

"Well, it seems that Dobson had a family emergency and will be away for the next few days."

Her jaw dropped. "You called them?"

"Yes, and with a passable British accent too."

She thought again and decided to pour on the guilt. "I have a therapy session tomorrow. You are the one who told me I have to keep those appointments so I don't anger that idiot Judge Farmer. I can't imagine you of all people would actually do something that would jeopardize custody of my daughter."

He tried to hide a smile. She was good, very good. "Oh, Dr. Ryan was called away to a conference and cancelled all her appointments for the next few days. Didn't you get the memo?"

She pursed her lips and looked over at him. "What about Ned and Skye? Skye keeps pointing out missed and late visitation with Kristina. Do you want to give her more ammunition against me?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't worry too much about Ned and Skye. I told them you had a serious family matter to attend to out of town - your Mother's side, of course - and would need to reschedule the visits. Oh, and before you ask, I told the rest of your family the same story. Those Cassadines, not too much with the follow up questions - I like that. So, you are free as the proverbial bird."

She rode in silence mulling over the options in her head. They did not give her any comfort. The last place she wanted to be was with Cameron alone on a trip to who knows where. He always seemed to find the most romantic locales or ones where romance could amazingly appear in the blink of an eye because they were together. No, no, she shouted to herself, I want to stay angry. The problem was holding onto that anger when they were alone - a less than 50/50 proposition, probably much less.

She sighed and gazed out the window at the landscape as they passed a Canadian border, 2 miles sign.

She swallowed nervously as she turned toward Cameron. "Uh… where exactly are we headed?"

He chuckled and caressed her knee. "Well, I should think it would be obvious from that sign back there - Canada."

"You are kidnapping me across the border? Just fair warning - that is a major federal offense that means major jail time, buddy. And I doubt you want to be dance partners with the prison population at Pentonville. I heard they especially like the tall, dark and sarcastic ones."

He grinned as he took her hand and kissed her palm. "Oh, something tells me you won't give me up to the Mounties."

She pulled away her hand and retorted, "Don't bet on it, pal. You're messing with a Cassadine and let me tell you the last time I was kidnapped it did not end well for said kidnapper."

He shrugged. "I'm a gambling sort so I guess I'll just have to take my chances."

She was getting desperate. "Clothes. What about clothes - I have none."

He pointed to the trunk. "Yes, you do. We packed your suitcase."

She was shocked. "You broke into my apartment?"

He grinned. "Well, technically there was no break-age. Zander picked the lock and we just let ourselves in. Interesting part was rummaging through your drawers - some mighty fascinating items in there. We should probably discuss your rather colorful obsession with satin and French lace."

"You went through my drawers?"

"Uh huh. But it was all in the line of duty, no voyeurism intended. But I did like that Merry Widow teddy-like piece… I even packed it. That and that silky crème lace number. Ooo la la!"

She rolled her eyes and moaned. "You have it all planned. As I said before, if you and your son gave half as much thought to dealing with your problem, you'd have solved it months ago."

He looked at her. "Time enough to discuss the 'wrongs'. Today I want to concentrate on the 'rights'. The right of 'us' to start."

She muttered as she looked out the car window. "There is no 'us'."

He shrugged his shoulders as he pulled up to the border crossing. "I beg to differ but we'll have lots of time to discuss it on our retreat."

"Retreat? Like a religious meditation retreat? You are taking me to a monastery?"

"No, no monastery for us since we are as far from celibate as… well… I think you can fill in that particular blank."

She blushed remembering their night on Kristina's mountain. "Then what? Are we going to drive the width of Canada until we run out of things to argue about? Somehow I don't think the entire country is large enough for that."

He shook his head. "Fishing."

She looked confused then as the puzzle pieces started to fall into place she looked appalled.

"You are taking me fishing?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "You are going to love it. Picking out a spot along the river, wading in with your rod, the peaceful stillness as you wait for a fish to take the bait…"

She shuddered. "Bait? You expect me to impale a squirmy very much alive creature on a hook? No. I do not fish, I do not touch bait, hell I don't even eat sushi. So no, thank you very much."

"You've never experienced the serenity of fishing. We can talk all we want and I'll even cook up the fish."

The border guard stopped the car and asked for identification. Cameron handed over his ID and Alexis's that Zander had retrieved from her purse. As the border guard looked them over, Cameron had the impression - just for a moment - that Alexis was going to make a scene. But all remained quiet in the passenger seat as the guard handed back their IDs.

Cameron pointed to the balloons and banners strung up along the road. "What's up?"

The guard smiled proudly, "Today is Canada Day, our national birthday. We are 136 years old today! You arrived at the perfect time - lots of local festivals, picnics and parades you might enjoy. So, will you be staying long in Canada?"

Before Alexis could interrupt, Cameron replied, "Just a few days, fishing excursion."

The guard looked over at Alexis and winked, "And it looks as if your companion would rather be anywhere else."

Alexis crossed her arms over her chest and grumbled, "You have no idea."

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