The Road Trip Series
by Cher

The Easter Egg Hunt

"So we're lost," Alexis said, rolling her eyes as she watched the landscape pass from the passenger seat of Cameron's car.

"Are not," Cameron replied.

"Are to," Alexis muttered under her breath.

"NOT!" Cameron lobbed back.

"TO!" Alexis volleyed sarcastically as she looked at him.

Cameron glanced over and answered patiently, "I assure you, Alexis, we are not lost. I know these woods…"

"Like the back of your oh-so-manly shrink's hand?" Alexis smirked. "I feel so much better."

Cameron shook his head and said, "You seem to trust those hands for other things…" He eyed her wickedly as she blushed, "but, just out of curiosity, what leads you to such obviously erroneous conclusion?"

Alexis pursed her lips and pointed to the side of the road, "Well, it could be that rather large misshapen white rock over there we've passed, oh, about ten times in the last 20 minutes." She shrugged her shoulders, "But, hey, I could be wrong - it has been known to happen on a few occasions."

Cameron looked at the rock and decided to ignore the obvious. "Well, despite the conclusion reached by your finely-honed deductive skills, we are not lost." He went back to driving.

Alexis turned around to the back seat where Kristina was snug in her car seat.

"Pumpkin, remember all those rules Mommy was reciting to you, the ones you need to know to survive out in the world? Well, sweetness, here is Rule # 49 - men have no sense of direction so you always need to take the driver's seat." Kristina cooed back her understanding and Alexis grinned at Cameron and went back to looking out the window.

Cameron replied with a pout, "I find that rather insulting, Alexis, I myself am quite directed."

Alexis crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head negatively, "Directive, Cameron, not directed."

Cameron shrugged it off, "Semantics."

Alexis shook her head and bounced back, "Different intent entirely, Dr. Knows Everything - Not."

Cameron glanced at her and stated, "Well, I didn't hear you complain last night about my 'directiveness'. As I seem to recall, you were quite VERBOSE about the… ahem… 'quality' of my directiveness."

Alexis flushed scarlet and gnawed at her lower lip as she looked out the window recalling that 'quality'. Not to mention the quantity thereof, she thought with a sigh.

Cameron continued, excited by the glow the blush brought to her face, "Confidentially, I hadn't heard that many breathy sentiments since I watched a tape of Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday" to President Kennedy at Madison Square Garden."

Rolling her eyes, she turned to him and smiled sweetly, "Fine, you win. I concede your point." She filed that little debate away for future reference.

Alexis looked at the shopping list: large Grade A eggs, egg coloring kit, small paintbrush, wine and then at Cameron.

"So tell me again just why we are doing this."

Cameron looked askance, "You've never colored eggs for Easter?"

Alexis answered simply, "No."

"Never had an Easter basket?" he queried in amazement.

"No," she replied, starting to feel like a misfit.

"No chocolate bunnies, marshmallow peeps, jelly beans or coconut eggs?" he asked as he started to feel sad for the child Alexis had been.

Again, she answered, "No."

He thought of a question that should elicit a positive response since everyone had at some point in time. "Well, you've eaten hard-boiled eggs before, right? These are just a pretty decorative version."

Alexis shuddered shaking her head, "No, thank you very much. They are slimy and roll out of your hand when you peel them. Oh, and research indicates they are cholesterol time bombs and that is a bad thing. So, no, no hard-boiled eggs for me."

She tried very hard to keep a grin from her face as she could see he was getting exasperated. She enjoyed that since he furrowed his brow in a certain way that made her want to smooth it out with a kiss.

"Ok," Cameron sighed as this was like pushing a rock up a hill. "So you've never sprinkled salt or spread horseradish on a hard-boiled egg and enjoyed the ride. You've never eaten an egg - ever?"

Alexis shifted in her seat and smiled, "Oh yes, I get those liquid ones in the container."

"Egg Beaters?" he asked as she nodded, "Alexis, that is not an egg. Personally I think it is an alien lifeform liquefied but qué sera sera…"

She suddenly sang off-key, "What will be, will be…"

He wanted to reach out and grab her and smother her with kisses but he was driving and they had an innocent child aboard. He looked into the rearview mirror at Kristina who seemed to be smirking at him. Like Mother, like daughter.

Cameron wanted to get the subject back to the reason for this excursion from the cabin, a simple road trip that was veering to the Land of Bizarre quite quickly.

"Getting back to the beginning, everyone should color eggs at some point in their life. It isn't too late for you to experience the joys of dipping, dying and decorating. And I thought it would make Kristina's first Easter special."

Alexis's heart melted at how much he wanted Kristina to be happy. She eyed him and pointed out, "But she has no idea what an egg is - well, other than she was at one time a zygote. And she certainly can't eat them."

Cameron smiled in the rearview mirror, "Babies love bright colors and even if she can't eat them she can certainly look at them."

She smiled and replied softly, "Ok, if you believe it is that important…"

Cameron spoke intently, "Oh, the whole process is. It is often the simple things in life that are important and are usually the sweetest and most memorable. You need to take time to begin to make the memories. They sustain you and surround you all your life."

Alexis sighed, "Well, since I probably won't be practicing law anytime soon, I'll have lots of time to work on my memories."

Cameron knew it was a sore spot, the suspension of her license to practice burned her. It was what she believed defined her and made her who she is. He wanted to nibble her ear and whisper all the beautiful and special things she was apart from her career that make her such a unique woman.

"You'll get it back, Alexis," he murmured as he touched her hand, the softness and warmth as comforting to him as his favorite goosedown comforter.

Alexis interrupted, "I need to be able to take care of Kristina."

Cameron looked at her with exasperation, "Alexis, get a grip. If you never practice again, well, you're a Cassadine for heaven's sake and are probably richer than the Queen of England."

Alexis bit back a grin and replied nonchalantly, "And I have much better fashion sense."

Cameron grinned wickedly, "No argument there - especially that number last night."

She looked at him as a blush crept up her face, "If you know what's good for you and you value your life, don't go there." She watched his Cheshire cat grin spread and she muttered, "Last time I ask Zander to pick an outfit from my closet. I even forgot it was there."

Cameron laughed heartily, "Well, you know what they say about a woman dressed in leather…"

She rolled her eyes until she was dizzy. Turning to him she asked, somewhat seriously yet eager to hear the answer, "What is it about men and leather anyway? Is it some throwback to those hunter-gathering cavemen?"

Remembering the sight of her in the brown leather jacket and slim pants, the butter-softness of the leather under his fingers as he traced his way to… He swallowed to regain his composure as he didn't want them to end up in a ditch.

He gave her his patented you-have-to-be-kidding look and said, "It's not the leather, Alexis, it's the lace underneath."

She flushed, her senses still vibrating from the gentleness of his touch as he admired her leather outfit last night. She had to keep it low-key so she retorted, "Leather? Lace? What are you - channeling Stevie Nicks?"

He smiled slyly, "Love that song. No, merely pointing out that what lies beneath is often much more fascinating whereas the combination can be so very… invigorating."

She snorted, "Well, count my vote as uninvigorated."

Cameron laughed to himself, got her. "Is that a word? Nonetheless, I beg to disagree with your conclusion. You were quite energized last night and I do believe set a high water mark for creativity." He studied her as the flush continued to deepen on her face.

Alexis was embarrassed but in a good way so she deflected and gestured out the window, "In case you haven't noticed amid all the witty repartee, we are still lost."

No reply filled the silence so she looked at Cameron who was looking back with a smirk just waiting for her next backhand volley. She could feel the adrenalin pulsing as they bantered, the undertone of the 'game' exciting her so she decided to dive into the pool.

Alexis threw back her shoulders and sniffed, "What would you know about my creativity quotient, anyway?"

He laughed as his eyes traced the journey from her neck down to her shirt, the softness that lies beneath revealed to him as her shoulder move had succeeded in opening a few more buttons as her chest strained against it. He wanted to reach out and glide his finger from stem to stern but held back - after all he was driving.

He shrugged, "Just an impression. No need to get huffy."

Alexis shrugged back, "I'm not getting huffy." She pointed out the window and snickered, somewhat triumphantly, "Hey, there's that white rock again. I told you we were lost."

Cameron hated to stop the game but decided it was time to give it up. They were about to run out of gas. He said quietly, "We're not lost. Maybe I just wanted to spend an uninterrupted block of time with you."

Alexis was shocked, "You mean to tell me you've been driving in circles for the last hour because you want to spend uninterrupted time with me? Cameron, we've been alone for days at a very small cabin."

He looked into her eyes and devilishly grinned, "Then again, maybe I just wanted to get you alone in the backseat of my car."

She laughed and pointed over her shoulder at Kristina, "Might get a bit crowded back there. Not to mention there are things a child need not see until, well, they are adults. And in her case, maybe never."

He chuckled wickedly, "Believe me, Alexis, when I tell you I don't need a back seat. Coincidentally, I also happen to possess a high creativity quotient …" at that Alexis blushed, " and I've heard my learning curve is quite impressive."

Alexis stared into his eyes and replied softly, "Illuminate me."

The look in her eyes seared him and turned his legs to jelly and that was not a good thing when one needed to operate a car. He cleared his throat and said instead, "Here we are, one village grocery store coming up." The moment had passed but its import did not pass unknown or unrecognized by either party.

The small store was out of eggs, had not one egg coloring kit remaining so the only items in Cameron's hands - besides Kristina's baby carrier - were a bottle of wine and a paintbrush.

Alexis wandered over to the Easter candy display and smiled. She picked out two packages of marshmallow peeps - one yellow, one lavender - a few chocolate bunnies and an impressively decorated chocolate egg as she glanced out of the corner of her eye at Cameron who was looking at the magazine rack. She walked over, grabbed the paintbrush from his hand and gave everything to the sleepy-eyed clerk.

Cameron looked at her strangely, his eyes full of questions. He gestured toward her purchases.

She smiled and said, "So, we won't have brightly colored eggs, big deal. Kristina will have brightly colored marshmallow peeps to look at and squish."

Cameron pointed to the counter asking, "So why the paintbrush if we can't color eggs?"

Alexis shrugged, "You never know when you'll need an extra one so it pays to be proactive."

Cameron was slightly confused, "Ok… and the chocolate bunnies and egg? I realize all young women should learn the wonder that is the cocoa bean at an early age but part of the appreciation comes from the tasting and - as you so correctly pointed out regarding the colored eggs - she can't eat it."

Alexis smiled slyly, "I'm aware of that." She looked at the confusion on his face and stifled the urge to laugh. "I never said it was for Kristina."

Cameron continued to study her as she sidled up to him and whispered into his ear, "A little time on that nice cast iron stove…"

He looked at her as if she'd lost her mind and pointed out, "And they'll melt, Alexis."

She looked up into his eyes, then at the paintbrush, then back again into his eyes as understanding finally dawned in them and he grinned back.

"That's the idea. I feel the need to expand my artistic horizons," Alexis said softly as she gazed into his eyes.

Cameron chuckled and murmured, "I have a feeling I'll be testing that creativity learning curve tonight."

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