"Where are we going again?" Eve asked as she pulled her coat tighter against her as the wind blew fiercer.

"To see a man, to help us find our son," Julian answered, walking across the deck of the boat to wrap his scarf around the shivering Eve.

"Who is this man?" She had had almost enough of Julian's cloak and dagger behavior.

"You'll find out when we get there."

"Julian," she warned, raising her voice.

"Eve, just because my father is in a coma doesn't mean he'll stay that way or that his spies aren't still out there gathering infor-mation for him or that he truly isn't fooling us all- -"

"He's not fooling us. I check on him every day and the amount of stimuli it takes for him to respond to in a natural and instinctual way can not be faked- -"

"You have no idea the types of people my father knows."

"You're right and I don't want to. But trust me, he's in a deep coma and the longer he stays in his current state the less likely it will be for him to recover."

Julian nodded. He knew Eve wasn't being naïve, her innocent mind couldn't even begin to handle or imagine the depths of his father's depravity and those of the people he knew.

As the boat pulled into the dock, he escorted Eve off and towards the home.

"He lives on his own island?" she asked, hoping she kept her starry-eyedness out of her voice. She held on to Julian so she could take in the outer grandeur of the mansion and its landscape.

"Yes, he likes his privacy and his mother is a lot like Father so this island keeps their disagreements away from the public."

Why did these rich families have such issues? Couldn't they disown their children like her parents did her, instead of keeping the hatred alive and burning for years? Maybe the hatred and meanness were the only things that kept men like Alistair alive. How sad if that was true.

Stopping at the front door, Julian turned to Eve and gazed into her eyes. "Are you ready?"

"Of course."

"Eve, think about this very carefully because darling, once we walk through these doors, life as you know it, as we know it, will change forever."

His concern for her touched her. "You're that positive that this man will find our son?"

"Yes," he answered confidently.

If Julian had this much confidence in this man, then she would soon know where her son was, possibly holding him in her arms.

He hated to do this, but he had to make sure she was sure. "TC will never understand this. He will never accept our son."

Taking a step back from Julian, she fought the urge to slap him. He always did this reeled her in, made her forget who he was, and then painfully reminded her. How did she ever forget that she was dealing with the Julian Crane? "You have no idea what TC will or won't accept. Unlike you, my husband truly loves me- -"

She could say and do many things to him, but doubt his love was not one of them. "If you're so assured of his love then why haven't you told him I am Endora's father? If you thought your children would be so accepting, why haven't you told them? It's because you know you live in a house full of sanctimonious people and you fear their judgment and that they will cast you out of their lives like your parents did- -"

"Don't you dare bring my parents into this. And my children and TC would never- -"

"Why is Kathleen the only person in your life that knows the truth? Because you see yourself in her, though you weren't as dumb or as manipulative as her, but you see yourself in her."

Breathing deeply, Eve tried to block his words from her head. He was lying. TC loved her. She was his dream woman. He would understand. The girls would forgive her for the lies. They all would. They were a strong family. They loved each other. But deep, deep in her subconscious, her mind knew that Julian was speaking the truth.

"I love you, Eve Johnson, with all that I am. And before we walk through these doors I want you to be 100% sure you can handle the fallout of what we find out. If you can't, then we'll get back on the boat, return to Harmony and never mention any of this again."

Only Julian had the power to take her from anger to ecstasy in seconds. His thoughtfulness amazed her. Taking his hand in hers, she nodded. "Right now, our son is the most important thing in my life. Damn the consequences, we'll worry about them later," she told him sincerely.

We, she said, we. There was hope for them, he thought, as he rang the doorbell.

"Mr. Crane, it's good to see you. Dr. Johnson, pleased to meet you. Please come in; Mr. Cassadine is waiting for you," Mrs. Landsbury, the gray haired maid, greeted the two.

His green eyes were bewitching and mesmerizing. They revealed his intelligence, his empathy and compassion, and a hidden passion that she was sure knew no bounds. Looking covertly at the refined Stefan Cassadine reminded her of Julian. She could see why they were friends. They both carried the aura of power, wealth and prestige well. Though she couldn't imagine a woman bringing Stefan to his knees as Julian said she did to him. But she never would have said that about Julian either. The amount their eyes had seen, revealed, and concealed would probably astound her.

"Dr. Russell, Julian has apprised me of your situation and I promise you I will do my utmost to make everything as problem-free as possible," Stefan assured her.

Tuning in to Stefan's assurance in time to catch what he was saying, Eve nodded. "I thank you for that, but more important to me than the ramification is finding my son. I want him with me."

Stefan nodded. "I will do my best to have him in your arms as soon as possible."

Seeing the truth in his eyes, Eve believed he would and could.

"I will also see what I can discover about Tabitha and Timmy Lenox for Endora's sake."

"Thank you, my good friend," Julian said.

"Yes, thank you. I, we, want Endora to know as much as she possibly can about her maternal birth family," Eve added.

Observing Eve throughout their meeting, Stefan agreed with Julian's assessment and description of her. As always Julian was a keen observer of people. He could see why Julian was still besotted with her after all these years. "It takes a strong, compassionate woman to raise another's child."

Though his tone of voice and mannerism were neutral, Eve sensed, knew that Julian's friend was referring to her raising the child of her former lover's with another woman. Gazing into his eyes, she also saw that he believed her to still be in love with Julian. How was that possible? Was she radiating with love for Julian? She knew Julian was for her. How could this astute man believe that when she herself wasn't sure of her feelings for Julian? Those were questions to ponder at a later time; for now she would answer Stefan's question as he asked it. "A child is innocent of their parents' wrongdoings and deserves to be loved for the precious human being he or she is."

Admiration flashed in Stefan's eyes. "I believe the same, Dr. Russell."

She would have to remember to ask Julian about Stefan's past. He felt strongly towards children, she wondered if he had any. She didn't notice a ring on his finger or evidence one had been there recently.

"Thank you again, Stefan for your help; unfortunately, we must go and rescue Kathleen from Ethan-Martin and Endora," Julian informed their host, rising and helping Eve to her feet.

"My pleasure. I will call you as soon as I have any information," Stefan said, ushering them to the door.

"I know you will. And I look forward to having you and Nikolas for a visit next month, regardless of our current business."

"I can not speak for Nikolas, but I look forward to visiting with you again. Will you be in attendance, too, Dr. Russell?"

"Umm," Eve said, desperately looking to Julian for help.

Julian just smirked at her.

Infuriating man, she thought.

"Well, I hope you can make it." Assisting her on to the boat and shaking Julian's hand, Stefan stepped back onto the dock and gave them one final wave.

Eve watched as the mansion, Stefan, and Spoon Island became smaller and smaller, while her dream of holding her son again grew larger and larger.