AN: I'm back! Yes, I know it took me entirely too long to post this but I've honestly been feeling a serious lack of inspiration to finish this. I'm trying to push my way through it. I'm not entirely pleased with this chapter but hopefully you guys will like it. As always, please leave me some feedback. I love to hear from you guys.

K

"Okay, I like this one." Maxie held up the magazine so Sam could see the picture.

Sam made a face at the dress. "No pink."

"It's French Rose," the blond corrected.

"Do you really think it'll make a difference to Jason? Besides, I sort of had my heart set on a really dark blue or a deep red."

"That sounds lovely," Alexis offered and picked up another bridal magazine to thumb through.

Maxie rolled her eyes. "I suppose I should just be grateful you're not making me wear black to your wedding."

Kristina laughed. "I honestly thought we were going to," she admitted. "It's like you and Jason are allergic to color."

"Hey, I wear colors!" Sam defended.

"You wear different shades of black," Maxie admonished.

"It doesn't matter because Sam can get Jason to do anything—I've seen it," Molly interjected and sent the assembled group into fits of laughter. Sam, her sisters and Maxie were all huddled together on her couch while Alexis was sitting in a lounge chair off to the side of the group but still close enough to be involved.

"Well there is a sight that I could certainly get used to," Alex commented as he strolled into the living room. He wore a charcoal grey pinstriped suit with a white dress shirt. He was, as usual, having difficulties fixing his tie.

Sam rolled her eyes and got up from the couch to help him. "I swear, you're hopeless."

"I'll get it eventually," Alex protested but continued to let Sam adjust his tie properly. It was one of those things that he did solely so to make her happy. Alex figured that he'd put his little sister through enough already. If letting her fuss over his tie and living in the spare bedroom of her apartment made her happy and allowed her to worry less, he'd suffer through the indignities.

"We'll see," Sam muttered doubtfully.

"And what are you lovely ladies up to this afternoon?" Alex looked at all the women assembled. Maxie, as usual, was her chipper and upbeat self. Alexis, Molly and Kristina on the other hand still looked a little ragged. It was obvious that the events at Wyndemere still played heavily on their minds.

"We're picking out bridesmaids dresses for the wedding," Molly answered with forced enthusiasm.

Alex nodded slowly. "Ah, yes. And how's that going?"

"We have the style down," Kristina held up a picture, "Now we're just trying to help Sam pick a color." She too seemed to be trying for Sam's sake.

"Mmm. Did you pick a style yet?" he asked Sam.

She shrugged. "I've been looking but—"

"But since the wedding is this weekend, everything will have to be off the rack," Maxie supplied with obvious disdain in her voice.

Alex cocked his head sideways and tapped his chin with his index finger, feigning serious thought. "I might have a solution for you." He pulled a scrap of paper from the inside pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to his sister.

"Dominic Russo," Sam read off the name. "Who is that?"

"He's some new up and coming designer apparently—all the rage in Manhattan right now." Alex shook his head slightly; he really had no interest in fashion or designers. "Anyway, he is expecting a call from you and—"

"You know Dominic Russo?" Maxie demanded.

Alex gave her a curious look. "Does that name mean something to you?"

She scoffed. "Dominic Russo is pretty much the hottest new designer ever. Everyone wants an original design from him. How in the hell did you manage to get his number?"

"Well, I didn't actually do anything. A friend of mine put me in touch with him." Alex turned to Sam. "He's willing to fit you in today if you're interested. You can all go visit his studio in Manhattan this afternoon and he'll have your dresses ready by Friday."

Sam started to protest. "Alex—"

"Consider it my contribution to the wedding, Kiddo," Alex cut off any further protests. "Jason is paying for everything else, let me take care of this."

She nodded. "Okay."

Alex clapped his hands together. "Fantastic. Now call one of Jason's drivers and have them escort you."

Sam glared at her brother. "I don't need a driver," she bit out.

He gave her a stern look in return. "Call a driver, don't shuck your guard."

"I don't need a guard," Sam insisted fiercely. She hated being treated like a damsel in distress. Sam McCall could take care of herself.

Alex sighed and softened his look. "Given all that's happened lately, will you please—if for nothing other than my piece of mind—call a driver and take a guard?"

Sam sighed and her posture slouched. She hated it when he pulled that 'sincere, I just want you to be safe' crap—it worked every time. "Fine," she conceded.

"Thank you," he whispered and then brightened his smile. He looked over Sam's shoulder to the other women assembled in the living room. "Have fun, it's all on me." He pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed Sam his credit card.

"That's not necessary, Alex. I can cover the girls' dresses," Alexis argued.

Alex put his hands up. "Please Alexis, I'd like to do it." She nodded after a moment. "Fantastic. I have some business to take care of, so you ladies have a great time." He waved once more before moving towards the door.

"I'll walk you to the elevator," Sam stopped him before he could make it to the door.

Alex nodded and held the door open for her. "As I'm more than capable of walking to the elevator on my own, I'll assume you have something to speak to me about in private."

"You're going to see Jason." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes. I have some papers for him," he replied vaguely.

Sam looked down at the ground. "The immunity papers?"

Alex nodded as he hit the button to call the elevator. "Yes. Kate gave them to me last night."

"So that's it then. It's all done." Her voice was devoid of emotion. "You've condemned yourself to a life in the mob because it's the only way to stay in my life."

Alex licked his lips before he spoke. "This is what's best for everyone, okay? You have to believe that I made this choice on my own. Yes, you were a factor, but this was entirely my decision." Sam nodded but said nothing. "Listen, I'm trying to let you live your own life, make your own mistakes. Please, try to do the same for me. "

"Okay," she said softly before she turned to him and engulfed him in a hug.

"Okay." Alex closed his eyes and placed a light kiss on the top of her head. The dinging of the elevator interrupted their moment. "I'm going to go take care of everything here. I want you to forget about everything going on right now except for your wedding. Go design the perfect dress, pick out something that your sisters would actually like wearing and just have some fun. You deserve it."

Sam smiled slightly. "I'll try." She kissed Alex on the cheek and let him get on the elevator. "Bye."

He nodded once as the elevator doors closed. Sam took a deep breath to clear her thoughts and turned to head back into her apartment.

Milo stuck his head into the office. "Mr. Orsino is here to see you, Boss."

Jason rubbed his face roughly. "Send him in." The young guard nodded and quickly let Alex into the office, closing the door behind him.

"Hey." He pulled up the chair in front of Jason's desk. "Is this a bad time?"

Jason shook his head. "Just trying to fill out some customs forms."

Alex nodded. "So, Sam told me the good news. Dr. Webber agreed to share custody."

Jason nodded. It had been a long and tedious meeting. Both parties wanted to make sure that Jake and Cam were in a loving, stable environment. Unfortunately, both parties also had demanding jobs that made raising two young boys very difficult. In the end, Jason and Sam had agreed to pick up the slack for Elizabeth's brother. When Dr. Webber was unable to be with the boys, which would be fairly often considering his position as chief of staff, Sam and Jason would keep them. "We're still working out a schedule but Cam and Jake will definitely be spending time at the penthouse."

"Good, that's good. I'm glad that you were able to find a solution without having to involve the courts."

Jason nodded again. "That was the last thing any of us wanted. The boys have been through enough."

Alex nodded absently. "The PCPD won't be able to file charges against you," he said after a few moments of silence.

Jason sighed and put his pen down on the desk. "When you said you were going to handle it, I wasn't really sure what to expect."

Alex shrugged. "Shock and awe campaigns can be very useful. I made a strong first impression and no one will be questioning your authority for a while."

"You took a big risk; a lot of things could have gone wrong. You used outside help. You raided the warehouses while workers were present—"

"I did what was necessary," Alex cut him off. "Johnny Zacharra had been openly challenging you and your territories for months and you were doing nothing. The other families were starting to question your ability to run your organization. He was a nuisance and was dealt with accordingly."

"Johnny will retaliate," Jason insisted. "You attacked every single part of his organization. You had his father killed! Do you really think he's going to let this go? That he's just going to run away with his tail between his legs?"

"I assure you, Johnny is out of the picture." Alex pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket. "He knows what's at stake if he doesn't leave permanently. Besides, he has no reason to be in Port Charles anymore."

Jason shook his head. "Johnny owns piers, warehouses; he has friends here. He won't stay gone for long."

"I assure you, John Zacharra won't be a problem again." Alex slid the papers across the desk to Jason.

"He just signed them over to you?" Jason asked after he read the documents over.

"I was very persuasive. It's all legal," he added at Jason's dubious look.

Jason nodded and blew out a long breath. "What now?"

"Now it's time to make me part of your organization. I think it's time for Corinthos-Morgan to take on a new business partner."

"That's going to put a lot of extra attention on you."

Alex nodded. "Exactly. What better way to show that I'm in your organization? You'll have full access to my resources—trust me, they are vast. I have money and business holdings all over the world. Plus, my records are impeccable."

Jason stared at his soon-to-be-brother-in-law for a long moment. "I'll call Diane to draw up the contracts."

Alex nodded. "Good, she can take possession of these while she's at it." He pulled another set of documents from his suit jacket. "The immunity papers for you and Sam."

"What immunity papers?" Diane demanded as she stormed into Jason's office.

"We were just about to call you," Alex commented glibly.

"I'm sure," she cast him a disapproving look. "What was that about immunity papers?"

Alex handed the documents over to the lawyer. "Compliments of the US government."

Diane read over the documents carefully. "What's the catch?" she demanded. "There is no way on God's green Earth that the US Government would just hand these out to my client. He's been on their list for years."

"We're going to say this is covered under attorney/client confidentiality," Alex muttered. "The immunity guarantee is a stipulation in my contract."

"You work for the Feds?"

Alex scoffed. "No. I work for the NSA."

Diane rolled her eyes. "Because that is so much better. So what, you're here to take down Jason's operation from the inside?"

"No."

"Then what does the NSA want?"

"Having a high position in Jason's organization gives me—them—a lot of clout and unrestricted access to people that normally would be impossible to approach."

"What do they want?" Diane demanded.

Alex shrugged. "What do all government agencies want these days? They want to root out possible threats to national security. They'll have me conduct business with people, track where the money funnels out. They want to know who's in bed with whom. Who's being secretly backed by their government and who's getting funding from militant extremists."

She narrowed her eyes. "The NSA is using you to identify possible terrorists. It has nothing to do with any possible mob activity on my client's part?"

Alex smiled and shook his head. "It has nothing to do with Jason and everything to do with me. My brother-in-law being an alleged mob King Pin was simply a happy coincidence as far as the NSA is concerned."

Diane nodded stiffly. "I assume there are stipulations."

"Yes, I have to report to a handler. There will be specific people they want me to conduct business with and I'll have to keep them apprised of my progress. Basically, I have to play by their rules."

"But Jason and Sam will never be tried for another crime?"

"Neither Jason nor Sam will ever see the inside of a prison," Alex replied.

Diane shook her head, she hated when people didn't give direct answers. "That's not the same thing."

Alex sighed. "They'll still be arrested from time to time, of course, but the NSA will make it nearly impossible for the DA's Office to file charges let alone actually go to trial and get a conviction."

"But it's not completely out of the realm of possibilities."

Alex shook his head tiredly. "On the minuscule chance that one of them is convicted, say the prosecution has a video or an eye-witness to a murder, then the NSA will step in. There will be a public sentencing, but they will never serve out the sentence. Instead, they will be taken into Witness Protection and they can start over. New place, new name and they won't be in prison for the rest of their lives."

Diane frowned. "Their lives would be over. They could never come home, never contact their families again."

"It's a good last resort," Jason silenced his attorney on the subject. It may not be the perfect 'get-out-of-jail-free card' but it would keep him and Sam out of prison if it ever came down to it. Both Jason and Sam were very careful during their 'questionable' activities so it was more than likely that they would never even have to enlist the NSA's help; but it was nice having a safety net if they ever needed it. "Alex held up his end. I will too."

Alex nodded and stood. "And on that note, I'll leave the two of you to write up those contracts and hammer out the details." He placed all of the documents he had on Jason's desk. "Call me when they're ready to sign."

Jason nodded as Alex left. He explained to Diane what types of contracts needed to be drawn up.

"That's it? You're going to let him in the business?"

"These are the assets he's bringing to the company." Jason pushed the contracts closer to her.

"He just happens to own the Zacharra piers and warehouses—a day after they were attacked and Anthony Zacharra was killed?" Diane asked incredulously.

Jason shrugged. "It's a legal contract. Make it happens, Diane. And then let Bernie know he needs to create a position for Alex as my Head of Security."

She rolled her eyes and walked away muttering something about impossible clients who never take her advice.

"So I was thinking," Sam started as she and Maxie watched Russo's assistants take Kristina and Molly's measurements so alterations on the dresses could be made.

"That's dangerous coming from you."

Sam rolled her eyes at her best friend. "I'm going to be moving into Jason's penthouse after the wedding. It's bigger than my place and way easier for security. Unfortunately, that means that my place will be empty."

Maxie perked up at that. "Isn't your brother going to live there?"

Sam shrugged. "Alex said he didn't want it. He already found a place."

Maxie nodded slowly. "So…"

Sam bit her lip lightly. "I was thinking that you might like to live there. It's a nice building, plenty of space plus there's a hot tub on the deck."

"Sam," Maxie laughed, "I can barely afford my place now. As high-profile as my job is, I'm still just an assistant. There is no way I can make the payments on your penthouse."

Sam raised an eyebrow at her friend. "You know that I own it, right? I pay maintenance fees and property taxes once a year."

"I don't want charity, Sam," Maxie said softly.

Sam smiled on the inside. While her friend could often be selfish and childish, Maxie Jones was a self-made woman. She worked for everything she had and she didn't accept hand-outs (with the exception of designer freebies—they were the fringe benefit of dealing with Kate Howard all day). "You can pay rent if you want. Honestly, if you don't move it it's just going to go unoccupied."

"You could sell it," her friend suggested. "I know the market isn't great right now but a place like yours would go quick."

Sam sighed. "I don't think I could ever sell it. It was the first place that I had ever bought by myself, for myself. When I was little, I was constantly in and out of motels and cheap rent-by-the-week apartments. And then I spent years living on a boat, the boat that my brother bought me."

"And the penthouse has always been Jason's," Maxie pointed out. "You guys should just buy something new—a place where no bad memories are attached."

Sam laughed. "I thought about it. I mean, he and Elizabeth had sex in the living room, made a baby. And Jason and I destroyed each other in that house. But it's also where we became friends and fell in love. It was the first place, other than my boat, that I had ever felt safe."

"You're moving into his lair," Mxie joked.

"You re-decorated it!"

"And despite all of my fabulous work, it still feels like a sterile environment. I mean seriously, would it kill the man to have one personal item on display?"

"His mantle is full of pictures," Sam defended with a laugh.

"We both know that Carly put most of those up," she dismissed her friend.

"He had a pool table, one that was used pretty frequently until you decided to take it away."

"A pool table is not a substitute for a dining room table!" Maxie argued for the millionth time.

Sam shook her head. "If it makes you feel any better, we're having it renovated while we take our honeymoon."

"Really?" Maxie was surprised.

Sam nodded. "Yeah. Jake and Cam are going to need proper rooms for when they come over plus we wanted to open up the den so that they have a nice sized play room."

"What about Spinelli?"

"I was kind of thinking that he'd move in with you. He's your non-husband. I figured that this would be a good opportunity for you guys to take another step forward."

Maxie smiled but Sam could still see the slight bit of panic in her friend's eyes. "Yeah, that would be a big step for us."

"Don't stress about it, just think it over." Sam placed a hand on Maxie's shoulder. "Talk it over with Spinelli. My offer stands even if you don't decide to live together."

"Thanks, Sam." Maxie silently let out the breath that she had been holding.

"Okay, we're all done," Russo's assistant announced as she led Molly and Kristina over to Sam and Maxie.

"Where did Mom go?" Molly asked.

"Work call," Sam pointed outside. "Did you get everything you needed?" she asked the assistant.

"Yes. Everything will be ready for a final fitting Friday morning."

"Fantastic, thank you." Sam stood up and gathered her things.

"You know, my boss would love to meet Mr. Russo," Maxie said as she slipped her purse over her shoulder.

"Really?" the woman asked with a patronizing tone, "And who is your boss?"

"Kate Howard, the editor of Crimson," Maxie replied haughtily.

She plastered a fake smile on her face. "I suppose a meeting could be arranged," the assistant bit out.

"Perfect," Maxie replied with false brightness. "I'll give you a call when I get back to the office." The blond turned on her heel and strolled from the room, leaving Sam and her sisters to follow quickly.