This is a Forgery

Alexis Davis needed a friend. She didn't have a lot of those these days, not since Ned had went off to travel the world and Jax had headed back to Sydney to care for his ailing mother. She had Diane, but her other best friend was too busy planning her wedding with Max to deal with yet another one of Alexis' problems. It wasn't that she was trying to hide this from everyone. It just didn't feel like there was anyone there to hear her problem.

She knew it wouldn't be long before the girls would start to figure out that something was going on, but they had already been through so much over the past year. Her middle daughter had seen far too many tragedies for her short seventeen years, and Alexis couldn't bare to bring even one more moment of sadness to her young life. Dealing with everything that had gone along with Kiefer and then her father had turned the vivacious Kristina into a very fragile young woman. Molly was already far too wise for her young age, and she was dealing with an absent father of her own. Sam's issues were too many to count, and Alexis just couldn't do it to the girls. She knew that they would be there to support her just like they had when she had gone through this before, but a small part of her was hoping that she could deal with this without having to involve them.

When she had first been diagnosed with cancer three years ago, she had relied heavily on the men in her life. Sonny, Jax and Ric had been there to make sure that she got the treatment that she needed and that the girls were cared for. Jax went with her to chemotherapy and radiation, holding her hand as she tried to fight the nausea and exhaustion. Ric had taken care of the girls, driving them to school and bringing them by the hospital to visit when she had to put in long hours in treatment. Sonny had made sure that everything was paid for and never let her even thank him. And her prince of a nephew, Nikolas, had pretty much taken care of anything else that was left.

It felt good knowing that she could call any one of them and they would show back up for her, but they all had lives of their own. Lady Jane was still recovering from a heart episode during the holidays, and she needed her only sane son there to help her. Sonny was wrapped up in his disaster of a relationship with the Claire, which was slowly falling apart and quickly leading to the demise of his seventh marriage. Ric was still living in California, and calling him into town would only alert their daughter. Nikolas was raising two young boys of his own, and she just couldn't bother him with this.

And so, Alexis was driving herself to treatment when she could and hiring a car to chauffeur when she could not. She met with the oncologist privately and made sure that no one ever saw her coming or going from the hospital. She managed to keep the nausea at bay whenever the girls were around and was fortunate enough to still have all of her hair. She never really let anyone know that she was living a forgery of a life. She was happy to live in the lie and pretend to be healthy because then she couldn't be a burden on anyone.

Only one person seemed to notice that she was doing this on her own, and it was someone who didn't really know her that well. The only time Dr. Matt Hunter had interacted with the lawyer much was when he was helping Patrick treat her in the wake of Johnny Zacharra's limo explosion. He had seen how devoted and strong she was then, sitting by Kristina's bedside every moment and coming to every physical therapy appointment with her for weeks after. Matt had seen her in court a few times as well when he had been asked to testify in one court case or another, and she truly was a woman to be reckoned with when it came to the letter of the law. Like many Port Charles residents, he had an admiration for Alexis Davis, but he also couldn't help but feel the littlest bit sorry for her.

It took him two weeks of watching her before he had the courage to talk to her about the situation. He was just some doctor on the hospital staff, and he wasn't really sure what gave him the right to show any concern. It was only after he saw her coughing alone in the chilly doorway of the hospital waiting for a black town car that he decided that it was time that someone said something to her. She needed to know that someone was paying attention.

"Alexis!" he called out across the bustling corridor, his stethoscope bouncing steadily against his chest as he walked briskly toward her. "Hey, do you have a minute or are you headed somewhere?"

Alexis rested her hand on the wall for balance and shook her head. The truth was that she wasn't feeling all that great and was planning on falling into bed for a few hours until the girls got home. "Um, I have a minute, Dr. Hunter," she answered, walking slowly until she met him halfway in the hall. Matt grabbed her elbow and led her over to the waiting area. She probably hadn't spoken to the young doctor more than a handful of times but knew that he was nearly as gifted as his brother. He also had the ego and sparkling eyes to match, neither of them lost on Alexis. "You'll have to excuse me, I'm not feeling well. Is there something you needed to talk to me about?"

Matt leaned closer to her in the armchair beside hers. There were only strangers milling around, no one that knew either of them well enough to make any kind of real connection. "Alexis, please call me Matt," he pleaded with her politely, resting his hand on her wrist sympathetically. It was those little things that they didn't teach you about in medical school but you quickly picked up on the job. "Listen, I just want you to know that your doctor didn't reveal anything to me, but I have noticed you coming and going pretty regularly. I've also noticed that there is never anyone with you. I'm kind of guessing that there is something going on. I just wanted to let you know that I'm here to talk if you need someone."

She looked pointedly at the young doctor, wanting to both hug him for caring and demand to know why he was being so nosy. "Yes, the cancer came back," she told him simply. There was nothing else she could really say other than the blunt and utter truth. Her disease was unforgiving and she was tired of hiding inside of it. "I haven't told my family or my friends because I don't want to be a burden. I've been able to do this on my own so far, and I hope that you will keep my secret between us."

Nodding thoughtfully, Matt pledged that he wouldn't say a word to anyone about her illness. "Alexis, I have to ask why you haven't told anyone? A lot of people really care about you. I have no doubt that they would want to be there to support you."

"You're probably right, but they've gone through this with me before," she told him. "They were great when I was sick the last time, but I also never really got to deal with it on my own. I thought that I was just going to take a little time, you know, get used to the idea myself. The deeper I got into it, the more I wanted to keep it to myself. I've managed so far, getting to appointments and taking treatment early enough in the day that I usually feel okay by the time the girls get home. It isn't ideal but it's what I've got to do right now. I know it's not easy to understand, Matt, but I don't want to have to rely on anyone."

Matt had been raised by his mother alone, never having his brother or his father around to help her. He had watched her deal with a world of problems without having someone else in her corner, and it killed him to see another mother struggling with the weight of an unfair responsibility. "Well, I'm not saying that you have to rely on me, but I'm here if you want to talk," he offered. "Or if you need a ride or even if you want someone to come by when you're feeling too sick. I can say that I'm doing it as a favor to Nikolas. I've been told that I make a pretty decent friend, and I'm up for being there for you if you need someone."

"That's a very nice offer," she replied, already prepared to refuse. However, as she looked up at his bright smile and kind eyes, she knew that maybe it was time she accepted a little bit of help. It had never been an easy thing for her, probably because of being raised a Cassadine where independence is valued about all else. She had also known that her family was never going to be there for her, what with her being a black sheep and all. It was only when she had found Jax and Diane that she had really felt like she had belonged. Her daughters had added to that, and Nikolas, Spencer and Aidan, too. "I think I'd like to take you up on it, too."

It was going to be a long and hard road, one full of bumps and stumbles and falls. To get better, to regain her health, she was going to have to be strong and unrelenting, and she was going to need to know that there was someone there that she could depend on. Even if he was much younger and even if he was mostly a stranger, she knew that he could be her friend. It wasn't going to be a romantic entanglement or complicated at all. It would be a friendship in its purest form, unselfish and unconditional.

"I'll tell you what," he told her. "Why don't you cancel your car? I'll drive you to the house and help you get settled in. My mom happens to have the perfect recipe to help an upset stomach. I'll whip you up a batch of her magic homemade remedy and we can talk some more until the girls get home."

Alexis made the call and let Matt lead her out to his comfortable luxury car. She collapsed in the seat, putting her coat around her because everything seemed to be so much colder now that she was on chemo. Matt blasted the heat all the way across town, even if it was stifling, and made a pit stop at the market on Oak to pick up a few of his secret ingredients. Alexis dozed during the drive and smiled gratefully when he helped her inside when the finally got back to her house. And when he brought her a cup of hot apple cider jam-packed with herbs, she finally felt like maybe that she could survive this without having to go it alone.

FIN.

Author's Note: This is the final story in this series. Thank you all for checking out the collection.