"I'm glad you came." said Nikolas.
"Why should I start a war against you and your family when I never did anything to them." said Lucky.
"Thanks." said Nikolas.
Then Ned, Alexis, and Brooke arrived. Nikolas went over and hugged Alexis.
"It's good to see you." said Alexis.
"I missed you too as did grandmother. She told us many stories of you and my father." said Nikolas smiling.
Alexis blushed.
"What stories?" asked Ned grinning mischievously.
"That she tried to upstage her mother when she was three." said Nikolas smiling.
Ned laughed and Alexis glared at him.
"Well, who is this?" asked Nikolas as he knelt down to be eye level with the little girl.
"This is my daughter Brooke Lynn." said Ned.
"You know you're a beautiful young lady." said Nikolas to Brooke.
She smiled and giggled.
"Brooke Lynn, this is my nephew Nikolas, he's your cousin." said Alexis.
"Hi, Nikki." said Brooke shyly.
Nikolas laughed at what she had called him. Emily walked over and hugged Brooke.
"Hey, Brooke, where's mommy?" asked Emily.
"Mommy's at home." said Brooke.
"Why don't I introduce you to Lucky and Elizabeth." said Nikolas to Brooke as he took her by the hand.
"How is Lois?" asked Emily.
"She's doing fine and she's back in Port Charles for good." said Ned.
"We live right next door to her." said Alexis.
"Why hasn't she stopped by the house to visit us?" asked Emily a little hurt.
"It's hard for her, Em. She would love to see you and grandmother, but with the whole house always in an uproar mostly over Michael she just doesn't think it's safe for Brooke." explained Ned.
"I have an idea. Why don't you and Lila come to our house and we'll surprise her." suggested Alexis.
"That's a great idea!" said Emily smiling.
Alexis gave Emily their address and Mrs. Lansbury entered the room.
"They're coming." said Mrs. Lansbury.
Nikolas turned off the lights as the footsteps drew near.
"Why is it so dark in here?" asked Stefan.
"SURPRISE!!!!" they all yelled as the lights were turned back on.
Stefan was shocked and he turned to his mother.
"Happy birthday, son." said Kristen smiling.
"All this just for my birthday." said Stefan still a little shocked.
Mrs. Lansbury brought out the cake and they all sang to him. He blew out his candles and was smiling. They all had a piece of cake and Alexis went over to see Stefan.
"Happy birthday." said Alexis smiling as she hugged him.
"Thank you. Did you plan this?" asked Stefan smiling.
"Nope, all the credit goes to your son and Emily." said Alexis smiling.
"So they were the clever ones behind this." said Stefan smiling.
"Hey, father, how about a speech?" suggested Nikolas from across the room.
"Come on, speech." said Lucky helping.
"Alright, alright." said Stefan.
Everyone became quiet.
"I don't deserve a birthday party or a cake or gifts. The best gifts are right here in this room. Lucky, you have given me a chance to know that there's hope for Cassadines to be friends with the Spencers. Elizabeth and Emily, you gave my son good friends to trust which makes me loyal to you. Bobbie and Lucas, you gave me love, friendship, and another family. Mrs. Lansbury, you gave me a loyal and trustworthy friend. Ned, you gave my sister love, friendship, and happiness when I could not which I am forever in your debt for that. Alexis, you gave me everything that I could want. You gave me love, friendship, kindness, loyalty, joy, sadness, bitterness, hope, and now you're giving me a niece that I can be proud of like my son. Nikolas, you gave me a new meaning to life. You turned it around and filled it with your love and laughter. I hope someday you will experience joy like that. Last, but not least, my mother, who gave me life. She did the unthinkable to protect her life and mine. She also gave me a wonderful, pesky little sister to love and protect." said Stefan smiling as tears rolled down his cheeks.
Everyone had tears in their eyes or streaming down their face.
"What about me?" asked Brooke.
"I don't think we've been introduced." said Stefan.
He knelt down to the little girl.
"I'm Brooke. Ned is my daddy." she said.
"I'm your uncle Stefan." he said smiling.
"What did I give you?" she asked.
"You gave me a smile." he said smiling.
"I want to give you something else." she said.
"What is it?" he asked.
She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He smiled at the little girl.
"Mommy says the best gift of all is a hug and a kiss." she said.
"Your mommy is right. Thank you, Brooke." he said smiling.
He hugged the little girl back as everyone smiled. He sat down on the couch with Brooke sitting next to him.
"Open presents." she said.
"Okay, okay." he said.
He picked up a box.
"This one is from Lucky and Elizabeth." he said.
He unwrapped it and opened it up. It was a picture of Luke giving the camera the finger and Stefan laughed. There was also a picture of Lucky, Nikolas, and Lulu in the box.
"Thank you very much." said Stefan smiling.
"You're welcome, Mr. Cassadine." said Elizabeth smiling.
"Hey, no prob. I intended to just give you the picture of my dad, but Elizabeth said it would be nicer to give you the picture of the three of us." said Lucky.
"That's okay." said Stefan smiling.
He picked up another box.
"From Emily and Nikolas." said Stefan.
He unwrapped it and put the bow on Brooke's head. She giggled as he opened the box. In it was a framed medallion.
"Thank you, but whose medallion is it?" asked Stefan.
"Mikkos's. It was Emily's idea to frame one of our medallions to remember our family's past history and our present destiny." said Nikolas.
"Well, thank you very much, Emily and Nikolas." said Stefan with tears in his eyes.
"You're welcome, Mr. Cassadine." said Emily.
"This one if from Bobbie and Lucas." said Stefan.
He opened up the gift and it was the movie 'Anastasia'.
"Lucas decided that you should have this movie after you told him about your family history." said Bobbie.
"Yeah, and if you want we can watch it together." said Lucas excitedly.
"Sure. Thank you." said Stefan.
Stefan picked up another box.
"From my mother." said Stefan smiling.
He opened it and was surprised. In the box was his real birth certificate, his security blanket, and his first pair of shoes. Tears ran down his cheeks.
"Thank you, mother." said Stefan softly.
"You're welcome, dear." said Kristen smiling.
"How did you manage to keep these?" asked Stefan.
"I hid them pretty good so Helena couldn't find them." said Kristen smiling.
"Stefan, you never told me you sucked your thumb when you were a little boy." said Alexis teasingly.
"He wasn't the only one who sucked his thumb, Natasha." said Kristen smiling.
Alexis looked a little embarassed and Ned laughed. She elbowed him in the stomach.
"In fact, I think I have your security blanket with me." said Kristen smiling.
Stefan stuck out his tongue at Alexis and she stuck her tongue out back at him just like when they were kids.
"I saw that." said Kristen smiling.
