Disclaimer: Procter and Gamble owns Another World, Bay City and surrounding environs, and, of course, all the inhabitants--past, present, and future--of this city by the bay. I'm only borrowing a few of them for a short time, and promise to put them back when I'm done playing with them. Chris Carter owns all rights to the X-Files, including Mulder and Scully. I'm just borrowing them for a short time.

Acknowledgements: Mike and Sandy, of course, who inspire such incredible story ideas. The 'girls' on Mike's board, who spark my imagination with some of their comments. A special thanks to my beta readers, Celeste (who doesn't even watch soaps, but reads everything I write) and Cherie, who have managed to keep me focused on the story at hand and kept me from making any major blunders.

Standing at the open window of his small apartment, Cameron felt the warmth of a springtime breeze flow across his skin like a gentle caress. Unbidden, his thoughts turned to Amanda and he clenched his jaw tightly to keep his lower lip from quivering. It had been so long since he'd held her in his arms, and loved her through the night. Key West seemed like another lifetime. Months had passed with the speed of light it seemed since she had learned the truth about the baby, and as he'd always feared, she left him. Amanda had left him standing heartbroken and alone on the hill which had once held such wonderful memories, but now was a dark and lonely place he avoided. She had tried to return his ring, but Cameron had refused to take it, knowing that it would never grace another finger, just as his heart would never love anyone but Amanda.

Poets said that time heals all wounds, but Cameron now knew that they lied. Time had done nothing but drive him further away from Amanda. Halliday had won, and Cameron could only stand by helplessly as David held Amanda in his thrall. Every time he thought he had found a way to expose the danger Halliday posed to Amanda and her family, Cameron found himself stymied by David's machinations. And Amanda would hear nothing against her beloved David. Not from Cameron; not from Cass; not from anyone. She trusted the weasel implicitly. "Slimy bastard," Cameron muttered, stepping away from the window.

He glanced at the bed, and found himself remembering the past with Amanda yet again. Not that those feelings were ever far from his thoughts. Or dreams. Images of Amanda in this room raced through his mind, making his heart beat painfully hard in his chest. Images of Amanda in his arms, in his bed, made him turn his head and look away. "This has to work," he said between clenched teeth. "It just has to."

A knock on the door brought his mind back from the painful reverie of the past into an even more agonizing present. "Yeah," he called out, when the knocking became louder. "I'm coming."

Pulling the door wide open with a jerk, Cameron was amazed at the identity of his visitor. But only for a moment. "What do you want?" he asked tersely.

"I need your help," she answered.

"You've come to the wrong place, Little Girl," he answered, nostrils flaring with anger.

When he began to shut the door in her face, she pleaded, "Please, Cameron. You've got to help me! Please."

He stared into her eyes, hating himself for wavering. "Why would I help you?" he asked angrily. "You've done your best to ruin my life from the minute you hit town. Run along and find someone else to torture."

Cameron could see that she was tempted, more than a little, to cut and run. He was impressed when she stayed, and faced him down. She had spunk, he'd give her that. But as for helping her, that was another thing entirely. He'd just as soon find himself shoved down a hole as help her.

Finally, desperation clear in her voice, she said, "It's not for me, Cameron. It's for my mother."

Glaring at her with growing rage and frustration, Cameron said nothing for some time as his emotions ran the gauntlet of pain and sorrow. His jaw worked furiously for several seconds before he said, "You don't play fair, do you, Ally?"

"My mom needs you, Cameron," she told him. "She's in terrible danger. I've known that all along, but I put the blame on the wrong man. I thought it was you who would hurt her. I was wrong, and I'm sorry."

With a shrug of his shoulders, Cameron said, "Doesn't matter now, Ally. She's moved on with her life. And so have I. Amanda's not my problem anymore."

"You don't understand, Cameron," Ally said. "Mom still loves you. She's not in love with David Halliday. She only got engaged to him because you're with Marissa. But you're the one she wants."

In his most condescending manner, Cameron said, "I don't think that Marissa would like being part of a harem." With a stern look, he added, "And I'm not throwing away the best thing that's happened to me in a long time on the off chance that your mother might still love me. That's over, and has been for a long time."

"No, it's not," Ally said. "You still love my mother. I've seen the way you watch her when you think no one is looking."

"Wrong again, Little Girl," Cameron said. "I'm engaged to Marissa, remember? Why would I marry her if I were still in love with Amanda?"

"I don't know!" Ally exclaimed. "To save face maybe? All I do know is that you love my mother. Don't try to deny it. You do still love her."

Cameron's shoulders slumped and he turned to gaze out the window once more. "Even if I did, it wouldn't change anything, Ally. I can't be the man your mother wants me to be. I'm flawed in ways that will only hurt her more than I already have. I won't do that again."

"And I suppose Marissa accepts you just as you are?" Ally asked scathingly.

A slight smile crossed Cameron's lips. "She knows all the bad stuff, Ally, and she loves me anyway. I don't have to be perfect for her."

Ally started crying then. As sobs wracked her body, she said, "What have I done? Mom's going to die and it's all my fault. If I hadn't been so jealous of you, I might have seen what Jordan Stark was up to."

Cameron stiffened. "What did you say?" he asked carefully.

"Jordan Stark," Ally said. "He's going to kill my mother now that he knows she's still in love with you."

Turning to face her, he asked, "Why would Stark want to kill Amanda?"

"Because he's David Halliday!" Ally cried in terror.

Cameron's eyes widened as his heart beat harder and faster. "Does Stark know that you know?" he asked sternly, voice harsh and demanding as his fear for her became stronger.

"I don't know," Ally said, staring at Cameron with abject terror.

Gripping her upper arms firmly, he demanded, "Tell me everything, Ally. Tell me how you know about Stark."

~*~

Holding the small locket Cameron had given her for Christmas, Amanda felt tears fill her eyes as she remembered all that she had lost when she learned that Cameron--not Gary--had fathered Josie's child. She sighed deeply, being honest with herself for the first time in months. She hadn't lost Cameron and his love; she had thrown it all away in a fit of pique. Jealous that Josie would have Cameron's first child, Amanda had refused to listen to her heart which had counseled forgiving him. Now it was too late, he had found someone who seemed to accept him just as he was. Upon hearing of Cameron's engagement to Marissa McKinnon, Amanda had realized that she had lost the best thing in her life simply because she expected Cameron to remain atop the pedestal she had placed him on. Cameron may not have been a perfect man, but he was the perfect man for her. Something she had come to understand only after his engagement to another woman.

Amanda moved to stand beside the open window of her bedroom. Although the soft wind was warm, she shivered when it touched her skin because it felt so much like the caress of Cameron's fingers. Closing her eyes, she savored the memory of his lovemaking for as long as possible, but soon the thought of Cameron holding his new love intruded into her thoughts. As the tears fell unchecked down her cheeks, Amanda desperately clutched his last gift in her hand. The delicate golden chain bit into her palm, but she held it tighter as if by retaining a firm grip on the locket, she could hold on to Cameron. *Why are you doing this to yourself?* she questioned herself. *He doesn't love you anymore. Let him go.*

But she couldn't. Opening her hand, she gazed at the locket. With slightly trembling fingers, she opened the locket and stared at the small painted features of the two portraits inside. When he had given her the locket, Cameron had told her that it had seemed to call to him as he walked past the small antique store. The man had Cameron's eyes. Those sea-green eyes--sometimes blue, sometimes green--held all the mysteries and unfathomable depths of the ocean itself. She wondered who he was, the man in the locket with Cameron's eyes. Sometimes late at night when the locket fell between her breasts as she slept, Amanda would feel safe as if once again held in Cameron's arms.

"Who are you?" she whispered softly, staring into those sea-green eyes.

His lips seemed to quirk in response to her question, much as Cameron's would when amused. The man's hair was much longer than Cameron's short-cropped hair, but much the same color. With a sigh, she turned her eyes to the woman's portrait. Golden ringlets framed an exquisitely beautiful face smiling mysteriously back at her. Cameron had told her when he gave her the locket that the woman looked like her, but Amanda couldn't see the resemblance. "I hope you treated your love better than I treated mine," she whispered to the woman.

With a sigh of regret, she closed the locket, slipping the chain back over her head. David would be arriving soon to take her to the anniversary party at Cory Publishing. For just a moment, she let her mind drift back to another gala event where Cameron had been her escort--the Lumina Ball. Everything had changed so much since that night--and not for the better. Amanda had never felt more lost and alone than she did at this moment.

Several weeks ago, soon after finding the locket in her jewelry box, Amanda had realized that David Halliday was a stranger who frightened her far more than Scott Guthrie ever had. It was almost as if she had suddenly awakened from a dream-like stupor to find herself betrothed to an enemy. She remembered all the warnings she had received from Cass, Cameron, and even her mother. Halliday was dangerous, and nothing at all like the image he presented to the world. The enthusiastic bumbler didn't really exist. But Amanda was well aware of the fact that if David discovered she had seen through his act, she would be in even more danger than she was now.

Clutching the locket with both hands, Amanda whispered, "I need you, Cameron. I need you so much."

For just a brief moment, Amanda could have sworn she felt Cameron's arms wrap around her protectively as he whispered in her ear, "I'm here, Princess. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I love you."

"I love you, too, Cameron," she said softly.

~*~

Ally sat on Cameron's bed, watching as he made two phone calls. Although she wondered what he was planning, Ally felt strangely safe with this self-acknowledged murderer. She had been so wrong to hold his past against him, to judge him so harshly before she even met him. Cameron Sinclair was a good man, she could see that now. A better man than her father, whom she adored, but who would never risk his life and future happiness on a woman who had discarded him like yesterday's trash. Not like Cameron was doing.

The first call was odd, considering the circumstances. And Ally wished she could leave so she didn't have to listen to Cameron talking to his lover, but whenever she tried to move, Cameron nailed her to the floor with his eyes. After all the trouble she'd caused him, Ally wasn't going to do anything else to antagonize him further. Not with her mother's life in so much danger.

"Marissa," Cameron said in his most seductive voice. "I thought you were coming over tonight. You know how much I hate to sleep alone."

He smiled at her answer for a moment before saying, "And should I be jealous of this business associate of yours?" After she answered, Cameron chuckled, "Of course I trust you, Angel. It's him I don't trust."

As his smile intensified, Ally tried to look away to give him more privacy, and to keep herself from eavesdropping more than necessary. Her glance fell on a picture propped up on his headboard, unframed and obviously well-handled. A picture of her mother. Smiling herself now, Ally knew that she had made the right decision in coming to Cameron for help. He might be engaged to Marissa McKinnon, but he was in love with her mother.

"I'll be standing outside on the fire escape watching our star," he said softly, "and dreaming of you."

*Sure you will,* Ally thought to herself, more puzzled than ever by Cameron's protestation of love for Marissa.

But Cameron's next call drove all thoughts of his relationship with Marissa from her mind. Picking up a strange looking device from a locked drawer in his desk, Cameron placed it over the handset of the phone. "It's me," he said. "It's time."

Ally stared at him with wide-eyed bewilderment as he replaced the handset to the cradle. She felt her heart start beating faster when he smiled at her and said, "Now we wait."

"For what?" she asked.

"Reinforcements."

~*~

As the limousine pulled into the drive of the Cory Mansion, Jordan Stark, in the guise of David Halliday, reflected on a choice he had to make soon. A choice on whether or not to let the Cory women live. The next few hours would make the difference. If Amanda still cringed at his touch, she would have to die. He would never allow her to find happiness outside of his embrace. If she couldn't love him in this lifetime, she would pay the ultimate price for her betrayal of their past.

And Ally. *What to do about Ally?* he asked himself. Amanda's young daughter had proven to be an effective weapon in his fight against Cameron Sinclair. With the machinations of Ally combined with the distraction Marissa provided, Cameron had never had a chance to keep his relationship with Amanda intact. Stark sneered at the thought of Sinclair's singularly ineffective efforts to hold on to his lover. But now that Amanda would either be his wife or die, Ally's usefulness was at an end, and might actually prove to be detrimental.

A frown crossed his face as he recalled a recent incident. Ally might well be an actual danger to him. Earlier this afternoon, he had seen Amanda crying as she held a picture of Cameron Sinclair, and had realized that his fiancé still seemed to be harboring some lingering feelings for her former lover. Enraged at the thought, his guise had slipped momentarily as the face of David Halliday was replaced with his true visage. He had thought he had heard a small noise behind him, but when he investigated no one was there. But a sixth sense he relied heavily on told him that Ally had witnessed the transformation. And if she had, she could not be allowed to tell anyone else of his ability to change his appearance.

"Perhaps mother and daughter will have a tragic accident," he murmured as a smile of great wickedness crossed his handsome face, tainting it with the evil of his soul.

~*~

Amanda stared at her image in the mirror, wondering how she would ever get through another evening and night pretending to be David's loving fiancé. The very thought of him touching her sent shivers of disgust surging down her spine, and her body shook with obvious tremors. *You can do it, Princess,* she heard Cameron's voice in her mind. *You took on Scott Guthrie; you can handle David Halliday.*

Touching the locket nestled between her breasts through the cloth of her gown, Amanda resolved to find a way to escape from this living hell she now found herself in. And once free of Halliday, Amanda vowed to make Cameron love her again. Holding the image of Cameron on the first night they met in her mind like a talisman, Amanda found her courage returning in full force. She would defeat Halliday; she would win Cameron's heart again. Nothing, and no one, would keep her separated from her soulmate any longer.

"Are you ready, Darling?" Rachel asked.

For the first time in several weeks, Amanda smiled at her mother with real warmth. "Yes. David will be here shortly and we can go."

Rachel looked at her daughter and returned her smile. "You look lovely, Amanda. Is that a new gown? I don't believe I've seen it before."

Turning slowly in front of her mother, Amanda answered, "I found it this afternoon. I wasn't even looking for a new gown at the time, but it seemed to call out to me."

The off-white silken gown swept the floor as she turned once again. The choker-like collar of the dress fit snugly around her neck, yet leaving her shoulders and back bare. A delicate design of seed-beads and tiny sequins adorned the bodice. Diamond studs glittered like small stars on the lobes of her ears, while a sprinkling of other gems sparkled in the curls of her upswept hair.

Smiling again, Rachel said, "I'm sure that David will find you stunning, Darling."

A hunted expression crossed Amanda's face. Shaking herself mentally, Amanda stiffened her resolve. "I hope so."

Before Rachel could respond further, the doorbell rang downstairs. Smiling again at her mother, she said, "Speak of the devil."

Rachel's face hardened for just a moment before she answered, "Yes. I do believe you're right, Amanda."

~*~

Cameron paced the floor restlessly, hands clenching and unclenching at his side, but he kept an eye on Ally just the same. He didn't quite trust her; but then again he found it difficult to trust anyone. Anyone but Amanda. He had trusted her from the moment they met, although he had tried to deny it at the time. The fact that he had loved Amanda from the instant their eyes met had been a tightly guarded secret--even from himself--for a very long time.

Someone tapped on the window opening to the fire escape, and Cameron heard Ally's slight gasp. The person, clad in black from head to toe, entered silently, and Cameron grinned broadly at the sight. "Don't you think you're taking this undercover stuff a little too seriously, Bro?"

Pulling off his stocking cap, Gary grinned, "It makes Josie feel better. She's afraid I'll be seen sneaking around the roof if I dress in regular clothes."

Cameron shrugged. "She does have a point, I guess."

Ally stared at the two brothers with an expression of disbelief. "I don't understand," she said finally. "I thought you two hated each other."

"That's what everyone was supposed to think," Cameron told her with a smile. "Stark wanted me alone and vulnerable. So we let him think he'd won." Turning to Gary, he asked, "Is everyone in place?"

"Everyone on my list," Gary assured him. "But I think that Cass is going to have his hands full, trying to keep Lila in line. She's ready to string Stark up by his b . . ."

Elbowing his brother in the side, Cameron interrupted, "Gar. Amanda's kid is here. Remember? Behave yourself."

Gary grinned at the girl sitting on the bed whose expression still looked stunned. "Sorry, Ally." He looked at his younger brother for a moment. "Why is Ally here, Cam? And why has the flag gone up?"

"She knows about Stark," Cameron said with a frown. "She's in big trouble, Gar. And so is Amanda."

"Damn!" Gary exclaimed. "Does Stark know?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Bro," Cameron shrugged. "But I think we have to assume that he does."

Gary glanced down at his watch. "What's keeping her? Shouldn't she be here by now? I figured you called her first."

"Don't worry about me, Cowboy," a voice drawled behind them.

"It's about time," Gary said with a grin. "Thought you'd never get here, Marissa."

Pulling the black cap from her head, she shook loose her long red hair, her green eyes sparkling with mischief. "I got here as soon as I could," she assured him. "And yes, Gary, everyone on my list is in place. Carlino was a little miffed at being left out of the loop for so long. But he's in." Marissa looked at her fiancee quizzically. "So what was the big hurry, Pumpkin? I thought we'd decided to hold off a few days."

When Cameron began to explain the situation, Ally leapt from the bed and raced across the room. Grabbing Cameron's arm she exclaimed, "No! Don't trust her, Cameron! She's working for Jordan Stark!"

~*~

Amanda tapped on the door of Ally's bedroom. "Are you ready, Ally?" she called out.

When there was no answer, she began to knock a little louder, thinking that her daughter had simply not heard her. "Ally? Are you all right?"

But again there was no answer. Amanda frowned a bit, worried now by Ally's absence. When she reached down to open the door, Rachel said, "Let me check on Ally, Darling. I'm sure David is growing impatient."

"And that would never do," Amanda said snarkily. At her mother's expression, Amanda said, "Sorry. I guess I'm not feeling my best tonight."

"I'm sorry you're not feeling well," Rachel said. "Should I make your excuses to David?"

CONTINUED