On Common
Ground
Chapter
1
Stefan
was alone and he felt it in every way possible. Physically, emotionally, even
mentally. With Nikolas gone from Wyndemere, Stefan had no one. Nothing. Laura
was out of his reach, she had been for a long time. There was no one else in
Stefan's life. He wished things had been different. That Nikolas' life was not
in danger from the mobster that Stefan had borrowed money from. Which was the
reason why Nikolas was in hiding in Switzerland.
After
three weeks of being alone, Stefan felt as if he might truly go insane. So he
headed for the garage. He would go into town and figure out something from
there. Once he reached town, Stefan drove around for a while but he couldn't
think of any place he wanted to go, so he ended up parking the car. He walked
for a while and ended up on the docks. Stefan stared out at the water,
wondering what purpose his life was now meant to have, when he heard footsteps
approaching. But even as he turned around he was grabbed from behind and the
sharp edge of a knife blade was held against his throat. "What do you
want?" Stefan queried as he stared at the second man who was facing him.
A big guy and fairly young and obviously high.
"What
do you think we want, dickhead?" The guy replied. "All of your
money."
"For more drugs?" Stefan was disgusted.
The
guy was not amused. Nor was the guy holding Stefan, the knife blade bit into
skin, almost breaking it.
Stefan
was careful not to swallow. And then he saw a third party approach. A young
man with a cocky grin on his face.
"Hey…is
this a private party?" Zander called out.
"Get
lost, punk," the first guy snarled.
Zander made a face at him. "You guys are pussies...you know that? Two of
you, armed, against one, unarmed guy. Pussies."
Stefan
did not want to see the young man get hurt, although he looked about as high
as the bad guys. "I don't need your help...thug!" he called out,
hoping the young man would get the hint.
"Shut
up!" Zander shot back. "I wasn't talking to you." He focused on
the bad guys. "Where were we? Oh yeah...I was calling you pussies."
The
first guy almost spit with fury. "Why you little punk!" he screamed,
then he attacked only to find himself hit with a solid right hook. He howled
and grabbed his nose, blood pumping through his fingers. Then he screamed as
he lost his balance and toppled off the dock into the water.
Zander
smiled then turned to the other guy. "Wanna play with me?" he
taunted.
"You
little fucker!" the guy hissed, released his victim.
Stefan
stumbled as he was pushed away hard. He caught himself and turned in time to
see the knife holder slash out at the young man. He scored a hit across the
young mans shoulder and chest, even though the boy jumped back. He just wasn't
quick enough.
Zander hissed in pain but now he was pissed. So when the other guy stood there
laughing, daring Zander to attack him, Zander didn't hesitate. But the guy
read the signals wrong. He was ready to duck Zander's fist so he wasn't
watching for Zander's foot, which nailed him in the crotch. Zander watched in
satisfaction as the guy howled and fell to his knees, clutching his family
jewels. Zander then kicked him in the head. Not hard, but hard enough to make
him hit the deck for a nap.
"That
was…somewhat...impressive," Stefan stated, as he moved to confront the
young man. "But you don't fight fair."
"Fuck fair!" Zander swayed on his feet and caught himself against
the railing. "I won, didn't I?"
Stefan
nodded. "What's your name?"
"Zander."
"You're
bleeding."
Zander
looked down at his shoulder then back at Stefan and laughed. "Ya think?
Eh…one more scar to add to my collection." He pushed away from the
railing and made his way, unsteadily, towards the bench at the far end of the
docks. From underneath he retrieved the bottle of Jack Daniels that he had
stashed there before making his presence known. Zander was about to take a
swig when strong fingers grabbed his wrist, stopping him. He glared at Stefan
Cassadine. "Let go!"
Stefan
stared back down the length of his patrician nose. "Are you even old
enough to drink?"
"What
the..." Zander couldn't believe what he was hearing. Since he couldn't
shake Stefan's hand off his wrist, he grabbed for the bottle with his other
hand and winced at the movement sent pain shooting through him. But he got the
bottle and took a long swig, then replied, "Not that it's any of your
business...but I'm twenty-three."
"You don't look it." Stefan released him and took interest in
Zander's injury. It was bleeding steadily. "You need medical
attention."
Zander
laughed. "I need another drink." He took another swig.
Stefan
ignored him and took out his cell phone. He called 911 and reported the attack
to the police, then he asked for an ambulance. At which point he felt the
phone snatched out of his hand. "Give that back," Stefan demanded.
"What are you doing?" Zander shot back.
"I
told you. You need medical attention."
Zander
shook his head. "I don't do hospitals." He took another swig of Jack
to dull the pain of memory. The last time Zander had been at the hospital,
Emily had died in his arms.
Stefan pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it to the wound. Firmly. He felt
Zander flinch and heard his hiss of pain. He ignored both and was disturbed
when the handkerchief quickly turned red. "I'm taking you to the
hospital."
"Not
happening." Zander shoved Stefan away and in the process stumbled and
dropped the bottle of Jack. He cursed then cursed again as he watched Stefan
kick it off the dock. "Hey! That stuff ain't cheap ya know!" A wave
of dizziness washed over Zander and he stumbled. He would have fallen had a
strong hand not caught him.
"I'm
taking you to the hospital," Stefan repeated, and then he took charge,
hauling Zander's good arm over his shoulder even as he wrapped his other arm
around the slender waist. Stefan then proceeded to practically carry Zander
off towards his car.
