The interior of the plane was strewn with crayons and paper and other assorted soft toys. Upon entering the plane, Bonnie's eyes lit up at the sight of so many things to play with. At Stefan's urging, Jessica had allowed her to make use of them all. Now, merely thirty minutes shy of their destination, the little girl lay sprawled on the leather bench opposite her mother.

“So,” Jessica began after glancing over at a sleeping Bonnie, “how much of this is Lucinda's doing?”

“This?”

Jessica made a sweeping gesture. “ This . The amazing coincidence that you were returning to New York on the exact day Bonnie and I were headed there.”

“Lucinda made me aware of your plans,” he acknowledged reluctantly.

“As well as my reasons for going, no doubt.” Anger flushed Jessica's face.

“Yes.” Stefan's reply was simple. “Lucinda cares deeply for you. She thought that you might appreciate a friend during your time in New York.”

“That would be you?” she asked skeptically.

Stefan turned his body in order to look fully in Jessica's face. “I thought we established such.”

“I'm sorry,” Jessica apologized. She bent and picked up a stuffed teddy bear from the carpeted floor. Its curly brown fur was soft beneath her fingertips and she caressed it absently as she spoke. “That was uncalled for. Yes, we have become friends, and I've appreciated your company these past few hours.”

“I do not imagine your upcoming task to be an easy one,” Stefan offered. “It is truly my wish to be of some assistance to you at this time.”

Jessica smiled wryly at him. “We must be friends. You aren't even pretending that you don't know what's going on in my life. Lucinda, again?”

A small smile turned up the corners of Stefan's mouth. “She has been a most valuable resource.” He demonstrated that fact by opening a small cabinet nearby and withdrawing a small silver dish filled with shelled pecan halves. “A favorite of yours, I believe.”

Genuine laughter erupted from Jessica's lips as she considered the sheer audacity of both Stefan Cassadine and Lucinda Walsh. “Between the two of you, I don't stand a chance.”

“Indeed,” Stefan nodded, “you don't.”

"You know," Jessica mused, raising an eyebrow in a manner reminiscent of Stefan, "you aren't the only one Lucinda has supplied with information." She smiled broadly at his suddenly wary expression. "Oh yes, I have learned a few things about you as well."

Stefan folded his arms and leaned back against the seat. "Indeed?"

"Yes. You speak five languages fluently, your horse is named Sirocco, and your favorite writer is Aleksander Pushkin."

"Come, Jessica," Stefan teased, "those are all things easily discovered. Surely you can do better than that."

"Hmmm…You sleep wearing only black silk pajama bottoms and your family medallion, you have a small birthmark right about here," she pointed to a spot low on her right hip, "and you enjoy making love in the shower."

Jessica reveled in the way Stefan's jaw gaped slightly before he immediately regained his composure. Her voice contained a trace of laughter as she explained. "Lucinda told me the first, and your medical records told me about the birthmark."

"And your last remark?"

"Ahhh," Jessica smiled smugly, "that would be telling. I can't give away all my sources."

Any chance for further discussion between them was curtailed by the pilot's voice announcing their imminent approach to New York International Airport.

“It seems we must shelve this conversation until another time,” Stefan conceded. “It is by no means over, however.”

“If you say so.”

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