"Hidden History of the Human Being" was the book Stacey read in bed as Seamus continued to sleep. Stacey's flat in Oxford was a very modest studio. Her father had offered to put her up in a bigger and nicer place, but Stacey preferred to try to get used to doing more on her own and not relying so heavily on her parents financially.

She had a wonderful time over the weekend visiting with Seamus' family. They were so sweet and loving that Stacey had a hard time understanding why Seamus was so bound and determined to find his natural parents. She was also very relieved to have finally seen her mother, especially, since things had gone so well. Stacey thought that she should call her to make sure she got safely back to Springfield. Just then, Seamus started to stir.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Stacey cooed. She felt so lucky every time she laid eyes on Seamus. There was not one thing she did not love about him.

"What are you doing up so early, Anastasia?"

Stacey could not resist how sophisticated her full named sounded when Seamus said it in his hushed sexy Irish brogue.

"I couldn't sleep and I have a lot of reading to get caught up on after this busy past weekend."

"I'm sorry. I did not mean for you to fall behind by coming out to spend time with my family and me.”

"Please, I loved it. Your parents are so wonderful."

"They think you’re a pretty special lady too."

"I was also thinking about my meeting with my mother," Stacey warmly recalled.

"I’m so disappointed that she came all the way out here, and I was unable to meet her."

"Oh, I’m sure; my mother would like you very much. I forgot to tell you, but I told her about our idea to get a flat together."

"How did she respond?"

"Just as I expected, she was fine with it. It’s not my mother's reaction that I’m worried about."

"I think it is normal for your father to potentially be more concerned. After all, he knows how a man’s mind works.” Seamus enjoyed lovingly teasing Stacey. “You know I have been thinking about this and I feel fairly strongly that . . ."

"That what?"

"That, I really would like to meet both your parents before we do this and get both of their blessings. I feel it is the respectful thing to do."

"I'm not a little girl, Seamus," Stacey protested.

"I know, Anastasia. I just think it’s the right thing to do, and besides I really want to meet them both. I have heard so many good things about them from you, and you have met my parents."

"As always, you're right. I love you so much," Stacey whispered to Seamus as she placed her book on the night stand and leaned down to give him a deep kiss.

"You’re such a beautiful woman, Anastasia. I love you too," Seamus whispered in Stacey's ear as he gently continued to kiss her face and lips and gently brushed his hands over her breasts. "I can barely control myself when I’m with you."

"No need to," she breathlessly responded as she felt his erection stiffening against her belly. Seamus and Anastasia made love as the sun streamed brightly into the room. Their nude entangled bodies glistened in the rays of light, as they finally lay together in satisfaction. Stacey sighed with contentment while Seamus continued to nuzzle her neck and hair, as they fell back to sleep wrapped in each others' arms.

Anastasia had held off on a sexual relationship with Seamus for many months after their relationship became serious. She had wanted things to be very special when she did finally give herself and her virginity to Seamus. She had several boyfriends during high school and then at Stanford, but it never seemed right with any of them. And while most of her girlfriends were losing their virginity in high school and college to casual boyfriends, she decided to wait.

Stacey had a very open and trusting relationship with her mother and often went to her for advice about issues of the heart. She knew that Nola would never judge her, and most importantly, she would be completely honest with her daughter and speak to her like an adult. Nola had confided to Stacey that before meeting Quint, she had made many mistakes in regards to men and sex, and that she deeply regretted it. However, everything happens for a reason. Nola told her daughter, she truly believed that while the relationship with Stacey's biological father was a mistake, that Stacey's birth was, in fact, one of the things that saved her, and that never had anything that started out so wrong turned out so right. Nola admitted to Stacey that sex had no meaning to her until she met Quinton, and that she always wished that she had saved herself for him. While it was Stacey's ultimate decision what to do with her body, she truly hoped she would wait for the special one. There was a part of Nola that wanted her baby to remain a baby forever, but the bigger part of her wanted Stacey to be able to confide in her about such serious issues. More than anything, though, she didn't want her daughter to have regrets like she did. Stacey, being very mature, always understood that none of Nola's regrets had anything to do with her birth and presence, but that her conception was far from ideal. She wanted the spiritual sexual connection that her parents had which transcended simply the physical. Nola was also blunt enough to tell her daughter that with the right man, the physical could be amazingly powerful and satisfying. She urged her daughter to wait until she was in love. Stacey felt deep love for Seamus, and so had decided a few months earlier to let their relationship progress. Seamus was a thoughtful and gentle first lover and helped his girlfriend to relax through their first experience.

Seamus woke up this time before Stacey and lovingly watched her as she peacefully slept. To him, her gentle snores sounded like a kitten purring. Soon she started to stir, and he placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Hey you," she sleepily responded.

"There’s something really important that I forgot to tell you, Anastasia. I finally got some concrete information about my natural parents."

"You did? That’s wonderful for you."

"Not exactly, my natural mother passed away many years ago. It’s very sad, because she was very young at the time."

"I'm sorry, sweetie. That's just terrible. Was there any information on your father?"

"No, she never provided his name when I was born, and I’m still waiting for them to release her name, but the lawyer promised me that would be forthcoming, especially now that they knew she had passed away."

"There’s still hope that you can find your biological father? Although I still have to say that after meeting your lovely family, I can't understand why you would want to know."

"I have such a curiosity. My parents understand that and it does not bother them. They only don't want me to be disappointed in what I find."

"As wonderful as you are, your biological parents had to have been wonderful too. I doubt you’ll be disappointed."

"I can't really understand why you don't want to know more about your bio father."

"I feel like I know enough. And my mother and father would tell me everything if I asked, so it is a little different situation. Maybe I'm not interested because the information is so readily available? When you meet my father, you’ll understand. He’s just the most perfect dad. And my mom, well, she really doesn’t like to talk about the specifics. We can discuss it broadly, and she doesn't say so, but I can see it in her eyes, and the way her lip quivers a bit when any details start to come up."

"Spring break is coming up soon, and I think we should plan a trip then to see them in the States," Seamus suggested.

"Oh, I want you to meet them together. They're complete opposites, but they complement each other perfectly. You should see how my daddy adores her. My mother is really quite different from me and my father."

"How?"

"She grew up poor and was the youngest of seven brothers and sisters. My brother always says that mom is "out there" if you know what I mean," Stacey gently kidded. "She can be so loud and kooky at times. When we were little, she used to drag AJ and me to old, rundown movie houses to see these black and white movies, when all we wanted to do was see “The Lion King” or “Ninja Turtles”, but we actually started liking them, believe it or not. I know all about every old Bette Davis film. But she is so much fun and full of energy, and we love her, but I can't always agree on some of what she does."

"She sounds wonderful, Anastasia. Maybe we could toss back some pints with ‘er? And I bet there is more of your mother in you than you think."

"Maybe," Stacey considers. "I only wish Daddy and Mom could find their way back to each other soon. Although I have to admit after this last visit with my mom, I’m much more hopeful. She told me a secret that I guess is okay to share with you, since whom are you going to tell?"

"What's that?"

"She bought the house that they first lived in together; the house where they fell in love on Thornway Road," she emphasized the last part with drama. "When AJ and I were kids, and they talked about that house it was almost like it was some charmed magical castle that wasn't even real. Like it was some setting for a romantic novel, but also kind of scary and secretive. I lived there with them when I was a baby, but I really don't remember it."

"That sounds very promising indeed, Anastasia.” Seamus exaggerated his accent, “And since we’re talking about magic and romance, me Irish intuition tells me, Bird, that the house does in fact have magical powers, and soon ur knickers will be out of a twist, as far as your ma and da are concerned."

Stacey laughed, faking a really bad imitation of an Irish accent. "No knickers on right now, twisted or otherwise, I'm afraid."

Later that afternoon, Stacey managed to pull herself away from Seamus and call her mother when she felt it was finally a reasonable hour in the States. Nola's cell phone rang a few times. The ringing of the phone woke Nola up from a deep sleep.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I can call back later if that would be better," Stacey apologized, realizing right away that her mother had still been asleep.

"It's okay, sweetie. I should be up. I guess I’m just tired from all the traveling and everything."

"I wanted to make sure you got home all right."

"I did. How was your weekend with Seamus?"

"Wonderful. Is everything okay with the Thornway Road house?

"Actually, I didn’t go back there. I’m at your Uncle Tony's house. I assume the girls are at school now, and Tony and Annabelle are at work."

"Why did you go to Uncle Tony's?"

"It’s a long story, Stacey," Nola sighed. Nola did her best to explain the whole crazy story. They were both concerned that Quint and AJ would be safe, and that they wouldn't try anything foolish in regards to Silas.

At that same moment, Quinton was arriving at AJ's Tulane dormitory building. He informed the guard downstairs that he was there to see his son Anthony James Chamberlain and was given a visitor's pass after being checked in. He took the stairs up to the third floor where AJ's room was. The corridors were quiet that time of day, as many of the students were either in class or still sleeping. There were a few male and female students wandering about the halls. They would all politely acknowledge Quint, recognizing him as a visiting parent, and some of them even greeted him by name. Quint and Nola had met many of the AJ's friends from school, as AJ was quite popular, and their home was a destination all its own. Often AJ would invite friends to the house to have beach parties and go surfing. The door to AJ's room was open. AJ was finishing getting dressed, and Sarah was helping to straighten up the room. Sarah had been AJ's steady girlfriend for almost two years. She was a pretty little blonde girl who was in her junior year. Sarah had been out to the their home several times, and both Nola and Quint thought she was a very nice girl, but that she was wanting more from their son than he was mature enough or ready for yet. They always half expected to hear that AJ had broken it off with her.

"Professor Chamberlain, it’s so good to see you," Sarah gushed excessively as she welcomed him with a big hug and peck on the cheek.

"Good to see you too, Sarah."

"Hey Dad, prompt as usual I see."

"And you are just barely ready as usual," Quint gave his son a man to man hug.

"I know you two have a lot of catching up, and I have a class in 10 minutes so I better run," Sarah grabbed her books and gave AJ a lingering kiss that embarrassed him in front of his father. They both watched her as she left.

"Good to see Sarah; are things all right with the two of you?"

"To be honest, not really. She's getting a little too intense for me. As I told you, my cell phone battery was dead last night, and she freaked out on me when she finally did reach me. She even called Eric to confirm my story which is complete bullshit. You'd think I was out banging anything that moved the way she acts, when I just need some time to myself with my buddies."

"That's fair enough."

"Plus, she uses sex like a weapon now. It's so stupid. I should be a free agent, not playing these games. It isn't like I’m going to get married anytime soon. Believe it or not Dad, she actually brought up the “m word”. I can't even pay my own car insurance, and she thinks we should talk about marriage. Whatever."

"Your mother and I were afraid that might happen."

"No way am I ready for that. I don't cheat on her, but she thinks I do, so I sometimes think I might as well."

"I think you should be honest with her. Lying to her is not right."

"I know. I just need to work up the nerve to break it off. I just know how she is going to react, and I don't look forward to that."

"Better to do it sooner rather than later. It will just get more difficult."

"I know, but listen, you did not come to talk about the pathetic situation between Sarah and me. You came so we could find that asshole Silas Crocker and kick the shit out of him."

"Right, so you said you saw him at a bar in the French Quarter? We should go there today. Maybe he will return there, expecting you."

"Dad, I think I should tell you that the bar is not just a normal bar."

"What kind of bar is it?"

"It’s kind of a strip club," AJ muttered.

"I should have known. Is that what you do with the money I send you?" Quint shook his head knowing this should not surprise him coming from his son.

Silas sat in his rental car parked across the street from the college dormitory. He had seen Quint get dropped off by a local sedan service, and he noticed the same sedan slowly circling the block, therefore, he figured that anytime Quint and AJ would be leaving. He had not seen his worst enemy in over 20 years, but he would always know him, and even after all these years, seeing him made Silas' stomach turn. The plan had worked just as he had hoped it would so far. He would draw Quint down to New Orleans, and then he would head back to Springfield to go after one unsuspecting Nola Reardon Chamberlain. After he had laid eyes on AJ Chamberlain the night before, Silas realized that any physical confrontation was not going to resolve itself in his favor anyway, unless he brought a weapon and intended to kill the kid. But dealing with Nola would be a breeze. "You look all over New Orleans for me, McCord," he said to himself. He slowly pulled away and headed straight to the airport for his flight that was scheduled to leave in less than two hours.