Author: Dimera_Phoenix. I'm a big fan of Nicket, os I decided to write this short story. I hope you all like it. I like to thank my beta-reader Crenclan from the SOC board for helping me out.
Title: There's no such thing as chance
He had never been in a state of panic like this before. His home, the Marone Mansion was on fire. Flames were bursting out of the roof. Nick barely noticed the fire-fighters passing him by, attempting to control the fire.
Within five minutes the fire had built up and it was still expanding. Nick wasn't in the house when the fire started. He was on his way from Jackie M. It was late; the night had already set in.
Nick heard another car approach the scene. The car stopped and Nick could immediately hear the familiar voice of his mother "Nicky, are you alright? What happened?"
"I don't know, mother" Nick simply replied, before taking a deep breath. "The fire was already here before I arrived."
"Thank god no one got hurt" Jackie exhaled.
Those words stopped Nick's heartbeat. "Bridget" he muttered, barely audible.
"Did you say Bridget?" his mother said. Nick nodded concurrently confirming the worst. "I thought she was on a conference call with Hong Kong. She won't be here for at least another hour". Nick shook his head.
"No, She may be home already" Nick said and he pulled out his cell-phone. He dialed a number. When the other side answered Nick said "Hi Carlos, it's Nick Marone. Listen did you bring Bridget to the Mansion tonight? Yeah, yeah okay I understand thank you." Nick closed his phone. "She's in the house" he said, fear in his voice. He tried to warn the fire-fighters of the situation, but the only response he got was that it was too dangerous to enter and that the Mansion was going to collapse very soon, making the chance of finding a survivor very small. He wasn't going to lose her again, not like this. Not after all they had been through. The past had made them stronger, Nick was sure of that.
Starting to look for a way into the house he asked his mother, who was standing next to him, shivering with fear "mother, it's Wednesday do you have any spare towels in the trunk?" Nick knew that she always swam on Wednesdays. Jackie nodded concurrently. Nick opened her trunk and found two spare towels. He walked over to the fountain and soaked one towel in the water. He covered his mouth with it to prevent the smoke from entering his lungs. He took a deep breath and ran as fast as he could past the fire-fighters. They tried to stop him, but he was already past them before they could do anything.
Entering the mansion, he found the living room empty. He considered the placed where she could be. He finally settled on the bedroom across the hall upstairs. He grabbed a water bottle from the dresser and stormed upstairs. Pieces of the ceiling were already falling down, flames were everywhere and the smoke was thick. He could see very little, but from what he could see the flames had not reached the room he hoped Bridget was in. He made a run for the room quickly opening in.
To his relief Bridget was in the room, sound asleep. Atleast, he hoped she was sleeping, rather than the alternative. He pulled the towel from his mouth and ran to her "Bridget, Bridget". To his relief there was a response.
"Nick" her voice was sleepy. "What's going on" she asked, suddenly awake. She noticed that the room was filling with smoke.
"The house is on fire" Nick said, his voice racing. "I have to get you out of here".
Nick revealed the other towel, soaking it with water. "Use this when you breathe. It will stop the smoke from entering your lungs." He pulled her from the bed. "I think it will be faster if I carry you. I know my way in the house and I think we stand a chance if we do it my way" Bridget nodded concurrently, frightened but trusting that he would bring them to safety.
He scooped her into his arms and walked out of the room. The situation was worse than before. They only had a few minutes before the entire place would collapse. He moved past the debris and the flames, making sure they wouldn't fall though the floor. Her heart was racing. Nick felt it. His own heart was racing as well. He had often wondered how his life would end. He always thought it would be in a storm, near the Antarctic Circle or when he was old and grey. Worse than losing his own live, would be losing Bridget. Nick could not even begin to describe his feelings for her. They'd just begun to find their way back to each other.
While trying to escape the flames, Bridget realised that losing Nick had been the worst feeling of all. Sure she'd been hurt by him. He'd hurt her deeply, but she still loved him. She'd always loved him and probably would for ever.
Reaching the door was not an easy task. They'd had to dodge several pieces of wood falling down all around them. When they'd reached the door they were approached by paramedics. Nick figured that Jackie had called them.
"Take her to the hospital" Nick said, and he let Bridget leave with them. She whispered something to him, but he couldn't make out what she said. He walked away from the house right behind him. He felt strange, dizzy. Before he could say anything he collapsed fifty feet from the door, while the Marone Mansion collapsed right behind him.
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Nick had never seen anything like it. He was dressed in all white, his surroundings were white and he had no idea where he was. 'Was this heaven?' he wondered.
"It isn't heaven Nick" a voice spoke to him, startling him. It was a man, who Nick had never seen before.
Who are you? Nick asked.
The other man smiled, making Nick very uncomfortable. "I'm the ghost of Christmas Hell". He noticed the confusion in Nick eyes. "Before you ask yourself if I'm real, I can assure you that I am. I would've been in the famous story by my creator Charles, but his editor scrapped me" the man scoffed.
"What's your business?" Nick asked feeling very uneasy. He never liked the idea of ghosts or spirits. "Am I dead?" He asked trying to hold back the fear in his voice.
"No" the man said. "But you could be. You see Nick, my purpose is to show you something. To be more specific my task is to show you what would happen if you died right now, to give you an option and to make sure that you hold your promise."
"What do you mean?" Nick asked him.
"Let me show you" the man said.
Like a travel though space and time the room around them changed. They were at someone's funeral. When he looked at the coffin and saw the picture on the coffin, Nick gasped. They were at his funeral. The place was filled with some of the people who knew him best.
"As you can see…" the ghost said. "This place is divided. We have the people who loved you very much despite all." Nick knew that by them he meant Bridget and his mother. They were sitting on the front row, obviously sad. He notices Brooke, Ridge and Taylor sitting in the fourth row. They were completely silent..
"Why are they both sitting next to him, saying nothing?" Nick asks the ghost.
"They've made their decision" the ghost replies. "That choice includes that Brooke will not interfere in Ridge and Taylor's marriage and that the three of them will raise Jack together. Quite the union, don't you agree?"
Shock settles in Nick's face "But what about Bridget?" he asks "Surely, she's not going to let Jack grow up in this merry-go-round?"
The ghost shakes his head "Bridget is in no state to be parenting right now, given her emotional state. You see Nick…" the ghost says "despite your actions, she still loved you. Losing you to her mother was bad, losing you to her aunt was just as bad, but losing you forever is a price she's not ready to pay. Your death is wrecking her life. Of course, she will get her life in order but by then Jack will be 5 years old and he'll be used to being in the triangle family."
The ghost continues. "You should know that Stephanie, Donna and Katie are fairly indifferent to your death. They don't mourn your passing nor do they celebrate."
The room changes again. Nick takes his time to let the situation settle in. His thoughts go out to the people who obviously love him the most. He's being brought out of these thoughts by the ghost.
"I'll give you fifteen minutes" the ghost says. "Use the time wisely. After fifteen minutes I'll return and I'll know if you made up your mind about you life. You'll have to answer questions like 'Do I know who I want to be with?' and 'What do I want with the rest of my life?' You could always choose the heroic death, but you know what happens now. And with that the ghost is gone.
Nick is still in shock from what he just saw. Trying to put your life in order in fifteen minutes seems nearly impossible to him. He knows that he still loves Bridget, but can they make it work? After all the pain he caused her, will she ever trust him again? And how is he going to get her to trust her? If he chooses to pursue Brooke he's going to inherit Stephanie and Ridge along with it and that is not an option to him.
No, this can't be an easy choice. Following your heart is tougher than it seems. But Nick knows. He knows that the only time that he was truly happy was when he was with Bridget. The way she made him smile was something that no-one could do. Not Brooke and not Taylor, only Bridget. They'd been through so much. Nick saw all his terrible errors in life pass him by: the emotional affair with Brooke, the way he handled losing Nicole, the way he treated Bridget during that difficult time, his affair with Katie. He threw every good thing away during his time with Bridget. But there were also the happier memories. Nick remembered his first Christmas with Bridget when she was dressed as an elf. She looked really cute in that outfit.
Was there a chance he could have that life back? The kind of life that marital bliss could bring him. There was only one way he could have that life back and that was with Bridget. Would she take him back after all that he'd done? Would she ever trust him again?
"Time's up" the ghost said, appearing out of the blue. "I see you've made a choice." Nick nodded concurrently. Before Nick could speak the ghost interrupted. "I don't care about who you pick. You've chosen to live. You'll get a gift for that. Now, I can't tell you the nature of the gift, but I can tell you that if you break the things you just promised to yourself for no good reason I'll be forced to take away someone you love and the gift you'll receive will be taken as well. Believe me" the ghost said with a very serious tone in his voice. "It's not worth it"
And with that he was gone
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Opening his eyes, Nick Marone was still half asleep. He was in some sort of bed and the way the room smelled it had to be a hospital room. Someone was sitting at his bedside, but Nick could not tell who it was. He was still drowsy from whatever drugs they'd given him to fall asleep. He was startled when he heard the person, who turned out to be male, speak.
"Good to see you're awake" said the very recognizable voice.
Nick instantly recognized the voice. It's was Eric Forrester's voice. He didn't need a lecture from his former father-in-law. With his most cynical voice he said "I must have died and gone straight to hell"
Eric chuckled "No, had that been the case I wouldn't have been able to thank you"
"Thank me, for what?" Nick asked, still drowsy from the drugs they'd given him.
"You don't remember?" Eric questioned. "You saved Bridget's life in that fire six days ago. Without you, she would have been dead". Nick noticed something that sounded like gratitude in the older mans voice.
Nick started to remember that night. It seemed so long ago. It was what brought him back to her, in a way. "How is she doing, Eric?" Nick asked.
"She's doing well" Eric smiled. "In fact she's in far better shape than you are. You may be interested to know that you are not to blame for the fire. According to the investigators a fuse blew and that's what started the fire. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it. I'm sorry that the Mansion is lost…" before Eric could continue there was a knock on the door and Bridget peaked her head in.
"Dad, would you mind if I talk to Nick?" she said. Eric didn't mind. He turned his attention back to Nick. "Thank you Nick, I owe you for this"
"No you don't Eric" Nick sighed "Not after everything that's happened". Eric nodded, understanding what Nick meant. Eric gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek and left the room. Bridget approached him. She thought he was cute, with his hair messed up. With her left hand she pushed it a bit to the side, allowing her to see his eyes. Before she could say anything, Nick pulled her in for a kiss. The kiss lasted longer and was more passionate than Bridget expected from Nick, given the condition he was in.
"Before we analyze everything that happened, there are some things I want to tell you" said Nick with determination. "I don't regret risking my life to save you. I would've done it even if I'd known, in advance, that I wouldn't make it. I love you more than my own life. Nearly losing you made me realise that. I always thought that I would be happy, regardless. However, the only time when I've been truly happy and at peace with myself was when I was with you. I love you Bridget. I don't think there's been a time when I haven't loved you. I want to start over again. I know it's going to take time for you to trust me again, but I want to make it work…" Bridget pushed her finger to his lips urging him to stop.
"I love you Nick" she said. "I've always loved you. I remember coming home from Denmark, being a complete mess and you were the one who lifted my spirits. I know how you feel about the past, but that's where it should stay. If we want us to work, we'll have to start all over again. I can't ask you to be perfect, but I can ask of you to never cheat on me again. I wouldn't be able to forgive you for that. But I love you; you saved all three of us." She flashes a smile.
"Three?" Nick is stunned by the implication "But that would mean.."
"That I'm pregnant" Bridget smiles. "In less than 8 months, you're going to become a father".
The news stuns Nick. Never had he thought that he would be so blessed. This was the gift the ghost of Christmas Hell talked about. The one gift he promised to give, but also to take away if Nick didn't hold his end of the deal. "This is amazing" tears filling his eyes. "I never thought we'd have the opportunity again to become parents together. Speaking of this, where will we live?" he asks.
"Well I thought that we could move in with my father and Donna for the time being. Or maybe with my mom and Ridge" Bridget smiles as she saw disbelief in Nick's eyes. "I'm just kidding, silly. I still have my beach house. We could live there for the time being. From there on, we'll see where we go".
"I want to build a new home" Nick says serious. "So I have 7 months to duke it out with the insurance company and build a new home for our family. It's good to know that there's no pressure at all" he says sarcastically. "I will definitely not live in the same house as your father or Ridge"
Two hours later, Nick was released in Bridget's care after the doctors had performed their tests. He knew that he'd found true love. He'd been too blind to see it in the past.
That night when he and Bridget were already in bed he looked at her. She looked so peaceful, when she was asleep. He'd found her again. There was no way he'd lose her again. Not after what had happened. He didn't know if the ghost of Christmas Hell had been real or if it was just a dream. The one thing he knew was that he was never going to make the same mistake again. He'd found true love and he wouldn't throw it away, not for anything.
And so he drifted into a deep sleep. The ghost of Christmas Hell up to them and smiled. He didn't think he would need to visit Nick Marone ever again.
The End