Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Her Worst Nightmare

As the phone rang, Alexis looked at the clock and groaned when she read the time. It was three in the morning. Who called at that time? Thankfully Ric was closer to the phone and he could answer it. She rolled over to go back to sleep as he answered with a voice heavy with sleep.

"Hello? Who is this? Lucky, what's wrong?"

Assuming the worst had happened, Alexis turned over and almost tackled him to take the phone away. He held onto the phone and continued to question the caller. "How bad is it? Okay, we'll be right there."

He glanced at Alexis who had a horrified look on her face. "What happened to her, Ric? What's wrong with my baby?"

Ric sighed and looked down at the floor before he said, "There was a bomb. About half an hour ago, firefighters were called to Sonny's penthouse."

Alexis jumped off the bed, followed quickly by Ric, and started toward their respective dressers. Alexis was frantically trying to get dressed while Ric was telling her the story. Ric walked across their bedroom and grabbed her shoulders to stop her before she hyperventilated. "They didn't tell me how bad it was, but we need to be prepared. We have to believe she'll be okay. She's a strong little girl. She's stubborn like you, and won't go without a fight. You need to calm down before we know what really happened. Can you do that for me?"

She nodded her head and continued to get dressed as he did the same on the other side of the room. As soon as they were both dressed, they headed down to the parking garage to retrieve their car.

The ride to the hospital had passed in a fitful silence. Ric couldn't help but notice the tears in his wife's eyes. He reached over and took her hand in his. She looked at him with a grateful expression on her face. "I know you told me not to worry, but I don't really have many good memories of her in that hospital. When she was born and during her most recent stay in the hospital, I saw her hooked to all those machines knowing I couldn't do anything to help her. And now, I can't help but wondering if it'll be like that this time."

Ric brought her hand to his lips and brushed his lips against it before replying, "I know. But when we get there, you know you need to push those feelings of doubt aside and be strong for her. I'll be right there with you if you need me." She replied with a hand squeeze and an almost imperceptible smile.

When they pulled into the hospital's parking lot, Ric parked the car and they briskly walked in the entrance of the hospital. They were ambushed by an assembly of reporters who were shouting out questions to them about Kristina's status. Ric calmly told them that they weren't going to comment on the questions and they walked toward the reception desk. A nurse took their name and went to page Dr. Webber for them. They sat down in the cold waiting area. Ric was comforting his wife in the only way he knew: a simple intertwining of their hands.

Dr. Webber finally walked into the waiting area to talk to them. Before he even reached them, he started to speak. "Your daughter is in critical condition here in the ER right now, but she'll soon be moved up to the pediatric burn unit. She received third degree burns over 70 percent of her body, including her hands, face and chest."

At Dr. Webber's admission of their daughter's condition, Ric and Alexis were crestfallen. Their shoulders sagged, their faces showed defeat. Ric was the one to ask the question they both wanted to ask. "What are the chances she'll be okay?"

"I'd love to be able to say she could recover from this, but right now, she's going to need all the help she can get. There's only a small chance that she'll come out of this. I…" His voice was interrupted by a voice on the intercom.

"Paging Dr. Webber to emergency room 1. Dr. Webber, to emergency room 1." He apologized quickly, knowing the room to which he was being summoned. He sprinted toward the room, to find it in chaos. He knew that Kristina was in a bad state even before the nurse told him.

Back in the waiting room, Ric and Alexis were both holding onto each other for dear life. Their daughter, who for the most part had been healthy, was now in critical condition. And since the good Doctor hadn't minced his words, they knew she probably wouldn't make it. They couldn't believe it. Kristina could die and they couldn't be with her to tell her it would be okay.

An hour later, they still hadn't heard anything, so Ric wandered up to the nurse's station. He was told nothing of her condition, but they did page Dr. Webber for him. Minutes later, Dr. Webber walked toward them with a somber look on his face. Upon seeing this, Alexis went hysterical. She launched herself at the doctor, only to be stopped by her husband. He held her tightly to his chest and she pounded on him to let her go. Dr. Webber waited until she calmed down a little bit before saying, "Even with all the resources at our disposal…" He couldn't even finish his sentence before Alexis screamed at the top of her lungs. All Ric could do was hold her screaming and irate body close to his. He was shaking at the injustice of his daughter's death. His sadness was being overshadowed by his overwhelming need to comfort his wife.

Alexis had been thrashing around in his arms for close to five minutes when, all of a sudden, she went still. Her sorrow had been suppressed by her immediate anger in hearing of her daughter's death. Now that she had screamed her last scream, all she was left with was sadness. There would be no more walks in the park or french fries at Kelly's. No more gymnastics or late night dancing to Vivaldi. Nothing. It was all gone.

Alexis had been thrashing around in bed for quite a while now. She had finally stilled enough that Ric thought she would be okay. As he stared at her for another moment, her teary eyes fluttered open. Noticing her worried expression, he hugged her and asked "Lex, what's wrong?"

"Something happened at Sonny's house. Kristina's dead."

"What are you talking about? She safe and sound in her room."

"But it was so real…"

He placed a reassuring hand over her mouth to silence her. "Alexis, you know that it couldn't possibly be real. Sonny will be out of all of our lives for a very long time. His RICO violations will see to that. Plus, his custody rights were taken away the day he pulled his gun out on Lorenzo. It's okay. Would it help if I showed you?"

Nodding her head, she followed his lead toward their daughter's room. Once they were around her crib watching her sleeping form, Alexis let the fearful remnants her dream had left behind flow away from her. She did know better. Sonny was gone and they had their happy family now. Forever and for always.