The Other Side of Chaos – Unbreakable
A/N Just wanna say that this is a triangle. I do not know who will be with whom when it is all said and done. It depends on how the story flows. I will say that this is not a Scrubs or Jasam story, I write for Robin, my fave. I want to see her happy. Samtrick will be involved very little. Also it is not an adventure story, it is a story of healing and coming out on the other side stronger than being said, I hope you take and enjoy this journey with me. I will update weekly and sometimes more frequently. I am far enough in this one to feel comfortable enough to keep up with updates J
In the face of chaos the measure of strength is getting to the other side. It is refusing to be broken when it seems like you shouldn't even be standing. The measure of hope through faith is seeing the cracks, embracing them, for you are not infallible. Only then can you begin to weather the storm. To get to the other side there will be phases, each one defining you, adding a new layer of strength, there will be trials and tribulations. In order to get through to the other side of chaos, you must make it through the storm. The other side offers peace and renewed vibrancy for life. The journey is jagged, you will want to quit but you must forge ahead.
Prologue
Visions struck him through a kaleidoscope of colors that blurred one into another. The little girl was sad because it was her mother's birthday and she was not there to celebrate as she had promised. She hadn't called. He could not explain the pang he felt in his chest as he heard her in Kelly's. He remembered her telling him not to kill Sam. As that memory had invaded his conscious a host of others would follow, consuming him.
Jake jumped up with a start. How could the pieces have not come sooner? He was Jason Morgan. He looked at the woman lying next to him. Did she know? He snuck out of bed, leaving her, he needed a moment to breathe, to process.
She had been gone a year, more than from her family. His family… He needed to get to Sam but she was marrying Patrick. His brain misfired, the room seemed to get smaller as his legs turned to rubber. He was fading. He heard her yelling his name but she didn't call him Jake. Why was she calling him Jason? "She knew" was his last thought before his body gave way to darkness.
Chapter 1 Day of Days
Nikolas picked up the phone to dial his old friend. He had overheard Sam and Patrick talking at the hospital about Sam adopting Emma. She had bonded with the little girl. It had made him think of Robin and how much she had wanted to be a mother. He did not understand why she had left Emma. Part of him did, but he was too caught up in his own life to be concerned but that jarred him. He remembered Robin wanting him to donate but she backed off because of their closeness as friends. The more he thought about it, the more he knew something was wrong. He received his voicemail.
"Hey, I am just going to get to the point. Someone needs to say this. I know that you have been through hell. I will do anything I can to help you but Emma needs you now. If you do not come home to her, you are going to lose her. I know you. I know that you don't want to lose her. If you need to talk, call me. In fact call me anyway, I would love to hear your voice. Happy Birthday by the way. It is very important that you come home." Nikolas hung up as Hayden approached.
"That sounded important." She smiled but held a curious look in her eyes. She rubbed his back. He was still being a gentleman but she could see it in his eyes that he felt the same. Maybe he felt guilty for using her but they had used each other, that much was clear. He turned to face her.
"I have an odd feeling that a good friend of mine is in trouble." He watched her, she had often found him watching her as if trying to figure her out.
"Have you ever been to Paris?" Her face lit up at the question as though she was on the edge of something but she quickly deflated.
"Not that I can remember." He smiled then.
"Well pack a bag. Paris is where she is and I need to see her to know that she is okay." Off her look he added; "I have a friend whom I'd like you to meet." Surprised registered on her face along with confusion.
"You are taking me…" She pointed to herself. "To Paris? But you… You don't trust me." He raised an eyebrow. "You trust me?" She glided over to him allowing her hands to roam the expanse of his broad shoulders.
"Nikolas, I know that you won't believe me. I don't know how or why. I just know that I am drawn to you. I feel like I have known you my whole life. Granted, all things considered, it doesn't seem like a very long time." She laughed nervously.
"You have questionable acquaintances. I have had question after question and through it all you have been hospitable and kind. Even though there was an underlying challenge. A cat and mouse game of sorts. You have made me feel welcomed. You hold me in your arms and I forget my doubts and I don't care who I am. In your arms I feel safe. If you wanted to harm me, you have had ample time. I have no one so no one would ask questions. So yes, I trust you." She noticed him struggling with something as she watched him.
"I may have a memory lapse. I am not deluded enough to think that you feel the same. For all I know I was just the fun time girl." He smiled at that. "So yeah, I will go and do what I can to help." With that she walked away unable to face rejection from him.
Words were stuck in his throat as guilt consumed him. He had come to know her better and the more he did the more the guilt rose to the surface. She seemed so different from when they first met. He did not know which version of her was her true self. He had always been attracted to her. He hadn't been able to be with her completely. His guilt held him back. Still he wouldn't deny the feelings that she had stirred in him. Feelings he swore he would never allow to happen again. He needed to redirect his focus.
Chapter 2 French Maid
Nikolas and Hayden had traveled to Paris. They knocked on the large mahogany door to the home where Robin Scorpio resided. A woman of about 60 with mousy brown hair tinged with thick streaks of gray answered the door.
"Hello. I am Nikolas Cassidine and this is my girlfriend Hayden. We are looking for Robin Scorpio." Nikolas eyed the woman suspiciously. Robin wasn't one who liked to have people waiting on her. Something seemed off.
"Ms. Scorpio has had a few visitors. She just finished her tour in China about a week ago. She has not gone back to Africa. Her work was really important to her there. She has assured me that she will check in once per month. I will let her know that you stopped by." Nikolas observed the older woman, there was something about her delivery that was off.
"Do you mind if we stay a while? We have traveled a long way. Robin and I have always opened our homes to one another. I promised my girlfriend that we had a place to stay. I did not bother booking a hotel because she would never let me." Nikolas smiled politely while laying on the charm. The woman heard a call to let them stay.
"She is very generous. Of course. I will have Henry get your bags and I can show you, your accommodations." She was nervous about letting them in but she knew that Helena would be watching.
The woman showed them around the quaint home. Something was off, it was almost sterile and not lived in. Still he was grateful, maybe with enough time to snoop, they could find something.
Nikolas decided to show Hayden the Paris evening. They drove for a bit before parking then deciding to walk. Nikolas opened the car door reaching his hand out to help Hayden out of the car. He pointed out the sites as they walked along the Paris streets.
"Your friend seems pretty accomplished but clinical. Almost like she doesn't exist." Nikolas raised an eyebrow. "I mean I know that she does because I had been in town long enough. What I am saying is, she seems to be canonized. Like this mythical figure who has touched the lives of so many but she doesn't leave behind a presence. Looking at her life from the outside, it just seems sad." He frowned slightly remembering Robin.
"She is far from it. She is very warm but she is flawed. She is loyal and she loves with everything she has. When my grandmother helped Faison kidnap her and I found her. I watched her fight. I watched her stand up to psychos because she wanted to be home with her family. She has a huge heart but she is also a lioness, a sharpshooter because she is the daughter of spies. Clinical, yes, she is a doctor but not in the way you described. That house…" He chuckled.
"Trust me. I have talked to Robin about arguments with Patrick over couches and picket fences. There is not one trace of her there." He explained. Hayden looked up at him feeling a tinge of jealousy.
"You seem to care about her a lot." He smiled then took her hand.
"I love her. At one time when we were kids, teenagers, it was more than a friend but she chose Jason and we remained friends. We have a history. Our families warred with each other. We decided not to carry the feud and made our own choices. She sees the good in people. She saw me, not my last name and helped me when I needed a friend more than I ever had." He explained their history to her.
"If it were me she would do the same. Which is why I can say with certainty that my friend does not live in that house." Hayden knitted her eyebrows together in contemplation. Is she could she wanted to help him. He had done so much for her.
"So why would someone try to make it seem as though she lived there but not really?" He knew that it was an innocent question but she had no idea the lengths his grandmother would go.
"So that no one looks for her. A year later no one has, not really. I need to contact Anna." He stepped away to make a call. He filled Anna in on his suspicions.
"I do understand that you are a friend of hers. I know my daughter and I have been in her shoes. She is facing her demons right now. She has closed herself off until she is ready to get help. I visited her, you know. Most of her memories are in boxes. Thank you for letting me know." Anna said sweetly. Yes something was off but she was not about to trust Nikolas.
"You are very welcome. I was just concerned. Thank you." He hung up not knowing if Anna would look into it. She had every reason not to trust him but he had no ulterior motives.
"Any luck?" Hayden asked as he rejoined her.
"I hope so. If anyone can find her it is Anna or her father, Robert. I am famished. How about I show you some of the finest cuisine Paris has to offer?" He offered her his arm.
Chapter 3 Tangled Web
Hayden watched Nikolas as he spoke fluent French to the waitress. She wondered what he couldn't do.
"You must be Bruce Wayne." She teased, he raised an eyebrow as a thought struck him. He quickly released it, it wasn't possible.
"I am multilingual. One of those things with the Cassidine upbringing. You must be able to communicate with international lobbyist, diplomats, business partners, etc. So I started to learn and master different languages at a very young age." He smiled looking at her. He really looked at her, she was a beautiful woman. She had big brown eyes that you could drown in. In some ways they reminded him of Robin. They were soulful like hers. He had long since gotten over his crush, it wasn't as though he was using Hayden as some replacement but some similarities stuck out.
"So I know that I said that I trust you but I have no clue what you just ordered." He smiled at her slightly amused as she glanced nervously at the menu she had kept.
"Then I guess it is a good thing that you trust me." He winked.
The conversation flowed between the two former adversaries, Nikolas had ordered frog legs, escargot, and foie gras compote. She was hesitant but he fed her. She enjoyed the foreign flavors minus the snails. He had to chuckle at her reaction.
For dessert he had fed her chocolate mousse she loved it but stole spoons from his crème brulee. She smiled at him.
"That was delicious. I am loving Paris so far." He smiled as he stood to get her chair.
"There is more to see. We must go to the Louvre, Robin and I went once. I know that I told Anna that I would back off, I am curious though, if she has contacted her friends here." He extended his hand helping her up.
"Well as part of the tour we could visit some hang outs, poke around." He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You are obviously concerned. So, we may as well. It can put your mind at ease."
"That it will. I think we should head back, it is late and jet lag is a bit much to handle. We have a lot of ground to cover." Smiling she followed him out of the restaurant.
Jason had been in and out of consciousness. He had been calling for Robin but Liz kept him sedated saying that he was agitated. Patrick walked in to check on his patient.
"Jake we cannot find a medical reason for your collapse. All of your scans came back normal. I am going to discharge you but I want to know why you were calling for my ex-wife?" Jake looked at Liz.
"We had been discussing her, yesterday was her birthday." Jake knew it was a lie even though he was disoriented with a headache.
"That doesn't quite explain it. You said before that you knew her. You had seen her. Where could you have possibly seen her?" Jake sat up reeling.
"I would love to know what you are talking about but I don't. Now you said that I am discharged. So I am leaving." He started getting out of bed. Liz pleaded with Patrick with her eyes. She did not want him to have a setback.
Jason had time to think. Liz knew and she was connected to Nikolas who must have known. He was connected to Helena who is connected to Victor. The pieces were coming together. He had to wonder how tangled the web of lies had become. He did know that he had to find Robin and he knew exactly where to start.