Chapter 2

The rain was pounding against the window and the wind was ripping through the trees, it was a sad and mournful day, and it fit her mood perfectly. All she wanted to do was curl up in a little ball and sleep this day away. It was never supposed to be like this...they were never supposed to be trapped in the painful hell that this day brought to them. She still wished that she could wake up and find out that the last 3 years were some kind of horrible nightmare.

She was supposed to be working on a paper for her Political Science class, but she kept flashing back to that day...
" It's starting to rain hard, Erica, you gotta drive." Ashlee said her voice filled with panic as she tried to look through the window of her car, the windshield wipers do little to make it easier to see.
" Ash I can barely see my feet, just slow down and you'll be fine." Erica reassured her.
" I think we should stop Erica..." She pleaded, thunder lighting the sky in front of them.
" Where could we stop?"
" Umm...how about my dad's cabin? It's just up the road, and he's not there. At least it's safe and warm. I've never driven in the rain, I would feel better if we're not on the road."
Erica nodded flashing her a reassuring smile.

Maybe if she had continued home to Pine Valley, Nicholas would still be alive. Maybe if they had stop shopping a few hours early, maybe if Erica hadn't convinced her miss school that day...maybe if...so many things would have been different...

" Powers out." Ashlee sighed sitting down next to Erica, " Sorry."
Erica nodded, smiling at her. " It's alright. Maybe your cell phone works?"
" Nope, reception up here is bad enough, the storm made me lose the signal completely."
" We're fine here. The storm should let up in a few hours." Erica said confidently, happy to be in the warm cabin.

She knew something bad was going to happen she could feel it in her veins. But Erica wouldn't listen...they were going shopping, a gift Erica owed to her for her birthday a few months back. They had been shopping in a little town between PV and Llanview; Erica said they had the best clothes there. But they had to take the back roads home, down through a particularly steep mountain road.

" Oh god." Erica cried grabbing her stomach. They had only been in the cabin a few minutes before the contractions had started. Ashlee was doing her best to keep Erica calm while she tried to monitor the time between each contraction.
" Please don't have this kid now...I don't know how to deliver a baby." Ashlee joked trying to lighten the mood.
" It's not up to me." Erica said as a contraction subsided.
" They're getting closer...we gotta get out here." Ashlee said starting to panic, " I can't deliver this baby."

Two hours had passed and as the storm got more fiecre so did Erica's contractions. She was going to have to deliver the baby, in a dark cabin in the middle of the thunderstorm.

Erica's pregnancy had been high risk and the doctors ordered her not to do anything extra that might put the baby in danger. They hadn't even wanted to an amniocentesis, and had ruled out a DNA test all together. Erica and Jack had had a brief relationship after Erica's relationship with David ended, and because both affairs were so close together, it was impossible to know who the father was without a DNA test.

She would believe tell the day she died that Nicholas was her flesh and blood brother, after all she'd been the one to look into his eyes...her dad's eyes.

" If he has black hair, then he's David's...and if not, Jack's. Who needs a DNA test." Ashlee joked wiping Erica's forehead.
" I wish it was that simple." Erica breathed after her contraction subsided, " But I have a feeling it's going to be a lot more complicated then that."
Ashlee nodded, once again starting to panic as she realized that Erica's contractions were only seconds apart.

Everything from their talk to Nicholas's birth was a blur...the doctors said that was because of the head trauma she had suffered during the accident. All she knew for sure was that Erica had done it, she'd give birth to a healthy baby boy in the middle of a raging thunderstorm.
" Definitely my flesh and blood brother." Ashlee said happily her eyes on Nicholas in Erica's arms.
" He's beautiful." Erica breathed in awe of her son.
Nicholas had a full head of hair, a little darker then Erica's and the biggest brown eyes. He had a sweet little nose and a perfect little mouth. He also had the Kane birthmark on the top of his head, a trait that he shared with three generations of Kane women.
" Nicholas Michael...." Ashlee said smiling at them as she grabbed her camera from her purse. " Kane?" She asked as she kneeled down next to Erica.
" For now." Erica said quietly, her attention focused solely on Nicholas.
Ashlee smiled at the pair as she took the first picture Nicholas and Erica.

Those were the first and last pictures ever taken of her brother. They were all she had left...the pictures were in her lap, the edges starting to wear from being handled so much. She kept them in her wallet and took them everywhere. There was only three pictures, one of Erica and Nicholas, one of her and Nicholas and one of just Nicholas. They were the only images of him, the last connection she had to him.

She closed her eyes as the next image raced through her mind...

" Whoa, Erica, you ok? You don't look so good." Ashlee said from her spot next to Erica, as she placed her hand on Erica's forehead. " You're so pale and kinda clammy..." She said moving as she tried to figure out what was wrong.
" I'm fine sweetheart." Erica said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
" Erica...I don't think there's supposed to be this much blood. I think you might be hemerging." Ashlee told her, her voice filled with concern.
" I'm fine..." Erica breathed, her lips chattering.
" Ok, it's going to be ok." Ashlee reassured her, wrapping a blanket around her. " I gotta get you to the hospital."
" The storm is getting worse." Erica said, laying her head back against the couch. Nicholas was sleeping peacefully in Erica's arms, and she figured that if she was going to get them to the car it would be best when Nic was asleep.
" We don't have a choice, Erica. You need to get to a hospital."

It was a task in itself getting Erica and Nicholas to the car, but she had managed to do it. She put Erica in the back seat, and blucked her in. Nicholas was fast asleep in Erica's arms, when she got into the drives seat. She remembered saying a silent prayer, before putting the key in the ignition.

The rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was howling. She remembered how dark the road was, there were no streetlights, and her car lights hadn't helped as they just reflected back as they hit the rain soaked asphalt. They weren't far from Pine Valley Hospital, and she was going a safe speed...

Everything had been fine for the first few minutes, despite the raging storm God had seemed to be on their side.

Until a pair of headlights appeared before her...The car was going the wrong way, and was heading straight for them. She tried to switch lanes but the car followed, she tried to stop but the brakes wouldn't work. And then a second pair of headlights appeared in the rearview mirror...

She switched lanes again, and both cars followed, wedging her between them. The car in front of her sped up, gunning for them, and the car behind her had moved so close it was nearly bumping against the bumper.

They were closing in fast and there absolutely nothing she could have done...

She shook her head desperatley trying to remember what happened next, but as always the only thing she can remember is that she'd woken up in the hospital two days later to the news that Nicholas hadn't survived the crash.

To be continued...