Port Charles
« Okay, I'm coming. » Felicia pulled herself away from the computer and went to answer the door. "Oh hi Brenda."
"Hello Felicia. Can I come in?"
"Sure. I heard that you where back and I have been meaning to come by to see you but I always seem to be so busy these days."
Brenda and Felicia walked into the room and sat down in chairs facing each other. "That's okay. This isn't exactly a social call. Actually someone recommended at the police station that I might get faster results if I hire a private detective. You're the only one that I know, well sort of. I'm not really sure of what I actually know anymore. This entire situation is so completely crazy. I came here because this is hard enough without having to try to explain it to someone I don't know."
"Okay. Brenda you need to tell me what the problem is. You were at the police station? Are you in some type of trouble?"
"Not in the legal sense. I was in the missing persons section. After I got done with the sketch artist, they recommended that I try a private detective. They felt that in a situation like this, a detective might find my answers quicker."
"Someone's missing and you want to hire me to find them."
"Sort of. I need you to find me."
"Okay. Now I'm confused."
"I know that this is going to sound really funny. Maybe even a little bit nuts. I mean, I didn't believe it either until the doctor showed me the lab reports. Even then I hoped that they were wrong. But then I got down to the police station and they wouldn't believe me at first until they called the doctor at the hospital. Even then they took my fingerprints and compared then to the one's on file before they believed me. After that they questioned me to death, signed I don't know how many reports in triplicate, and turned me over to the sketch artist to try to come up with the picture of the person in my mind."
"Brenda, what is it that they wouldn't believe."
"That's just it. I'm not Brenda Barrett."
"What! I think you better start at the beginning."
"Well I have been having these dreams lately and they felt so much more real to me than reality that I went to see a doctor. He ran some tests. It turns out that I'm not Brenda Barrett. We have different blood types. There were several other distinguishing factors like the fact that I have gone through childbirth and plastic surgery to change some of the features on my face. Then I went to the police station and like I said they didn't really believe me until they compared my fingerprints to hers. The doctor thinks that my dreams are my memories trying to resurface and that in time I will remember who I am and where I came from. Maybe I would be content with that, except that in my dreams I have a family. Somewhere out there, I have a husband and child who are missing me. I need to find them."
Felicia was completely silent for a moment. "Wow. You look like her. You even sound like her. You said that you had plastic surgery?"
Brenda nodded. "Someone made slight alterations to my face. But in my dreams, I remember what I look like. As for sounding like her, she has been gone for how many years? Who would remember the exact tone of one's voice after that many years? I mean someone somehow managed to dump someone else's memories into my mind. That's something the doctors at GH are still trying to figure out. I guess someone's theory was that if I look like her and remember everything that was important that happened here, then everyone would take me for Brenda."
"So you have all of Brenda's memories?"
"No. That is part of what is so strange. I just have a few years of her memories. Before Port Charles, my memory is completely blank. I don't remember going to school. I don't know who her friends are. Hell, I didn't even know that Brenda Barrett had a sister until I saw the notation in her medical chart. Do you know how creepy that is? I was so focused on these memories that were implanted into my head somehow of Port Charles that I never even took the time to consider that I couldn't remember anything else. What kind of person doesn't realize that they don't remember growing up? That is 18 years that are just not there."
"You said that you saw a sketch artist."
"Yes I brought the picture he drew with me." She pulled it out and handed it to Felicia. "I know that it looks a lot like me."
Felicia studied it for a moment. "Yes it does. There are just tiny changes between your face and the one in the picture."
"I think that is why Alcazar chose me. Physically it probably didn't take that much to make me look like her."
"What else can you tell me?"
"Well, I have a daughter. If asked I think I could describe her to a sketch artist. She was the first thing that came to me in my dreams. I also have a husband, but I haven't seen his face in the dreams yet. I suppose that sooner or latter I will. I have only been seeing my face for about a week. I have a house in the country."
"Can you describe the house?"
"I think so. Or at least the backyard. I spent a lot of time there planting a flower garden. I can't remember ever being in the front of it in my dreams."
"Do you have any idea where the house is?"
"No, I'm sorry. Beyond that it is somewhere in the country side were it is nice and quiet, I really don't know."
"That's fine. You have already given me a lot to start with. I want you to sit with a sketch artist again in order to give me a picture of your daughter and whatever you remember of the house. You said that you remember more each time that you dream?"
"Each time I dream, it becomes more detailed."
"That's good. I want you to keep a notebook and pen by your bed. Whenever you wake up I want you to write down whatever you remember. If by chance you can control parts of your dreams, try to walk near a calendar or a photo. Many people hang up calendars from local establishments. Those usually have a name and an address. A photo might give you a better idea of the location."
"The doctor at the hospital already told me to write down anything I might remember. I'm not sure how much control I have in the dreams, but if I can, I will look."
"One more thing, how is Jax handling this?"
"Actually, I haven't told him yet. I know, he needs to be told. He deserves to be told. I just found out this morning. The hospital told me to go to the police station and the police told me to hire a detective so I came here. Besides, how do I tell him? I mean, I'm grateful that he took me in but I'm not the woman he fell in love with. Add the fact that he left his wife to be with a memory. How do I tell him the truth? He is going to hate me. I can't even begin to imagine the trouble he is going to have with his wife when he tries to go back to her."
"You think that he will?"
"Yes. That is what is really sick about this situation. He left her for the love of a memory, but he still loves his wife. I don't know. I think that everything is as screwed up in his head as it is in mine."
"He loved Brenda."
"No, he loved his memory of Brenda. And from everything I have been finding out about the woman today, his memory of her is a lot more perfect than the woman herself. She had flaws, but it has been so long that he has created this perfect image of her in his head. He has forgotten reality. Even if the real Brenda returned from the dead, she wouldn't be able to live up to the pedestal that man has put her on. However, here is this other woman. He loves her. But he can't seem to make himself understand how he could love someone with so many flaws when his first love was so perfect in his mind."
"You have been thinking about this for awhile."
"I have been living with Jax for a few weeks, but I stopped sleeping with him a few days after the dreams started. I could feel the difference between his touch and the touch of my husband in my dreams. It disturbed me."
"So what are you going to tell Jax?" "I don't know. I really don't know."
-----
Private Hospital, Paris, France.
'Oh God, I feel awful. Where the hell am I? The last thing that I remember was sitting at this little café drinking coffee and trading insults with the bane of my existence, then what? I felt this pain across my stomach. So I am where? A hospital?' Skye tried to force open her eyes. After a couple of tries, she succeeded. 'Well, it looks like a hospital room.' She started to take note of everything around her from the IV in her arm to the drab white walls. 'What the hell do they have me on? I have never felt so dizzy in my life.' When Skye tried to sit up she felt a stab of pain on the right side of her stomach. On closer inspection, she felt a bandage. 'Oh God, whatever it was must have been serious. Someone operated. If this is a hospital then they must have a call button or something to get someone's attention. They aren't about to leave a patient by themselves for very long.' After some searching, Skye found it tied near the IV and pushed the button.
After seeing who walked in she wished that she had just played dead for a while longer. Figures he would be here. Why the hell does he have to be here? I'm really not in the mood to argue with him at the moment.
"It is good to see you awake. You had me worried for a little while."
"What happened?"
"You apparently had a cyst on one of your ovaries that ruptured. The doctors had to go in to repair the damage. You were very lucky that I was there to get you to the hospital in time."
"Thank you for your assistance. I don't suppose that there are any doctors around that could explain things to me in detail."
"I'm sure that they are very busy, but for you, I will track the doctor down."
Alcazar left the room and went up to the doctor waiting in the hall. "She is awake and asking questions."
"Don't worry sir. I know what to say."
"I'm paying you a lot of money. Do not screw this up."
"Everything will go according to plan. No one is going to do anything to risk the sizable donations you promised us." The doctor entered Skye's room.
"Bonsoir mademoiselle. It is good to see you awake. You had us worried. When they brought you in yesterday, you were quite ill."
"I've been asleep for an entire day!"
"Sleep is very good for healing."
"What exactly happened?"
"You were brought in with severe pains in the stomach and a fever. Apparently you had a cyst on one of your ovaries and we had to operate immediately."
"The bandage." Skye reached down to feel the bandage over her lower stomach.
"We will remove those in about five to seven days. You are a very lucky lady. The gentleman, who brought you in, insisted on the best to stitch you up. In a years time, the scar will be hardly noticeable."
"Were there any complications?"
"The operation was as you say picture perfect. It is a good thing to. I don't think that your boyfriend would have been happy if anything went wrong."
"He is not my boyfriend. How long will I need to be here?"
"We are going to keep you here for observation for about a week. The IV should come out in about three days. If everything heals appropriately, you may be able to leave in a week if you have the appropriate supervision. I am prescribing a mild antibiotic to help prevent infection and to help heal. I also am prescribing a special vitamin pill. I have been looking at your blood work and you are deficient in some areas that you need to help heal."
"How long will I need the medication?"
"The antibiotic is for two weeks. I may keep you on the vitamin pill a little longer. I have come up with a list of things I want you to avoid until you get better. Among those are alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine."
"No more coffee?"
"Only if it is decaffeinated. I will have my nurse issue a list of things to avoid."
"So I can leave in a week."
"I'm not giving you a clean bill of health. Your condition was quite serious when you were brought in. I will clear you to leave in a week under certain conditions. First, you need to avoid stress. Stress is very bad for healing. No exercise. The most I want to hear of you doing is walking between the bed, the bathroom and the couch. Basically, when we let you out of here in a week, you are to be shamelessly pampered."
"In other words, bored to tears."
"I will also set up an appointment for a week after your released and perhaps the week after that. We want to make sure that you heal properly."
"I appreciate your concern."
"Now I believe the gentleman outside your room would like to see you."
"I thought you said that you wanted me to avoid stress."
"How could such a concerned handsome man cause stress? Besides, he hasn't left the clinic since he brought you in. Plus he has arranged for your private room and has already taken care of all your medical expenses."
"Trust me. If you knew him like I know him, you would find his presence very stressful. All right. Send him in. He probably won't leave until I tell him to get out anyway."
"I'm sure he will be very happy to see you doing so well." The doctor turned around and left the room. Once outside the room, he nodded to Alcazar and walked away.
Alcazar entered Skye's room. "So, the doctors tell me that you must pamper yourself when you leave here. I know of this wonderful little spa outside of Paris."
"Luis, stop. While I'm very grateful that you got me to the hospital, I would like to make my own arrangements for where I will be staying when I leave here."
"Of course. How thoughtless of me. I have been so worried that I have forgotten how independent you like to be. So where do you plan to go? Just tell me where you would prefer to recuperate and I will make the arrangements. Anyplace your heart desires."
"I want to go back to my apartment."
"An apartment all by yourself is not what I had in mind. The doctor said that you were to be pampered. How can you be pampered if you're all by yourself? Who will take care of you?"
"Actually the silence would be very nice."
"You would be bored before the first day was over with."
"If I promise to hire someone, will you go away?"
"A nurse. An excellent idea. I will arrange it for you right away." Alcazar took off out the door.
"Luis that's not what I meant." 'Not that it seems to matter. That man only hears what he wants to anyway.'
« Okay, I'm coming. » Felicia pulled herself away from the computer and went to answer the door. "Oh hi Brenda."
"Hello Felicia. Can I come in?"
"Sure. I heard that you where back and I have been meaning to come by to see you but I always seem to be so busy these days."
Brenda and Felicia walked into the room and sat down in chairs facing each other. "That's okay. This isn't exactly a social call. Actually someone recommended at the police station that I might get faster results if I hire a private detective. You're the only one that I know, well sort of. I'm not really sure of what I actually know anymore. This entire situation is so completely crazy. I came here because this is hard enough without having to try to explain it to someone I don't know."
"Okay. Brenda you need to tell me what the problem is. You were at the police station? Are you in some type of trouble?"
"Not in the legal sense. I was in the missing persons section. After I got done with the sketch artist, they recommended that I try a private detective. They felt that in a situation like this, a detective might find my answers quicker."
"Someone's missing and you want to hire me to find them."
"Sort of. I need you to find me."
"Okay. Now I'm confused."
"I know that this is going to sound really funny. Maybe even a little bit nuts. I mean, I didn't believe it either until the doctor showed me the lab reports. Even then I hoped that they were wrong. But then I got down to the police station and they wouldn't believe me at first until they called the doctor at the hospital. Even then they took my fingerprints and compared then to the one's on file before they believed me. After that they questioned me to death, signed I don't know how many reports in triplicate, and turned me over to the sketch artist to try to come up with the picture of the person in my mind."
"Brenda, what is it that they wouldn't believe."
"That's just it. I'm not Brenda Barrett."
"What! I think you better start at the beginning."
"Well I have been having these dreams lately and they felt so much more real to me than reality that I went to see a doctor. He ran some tests. It turns out that I'm not Brenda Barrett. We have different blood types. There were several other distinguishing factors like the fact that I have gone through childbirth and plastic surgery to change some of the features on my face. Then I went to the police station and like I said they didn't really believe me until they compared my fingerprints to hers. The doctor thinks that my dreams are my memories trying to resurface and that in time I will remember who I am and where I came from. Maybe I would be content with that, except that in my dreams I have a family. Somewhere out there, I have a husband and child who are missing me. I need to find them."
Felicia was completely silent for a moment. "Wow. You look like her. You even sound like her. You said that you had plastic surgery?"
Brenda nodded. "Someone made slight alterations to my face. But in my dreams, I remember what I look like. As for sounding like her, she has been gone for how many years? Who would remember the exact tone of one's voice after that many years? I mean someone somehow managed to dump someone else's memories into my mind. That's something the doctors at GH are still trying to figure out. I guess someone's theory was that if I look like her and remember everything that was important that happened here, then everyone would take me for Brenda."
"So you have all of Brenda's memories?"
"No. That is part of what is so strange. I just have a few years of her memories. Before Port Charles, my memory is completely blank. I don't remember going to school. I don't know who her friends are. Hell, I didn't even know that Brenda Barrett had a sister until I saw the notation in her medical chart. Do you know how creepy that is? I was so focused on these memories that were implanted into my head somehow of Port Charles that I never even took the time to consider that I couldn't remember anything else. What kind of person doesn't realize that they don't remember growing up? That is 18 years that are just not there."
"You said that you saw a sketch artist."
"Yes I brought the picture he drew with me." She pulled it out and handed it to Felicia. "I know that it looks a lot like me."
Felicia studied it for a moment. "Yes it does. There are just tiny changes between your face and the one in the picture."
"I think that is why Alcazar chose me. Physically it probably didn't take that much to make me look like her."
"What else can you tell me?"
"Well, I have a daughter. If asked I think I could describe her to a sketch artist. She was the first thing that came to me in my dreams. I also have a husband, but I haven't seen his face in the dreams yet. I suppose that sooner or latter I will. I have only been seeing my face for about a week. I have a house in the country."
"Can you describe the house?"
"I think so. Or at least the backyard. I spent a lot of time there planting a flower garden. I can't remember ever being in the front of it in my dreams."
"Do you have any idea where the house is?"
"No, I'm sorry. Beyond that it is somewhere in the country side were it is nice and quiet, I really don't know."
"That's fine. You have already given me a lot to start with. I want you to sit with a sketch artist again in order to give me a picture of your daughter and whatever you remember of the house. You said that you remember more each time that you dream?"
"Each time I dream, it becomes more detailed."
"That's good. I want you to keep a notebook and pen by your bed. Whenever you wake up I want you to write down whatever you remember. If by chance you can control parts of your dreams, try to walk near a calendar or a photo. Many people hang up calendars from local establishments. Those usually have a name and an address. A photo might give you a better idea of the location."
"The doctor at the hospital already told me to write down anything I might remember. I'm not sure how much control I have in the dreams, but if I can, I will look."
"One more thing, how is Jax handling this?"
"Actually, I haven't told him yet. I know, he needs to be told. He deserves to be told. I just found out this morning. The hospital told me to go to the police station and the police told me to hire a detective so I came here. Besides, how do I tell him? I mean, I'm grateful that he took me in but I'm not the woman he fell in love with. Add the fact that he left his wife to be with a memory. How do I tell him the truth? He is going to hate me. I can't even begin to imagine the trouble he is going to have with his wife when he tries to go back to her."
"You think that he will?"
"Yes. That is what is really sick about this situation. He left her for the love of a memory, but he still loves his wife. I don't know. I think that everything is as screwed up in his head as it is in mine."
"He loved Brenda."
"No, he loved his memory of Brenda. And from everything I have been finding out about the woman today, his memory of her is a lot more perfect than the woman herself. She had flaws, but it has been so long that he has created this perfect image of her in his head. He has forgotten reality. Even if the real Brenda returned from the dead, she wouldn't be able to live up to the pedestal that man has put her on. However, here is this other woman. He loves her. But he can't seem to make himself understand how he could love someone with so many flaws when his first love was so perfect in his mind."
"You have been thinking about this for awhile."
"I have been living with Jax for a few weeks, but I stopped sleeping with him a few days after the dreams started. I could feel the difference between his touch and the touch of my husband in my dreams. It disturbed me."
"So what are you going to tell Jax?" "I don't know. I really don't know."
-----
Private Hospital, Paris, France.
'Oh God, I feel awful. Where the hell am I? The last thing that I remember was sitting at this little café drinking coffee and trading insults with the bane of my existence, then what? I felt this pain across my stomach. So I am where? A hospital?' Skye tried to force open her eyes. After a couple of tries, she succeeded. 'Well, it looks like a hospital room.' She started to take note of everything around her from the IV in her arm to the drab white walls. 'What the hell do they have me on? I have never felt so dizzy in my life.' When Skye tried to sit up she felt a stab of pain on the right side of her stomach. On closer inspection, she felt a bandage. 'Oh God, whatever it was must have been serious. Someone operated. If this is a hospital then they must have a call button or something to get someone's attention. They aren't about to leave a patient by themselves for very long.' After some searching, Skye found it tied near the IV and pushed the button.
After seeing who walked in she wished that she had just played dead for a while longer. Figures he would be here. Why the hell does he have to be here? I'm really not in the mood to argue with him at the moment.
"It is good to see you awake. You had me worried for a little while."
"What happened?"
"You apparently had a cyst on one of your ovaries that ruptured. The doctors had to go in to repair the damage. You were very lucky that I was there to get you to the hospital in time."
"Thank you for your assistance. I don't suppose that there are any doctors around that could explain things to me in detail."
"I'm sure that they are very busy, but for you, I will track the doctor down."
Alcazar left the room and went up to the doctor waiting in the hall. "She is awake and asking questions."
"Don't worry sir. I know what to say."
"I'm paying you a lot of money. Do not screw this up."
"Everything will go according to plan. No one is going to do anything to risk the sizable donations you promised us." The doctor entered Skye's room.
"Bonsoir mademoiselle. It is good to see you awake. You had us worried. When they brought you in yesterday, you were quite ill."
"I've been asleep for an entire day!"
"Sleep is very good for healing."
"What exactly happened?"
"You were brought in with severe pains in the stomach and a fever. Apparently you had a cyst on one of your ovaries and we had to operate immediately."
"The bandage." Skye reached down to feel the bandage over her lower stomach.
"We will remove those in about five to seven days. You are a very lucky lady. The gentleman, who brought you in, insisted on the best to stitch you up. In a years time, the scar will be hardly noticeable."
"Were there any complications?"
"The operation was as you say picture perfect. It is a good thing to. I don't think that your boyfriend would have been happy if anything went wrong."
"He is not my boyfriend. How long will I need to be here?"
"We are going to keep you here for observation for about a week. The IV should come out in about three days. If everything heals appropriately, you may be able to leave in a week if you have the appropriate supervision. I am prescribing a mild antibiotic to help prevent infection and to help heal. I also am prescribing a special vitamin pill. I have been looking at your blood work and you are deficient in some areas that you need to help heal."
"How long will I need the medication?"
"The antibiotic is for two weeks. I may keep you on the vitamin pill a little longer. I have come up with a list of things I want you to avoid until you get better. Among those are alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine."
"No more coffee?"
"Only if it is decaffeinated. I will have my nurse issue a list of things to avoid."
"So I can leave in a week."
"I'm not giving you a clean bill of health. Your condition was quite serious when you were brought in. I will clear you to leave in a week under certain conditions. First, you need to avoid stress. Stress is very bad for healing. No exercise. The most I want to hear of you doing is walking between the bed, the bathroom and the couch. Basically, when we let you out of here in a week, you are to be shamelessly pampered."
"In other words, bored to tears."
"I will also set up an appointment for a week after your released and perhaps the week after that. We want to make sure that you heal properly."
"I appreciate your concern."
"Now I believe the gentleman outside your room would like to see you."
"I thought you said that you wanted me to avoid stress."
"How could such a concerned handsome man cause stress? Besides, he hasn't left the clinic since he brought you in. Plus he has arranged for your private room and has already taken care of all your medical expenses."
"Trust me. If you knew him like I know him, you would find his presence very stressful. All right. Send him in. He probably won't leave until I tell him to get out anyway."
"I'm sure he will be very happy to see you doing so well." The doctor turned around and left the room. Once outside the room, he nodded to Alcazar and walked away.
Alcazar entered Skye's room. "So, the doctors tell me that you must pamper yourself when you leave here. I know of this wonderful little spa outside of Paris."
"Luis, stop. While I'm very grateful that you got me to the hospital, I would like to make my own arrangements for where I will be staying when I leave here."
"Of course. How thoughtless of me. I have been so worried that I have forgotten how independent you like to be. So where do you plan to go? Just tell me where you would prefer to recuperate and I will make the arrangements. Anyplace your heart desires."
"I want to go back to my apartment."
"An apartment all by yourself is not what I had in mind. The doctor said that you were to be pampered. How can you be pampered if you're all by yourself? Who will take care of you?"
"Actually the silence would be very nice."
"You would be bored before the first day was over with."
"If I promise to hire someone, will you go away?"
"A nurse. An excellent idea. I will arrange it for you right away." Alcazar took off out the door.
"Luis that's not what I meant." 'Not that it seems to matter. That man only hears what he wants to anyway.'