A/N: As you can see I'm going in a completely different direction than the show as I'm not killing off Cassie. Sorry this chapter took so long; the next chapter should come a bit quicker. Thanks for all the reviews, I love to hear what you guys think. Make sure you keep them coming because they really inspire me a lot!

Chapter Two

John Abbott felt utterly exhausted after his grueling routine for his physical therapy. If he wasn't so committed to his recovery from the hip replacement, then he would strongly object to having to do all this twice a day.

Gitta was planning on staying in the study for a little while, so John headed out to the kitchen. He hated walking with a walker, and he hated making such slow progress across the room. He felt much older than his years walking so slowly.

"All finished with your physical therapy, John?" his wife greeted him as he walked into the kitchen.

"Until this evening," he replied, trying to ignored the irritated look that came across her face.

"Well, how about some lunch? I can make us some sandwiches and we could have some lemonade."

Although he knew his wife had been trying too hard to mend the fences between them, John thought this invitation sounded like a nice idea, and suggested that they eat outside in the back. "It's a lovely day, and I haven't had any fresh air in awhile."

Gloria beamed. "That would be great. You go on out and I'll bring everything to you in just a few minutes."

With a nod, John slowly headed outside. The bright sun overhead shone brightly. The grounds were quiet aside from a few birds chirping nearby. John smiled and took a deep breath, enjoying the feel of the fresh spring air.

After a minute he decided to look for a place to eat. He wouldn't be able to sit on the ground, so he headed towards the pool, around which the patio furniture was set up. He knew he'd have to walk carefully around the pool so as not to risk slipping on any water, but it was the only place out here he could think of to sit.

He neared the pool and froze. Laying face down in the deep end of the pool was a body. "Oh my God," he whispered, trying to hurry towards the pool. "Daniel? Daniel!"

Nick Newman nearly had a heart attack when he heard his daughter yelling out. He and his wife had been sitting on the couch enjoying a rare moment together; both rushed up to Cassie's room in alarm.

Panicked, Nick burst through the door and demanded to know what was wrong. Seeing Cassie's alarmed, tearful face as she tried to find words made his panic grow.

"Should we call the doctor, sweetie?" Sharon asked, sounding only slightly calmer than her husband as she stepped up around him to Cassie's side.

The young teen shook her head. "I… I remember the accident," she explained. "You have to call the police."

Nick took a few breaths to calm down. "You remember what happened?" That came unexpectedly, but he had known there was a possibility of her remembering.

"You… you want to put in a statement against Daniel?" Sharon asked with slight confusion. Cassie had so adamantly expressed that Daniel shouldn't be in trouble, that it had all been an accident and he shouldn't suffer more for it. Where was Cassie coming from?

"No," Cassie replied, looking at her parents wide-eyed. She took a deep breath. "Mom, Dad… There's something I have to tell you."

"Okay, go ahead," Nick said, sitting down on the bed. Sharon knelt down by Cassie's head.

"Daniel… he wasn't driving drunk. We have to get those charges dropped."

Sharon and Nick exchanged a look. "Cassie," Sharon said gently. "His blood alcohol level was very high. You even said you remembered promising not to let him drive at the party."

"No!" Cassie exclaimed, frustrated. "He wasn't driving at all! Mom, he's not the one who crashed the car."

"Calm down. If he didn't crash the car, then who did?" Nick asked.

Cassie took a deep breath. "I did."

A brief pause passed between the three Newmans. "Sweetie," Sharon said finally. "We know how worried you've been about Daniel, I know you didn't want him to get in trouble for this. But taking the blame for him won't solve that. There isn't anything you can do to help him."

"You're not listening," Cassie insisted. "I remember all of it! Daniel… he was passed out in the backseat. All my friends had left, so… I didn't want to call you guys because I didn't want to get in trouble. Then I found Daniel… and he wouldn't wake up and everyone was leaving. So I thought I could drive us home." She waited for her parents to say something, but neither of them did; both just watched her with shock slowly appearing on their faces. "I took his keys from his jacket," she continued. "I was driving, and I'm the one who crashed the car. I'm really sorry!"

"Are you sure about this, Cassie?" Nick asked.

"Positive, Dad. Can we please call the police and get them to drop the charges?"

Sharon shook her head. "Cassie, you really can't take the blame for this. The police know he was the one driving."

"No, they assumed it was him. We were both thrown from the car, remember? You told me that yourself." She waited for her parents to do something, but watched instead as they exchanged looks. Getting upset, she tried to sit up.

Her mom gently grabbed her shoulders. "Honey, you need your rest, you have to stay in bed. Don't get yourself excited."

Cassie looked up and shook her head. "Mom, I am not lying! Please, you have to trust me on this! Please!"

Both parents were startled at the severity on their daughter's face and in her tone. They looked at each other again with grave expressions, unsure of whether to believe Cassie or not—unsure now of what really did happen. One thing Nick knew in his heart that he just couldn't deny—Cassie may have lied to them about a few things recently, but over something this serious she always told the truth.

Within minutes of getting off the phone with his ex-wife, Danny Romalotti had made plans to head back to Genoa City. The last couple of concerts at the end of his tour would have to be cancelled, but he couldn't regret that. His fans would just have to understand that his family came first.

How could Daniel have gotten himself into such a mess? Drunk driving… it did not sound like his son at all. As he headed to the airport, having just made a call that he needed his private jet immediately, he tried to wrap his mind around the idea of what Phyllis had told him.

He hadn't always been there for his son; yes, he had sent Daniel to boarding school, and Daniel had done most of his growing up there. However, Danny loved his son and had only done what he thought was best for the boy. He knew he shouldn't second guess himself now, but he couldn't help it. If he had been around more, would this have happened?

Maybe he shouldn't have left Genoa City. Danny had jumped at the chance to restart his career; had that come at the sacrifice of his son? If Danny had been in Genoa City, maybe he would have noticed something, been able to do something to prevent the accident.

There was a while there when Daniel didn't have much faith in either of his parents, but now Danny and Phyllis would both stand by him and show him the love they both felt for him. He couldn't imagine the fear and the pain Daniel must be experiencing, but whatever Danny could do to help, he resolved to do it.

He picked up his cell phone again and called Christine Williams. Phyllis had said that Christine was Daniel's lawyer, so he had to call her and see what was going on. He needed to know before he arrived in Genoa City the charges Daniel was facing. He had to be fully equipped to deal with whatever was to come.

Shortly after talking to Danny, Phyllis received a call from Jack inviting her to lunch with him. She quickly jumped at the opportunity, needing a break from work even though she had a lot to catch up on. She hoped she could dodge Drucilla Winters on her way out, or Dru would read her the riot act.

She was getting sick of hearing it from everyone about her son. Yes, Daniel had made a huge mistake, and Phyllis too was mad at him for it. Everyone made mistakes, however, and most of the people who were so quick to trash Daniel after the accident had made great mistakes, too. She wanted to turn the finger back the other way. Mostly she wanted people to leave her son alone.

Her determination to reach Daniel was helped by the fact that Danny was finally headed home. Daniel might not want to see that he's disappointed both his parents, but having them both there on his side should help him tremendously. The Abbotts had been a great help to her, but no one would be able to help with Daniel the way his father could.

She let her mind at ease as much as was possible for the moment and rushed out of the office to have lunch with Jack, who was just about the only good thing going in her life right now.

At John's loud cried for help, both Gloria and Gitta came running. Upon seeing what was wrong, Gitta immediately plunged herself forth to the edge of the pool, reaching out for Daniel's limp hand. As the therapist slowly pulled him forth, Gloria kneeled down in her high heels, obviously trying to help without getting wet. When Gitta had pulled the boy closer, Gloria reached out for his other hand.

"Mr. Abbott, go into the house and call 911," Gitta yelled over her shoulder. Immediately he headed for the poolhouse, mentally cursing at how slow the fastest pace he could manage really was.

The two women both tugged at Daniel's arms until they could reach his shoulders; as they lifted him up out of the water, they saw the blood dripping down Daniel's face. With much effort they got him out of the pool and onto the concrete. Gitta immediately checked his breathing and reached for a pulse. "He's not breathing," she informed the horrified Gloria. "There's no pulse. I hope it hasn't been too long since he fell in." And with that, she began CPR, ordering Gloria to follow with chest compressions. When Gloria hesitated, Gitta huffed and did it herself, then quickly returned to mouth-to-mouth.

Finally Gitta managed to expel the water from Daniel's lungs, but although he coughed and shuddered for a second, he did not regain consciousness.

Gloria inquired to why, but Gitta could only guess it was either from the head injury or because he'd been underwater too long.

"Well, we should move him inside until the paramedics arrive," Gloria suggested. "We should get him wrapped up in some blankets."

Gitta quickly rejected that idea, insisting that with a head injury, they might cause him more damage by moving him. "We might have done so already by moving him out of the pool the way we did. We had to do that, but now we must wait for the ambulance."

Gloria was used to having her suggestions shot down; what annoyed her this time was how stupid it made her look. The women huddled there by the pool with Daniel lying between them as the sound of sirens filled their ears. John soon rejoined them, and within seconds the only unlively thing happening at the Abbott house was Daniel himself.

TBC