Sean wiped his tears on AJ's handkerchief and gave him a weak smile of thanks. "Sorry. Don't really know what got-"

AJ waved it off with a gentle smile of his own. "Mother's a pretty damn important. It's all right. Feel like talking to her doctor now?"

The younger man nodded and held the handkerchief awkwardly. AJ took it, folded it over and tucked it into Sean's shirt pocket. "Hang on to that. We're not out of the woods yet."

"Okay." Sniffing back the remnants of his tears, Sean tried to pull himself together. He had to be an adult about this. "Did you find Cole and Caitlin?"

AJ shook his head and tried to force the concern aside for the moment. "They weren't in the nursery. One of the nurses thought they might have taken Trey to a hotel to rest but the phones are still down and Caitlin's not picking up her cell." He sighed and dredged up his smile again. "I'm sure they're safe. Caitlin just needs some time-"

Both of them let it drop. AJ wasn't even sure if Sean was listening. Dr. Machida's office was the third one on the left in the maze of offices. She was buried behind a mass of paperwork and her lab coat hung over her file cabinet.

"Mr. Richards-"

Sean winced and tried to smile. "Can you call me Sean?"

The doctor sighed and leaned back in her chair. "It's a good Irish name, isn't it?"

"My mom had an uncle Sean. I think he lived in Ireland." He bit his lip just thinking about his mom but he tried to keep up the conversation. "I've always wanted to go. Maybe I can take mom when she gets better."

"There you go." Dr. Machida sighed and dug through her papers to find Olivia's records. "Now what can I tell you about your mother?

Sean's sigh left his chest as empty as his heart. "Why doesn't she know me?" AJ reached across the arm of his chair to take Sean's hand and the younger man returned his grip gratefully. "What's wrong with her now? Why is she-?"

"Delirium is the result of a high fever. She's running a fever of one hundred four degrees, that stems from an infection that we're treating." She rescued a surgical report from the stack. "As to the infection, Olivia was seriously injured in the car accident. Her spleen- that's this large organ here beneath the left side of the diaphragm, was ruptured in three places. Her intestines were torn and she had severe internal bleeding. A blood transfusion from your father at the clinic saved her life because it kept her alive long enough to make it to the operating room."

"He did that for her?" Sean asked softly trying to picture his father giving life to his mother. Most of his life Gregory had been the one to take from her. He took her strength for granted, he fed on her emotions and destroyed what little self-respect she had left when she was growing up. "Why would he do that?"

"Because he loves her." AJ clarified for him. "In his way, Gregory loves your mother more than he knows how to deal with. He can't live without her."

Sean looked at AJ, trying to make sense of everything. If his parents loved each other why was Gregory with Bette? Why was Olivia dating AJ? Why weren't they together?

"The important thing is that your mother's going to be fine. Her temperature's starting to come down and she should regain consciousness soon." The doctor's smile tried to coax optimism out of both of them. "She's going to be okay. Really."

"Now why don't you go to a hotel, get a hot shower, get some sleep and come back in the morning. Leave the number at the nurses station and if anything happens, we'll get in touch with you."

It was so much easier than she thought. Annie gloated as she returned her lab coat to the storage locker. A borrowed white coat and a professional glare was apparently all one needed to be a doctor during a crisis. One set of papers went one way and Olivia's went the other. It was just too easy. No one had seen her. Her Aunt Bette had been in the elevator with her and she hadn't even realized who the doctor was next to her.

She broke through the crowd out into the sunshine. As she looked up at the bright blue sky, it was hard to imagine anyone finding out her secrets. Caitlin and Cole were gone with the little brat. Olivia had been dealt with. She would never tell anyone her secrets. Gregory would get himself out of jail and if he didn't, she didn't loose anything. Bette had his money and her dear, loving Aunt Bette was more than happy to give her an allowance.

With Gregory out of the picture she might even be able to seize power at Liberty. Annie smiled to herself, feeling as light as the summer breeze around her. It was going to be fine. Everything was going to be fine.

The elevator Bette was in crawled up to the third floor. Some redheaded doctor had gotten off as she had gotten in. It didn't matter. Her mind was only on Olivia. Maybe she shouldn't have left the hospital. Were Sean and AJ still with Olivia? Was she awake? Had she been asking for Gregory? Did she know about Caitlin and Cole running away with her baby?

On the third floor Olivia's room was empty. Even her chart was gone. Her things were gone from the closet. Bette wondered if she'd gotten the wrong room. Olivia must have been moved. Did that mean she was out of intensive care? Was she out of the woods?

The nurses' station was empty. Bette waited a few impatient moments before calling down the hallway. "Hello? Hey is anyone here?"

A young woman in a set of bright blue scrubs hurried around the corner. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. What can I help you with?"

Bette set her purse on the counter and fidgeted with the strap. "I'm looking for Olivia Richards, she's not in her room. Has she been moved?"

The young receptionist called up some records on the computer. If she'd been older, she would have kept calm but she was young. She threw her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god-"

"I'm sorry." She explained with a catch in her voice. "Dr. Machida's in surgery I'll get you Dr. Robinson."

"Why? What is it? What happened?" Bette's heart leapt into her throat. "Where is she?"

The younger woman just backed up, hand over her mouth again. She nearly backed into Tyus Robinson who appeared in response to her page.

"Tyus thank heavens. This little one won't tell me where Olivia is." Bette's fingers met and she pulled them apart.

"I've got it Lindsey, you can go." He took the keyboard and typed in Olivia's name. "I'm sorry, things have been a little crazy since the earthquake." Olivia's records flashed onto the screen and Tyus' usually bright face fell. "Olivia Richards was rushed to emergency surgery two hours ago. Her heart stopped on the operating table. I'm afraid she's-" His voice caught slightly as his professional veneer failed him.

"No." Bette felt her own heart stop in her chest. "No. Read it again." She crossed the desk to look over his shoulder. The final line on the bottom of the screen ripped her heart out of her chest.

Time of death: 17:52 July 25th, 1998.