Author's Note: This chapter is short and mostly about David and Erica, but we're getting there! All will be revealed soon...

Chapter Four

Erica took a deep breath, trying to lose herself in her book.

"Erica, you've been here for hours... Days, really." David reminded her with a sympathetic smile. "Why don't you come with me?"

"I can't leave, Bianca."

"You can." He said. "Erica, if you trust me enough to take Bianca out of the state, surely you trust me enough to believe that she will be fine if you come with me... Give me ten minutes?" He pleaded.

She nodded in response. "Fine. Ten minutes."

She winced as the crisp air hit her face. The temperature had dropped since she came into the hospital this morning. She inhaled the air slowly, enjoying that it was fresh and didn't smell sterile, like the hospital. She was relieved to be out but this was the first time she'd willingly been away from Bianca since she returned from Los Angeles. She hadn't even unpacked her suit cases. David reassured her that Bianca was in good hands and that she needed time away from a hospital environment so she reluctantly walked with him.

"Where are we going?" She asked, curiously.

"We are going to the park down the street from here."

"And we can't drive there?" She asked.

He laughed. "It's a short walk. Besides, I remember when you were up for adventures..."

"I still am!" She said, playfully hitting him in the chest with her clutch.

"The adventures we used to have together."

She shook her head. "We were forced to use code names. Do you remember them?"

"Of course I do, Principessa."

"Good memory, Vittorio!"

"How could I forget? Those were the days when you used to hide under my bed to avoid my mother."

She laughed heartily. "That woman was unbearable."

David nodded. "She was pretty absurd."

He motioned for her to sit next to him on a park bench.

"You know, I would have put on some more lipstick if I'd known we were leaving the hospital!" She held her arms around her body, trying to shake off the cold air.

"You look fine. We're in an isolated park, Erica..." David rolled his eyes.

"That doesn't mean a thing! You must always be camera ready, David."

"I'm afraid Los Angeles has messed with your mind." He said, leaning against the bench.

"I miss the weather, that's for sure. Oh, David, it was incredible. You could go to the beach practically every day! I miss sunbathing on the balcony the most. I suppose I'll have to wait a few months now."

He swallowed hard, trying to get the thought of her in a bikini out of his head.

"I suppose you will. Is that all you did in LA?" He winked.

"No! I worked quite hard, thank you very much." She said.

"When is this movie coming out?" He asked, pretending not to have read magazines about the situation between Erica and Kit.

She sighed. "I haven't a clue. Kit and I ended our relationship on a sour note, to put it politely and he halted the entire production."

"It's not like you to give up that easily... How can one single producer have enough power to stop an entire production?"

"You'd be surprised. We're currently in court for the whole debacle which is why I'm back here three months earlier than planned."

He nodded. "Well, I'm happy that you're back."

She shivered again.

He placed his white coat over her shoulders. "It's not the most fashionable item, but you're Erica Kane. You'll wear it well."

"Thank you." She said and they fell into a comfortable silence.

She wondered what on earth she was doing here. Less than a year ago they were complete enemies yet here she was with his lab coat around her, talking to him about her life. She missed this David. This David was the one she fell in love with but she couldn't let herself go there – not after all that happened between them. They were better off as friends, if they were even capable of being friends. She wondered what would happen to them after Bianca recovered.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud buzzing sound.

"Hello?" David's voice sounded concerned.

She sat up in her seat. "Is it Bianca?" She mouthed.

He shook his head. "Cara..." he mouthed in response.

"Hi, buddy!" She smiled when she heard him speaking to his son.

"You have a son..." She half-stated, half- asked in disbelief.

"Yes... No one told you?"

"Bianca did... To be truthful, I forgot." She lied. She thought about him having a son, having a family more than she was willing to admit.

"I was supposed to have him this weekend." David admitted.

"Oh, David. I'm sorry..."

"It's okay. He won't know the difference and Bianca is the priority right now. He is with Cara, and that is the best place for him to be at the moment if he can't be with me..."

"So, you and Cara aren't together anymore?" Erica asked boldly.

He shook his head. "No."

"Why?" She asked before she could stop herself.

"Since tonight is apparently the night for confessions... Cara and I were nothing more than a fling and we both knew it. After I lost Marissa, I distanced myself from her and the baby. The thought of having another child was frightening... I didn't want to do anything to harm Cara or the baby."

"David, you're not the cause of your children's deaths."

"Logically I know that but it's a recurring theme in my life, Erica. I have to try to protect him somehow."

She understood his position but she thought he was wrong. She thought he would be a wonderful father if he had the chance but it wasn't her place to tell him what she thought anymore.

"Anyway, we should get back to the hospital. You can continue to visit with Bianca for a while but you need your sleep. Tomorrow is a big day for us all." He said reaching out for her hand to help her up off of the bench.

"David..." She said, letting her hand linger in his. "Thank you."

"Always, Erica." He said as she pulled her hand away.

–-

"David?" Kendall questioned once more. "Hayward?"

"Yes, David Hayward." Jack replied for the fifth time during the conversation.

"Is she insane?" Kendall shouted in confusion. "He must want something from her... This doesn't make any sense, Jack!"

"We're leaving tomorrow to meet David, Erica and Bianca in New York. We need all the help we can get, Kendall. Maybe you can talk some sense into your mother?" Jack begged.

"I'll be there tomorrow. There is no way David will touch, Bianca. Over my dead body." Kendall stated.

Jack smiled into the phone. "We'll see you there." He worked out the details with Kendall and then hung up.

"Well...?" Krystal asked.

He put his thumb up. "Kendall is coming tomorrow."

"Thank God. Hopefully Erica will take her opinion into consideration. I doubt we'll have any luck."

Jack frowned. "Are we doing the right thing?"

Krystal nodded. "Honey, you care about Bianca. Trust your instincts."