Chapter 27- Institutionalized

"Hey, I hear you're feeling a little better today." Nina walked into Willow's room after Sasha left. But she frowned when she saw the bruise on Willow's chest.

"Yeah," Willow said. "Still really tired though."

Nina pulled the stool closer to Willow's bedside and sat down. "Well, I got some good news. Sonny just texted me and Carly's bringing Michael home. His wound will take a little time to heal, but he's fine."

Willow smiled. "Maybe… maybe he can take the baby home." She started crying again. "As much as I want to be with her… I can't even hold her. I can't take care of her or anything."

"Oh, Willow." Nina reached for her hand. "You will. You will once you're stronger."

"I just want her home with Michael and Wiley. Away from this germ-infestation."

"Okay. I'm sure Michael will take her home then. And the Quartermaines will all be around to help."

"Th—thank you, for saving her."

Nina smiled. "Well, Sonny, Michael, and Dante did a lot of the work. They held off Heather and Dex while Spencer and I just ran up to get the babies."

"But you protected her and brought her back to me." She frowned. "But… Dex?"

Nina nodded. "Apparently, he's Heather Webber's son. He's been playing everyone all along. He took your baby to stick it to Sonny and Michael."

Willow scrunched her face. "Why Michael?"

Nina opened her mouth to respond when Bobbie walked in. "Willow, I need to take you for some tests."

Nina swallowed hard. "Why does she need tests?"

"We just want to make sure she's responding well to the transplant," Bobbie explained.

GHGHGH

Cameron didn't take his eyes off Aiden the next day, fearing that whoever sent the threat would take him. Aiden had another rough night and woke up screaming. Likely more nightmares. When Laura asked the boys if they wanted to visit their mom again, Cam hesitantly chose to stay at the house with Kevin and Aiden. Aiden wasn't dealing with his mom's condition well at all and didn't want to see her like that again. As much as Cam wanted to see his mom, he knew she'd want him to protect Aiden right now.

But the thing was, Cameron still wasn't sure if he should tell Kevin or his grandmother about the threat or if he should just do what it said.

By late afternoon, Laura and Jake left for the hospital. Kevin suggested they bake some cookies to cheer Aiden up. Cameron decided to watch a movie instead, but kept peeking over his shoulder whenever he couldn't hear either of them talking.

Should Cameron say something to Kevin about the threat? But it said there were cameras all over. And the note was correct, he couldn't find them. Was there someone else he could talk to? But he didn't want to risk putting someone else in danger. He'd consider telling Spencer if he didn't just bring home a new baby.

"I heard you had another rough night," Kevin said to Aiden. "Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

"I don't know…." Aiden mumbled.

"I know it's very hard to see your mom like that in the hospital."

"Grandma says she'll fight to come back to us," Aiden said.

"And I believe she will," Kevin agreed. "So, you had another rough night last night. Did you have another nightmare?"

There was a pause. "No."

"Oh. Did something else scare you?"

There was a pause.

"You know you can tell me and your grandma anything, right? We want to help you."

"But he'll hurt Jake next," Aiden finally said.

Cameron paused the movie and sat up straight.

"Who will hurt Cam and Jake?" Kevin asked.

"He already hurt Mom and Cam. I don't want him to hurt Jake too."

Cam scrunched his face, trying to figure out when he got hurt.

"Who already hurt them?" Kevin asked.

Aiden stopped responding and Cam stared over at Laura's albums.

GHGHGH

Nelle waved to Morgan when he climbed into the cab and disappeared down the street. She waited a few moments before she made the trek to Walgreens. She felt very tense and kept glancing over her shoulders in fear of getting caught.

Finally, she reached Walgreens and walked inside. She scanned the area, unsure of who to talk to. Near the back she noticed a man in a white coat behind the pharmacy counter. She took a deep breath and headed over to him.

"Excuse me," she said awkwardly. "I was wondering if you could help me."

"Of course," the pharmacist responded. "What can I help you with?"

"Well, I'm looking for a medical lab I was at the other day, but I don't know where it is."

"Do you know the name of it? We have several here in Denver."

Nelle sighed. "I don't know. I wasn't paying attention."

"Okay, well how did you get there?"

"My mother-in-law took me," Nelle said.

"Can you ask her what it's called?"

"Well, I don't really know her, and I don't know how to contact her. And my husband will likely be angry if I did anyway."

"Oh—kay…." He scrunched his face. "Perhaps if I show you the directory of the list of medical clinics in Denver. Maybe it will ring a bell."

Nelle waited while he pulled out a pamphlet and then he showed it to her.

She stared at it blankly. "I have no idea."

"Mind if I ask why you need to go back? Perhaps you could try another location?"

"It needs to be this specific one," Nelle said. "I want their help."

"Help with what?"

"Figuring out who I used to be."

"Used to be?" he asked. "Is there someone I can call for you?"

She buried her face in her hands. "I don't know! Neither Luke or I have a phone. I don't know how to contact Lin. The friends don't want me back. And I don't know who my mother and sister are."

"All right, miss, why don't you have a seat?" He pointed to the waiting area. "I want to help you."

She sat down. He lifted the phone to his ear and dialed 9-1-1.

GHGHGH

Nina found Liesl and Britt outside of Willow's room. "Hey, do you know why they took Willow for some tests? Is it really just to make sure the transplant worked?"

Liesl and Britt exchanged worried looks.

"That's part of it," Britt said. "But we're worried she might have received the wrong cells."

"The wrong cells?" Nina gaped at her. "How could she have received the wrong cells?"

"Well, we noticed some inconsistencies in Carly's recent bloodwork compared to her bloodwork from 2006," Britt explained. "Her most recent results are too close to Willow's. The markers are more of that of a parent or a sibling than just a random non-relative."

Nina laughed a little. "But Carly isn't Willow's parent or sibling. I certainly did not give birth to triplets, least of all one of Carly's age. And I'm pretty sure she's older than Silas was."

"I called the clinic in Denver this morning," Liesl spoke up. "They said there was one other anonymous person who tested for Willow there. They are starting an investigation to see if their results got switched accidentally."

Nina raised an eyebrow. "Who else in Denver would—" Her breathing sped up and she grabbed at her hair.

"What is it, dear?" Liesl asked.

"Nelle," Nina said breathily.

Liesl scrunched her face. "What?"

Nina's mind flashed to the cab that drove past them in Denver. I think I'm losing it, Sonny. I thought I saw Nelle…. Her mother's voice played in her head, I've only seen Kali from afar the past decade or so, but she'd remember her dear guardian angel Lin…. Some guardian angel came to see her, Sasha's voice said. And she seemed to think the guardian angel was telling her that Nelle was her bone marrow donor….

"Nina…." Britt touched her shoulder and she jolted back to reality.

Eyes brimmed with tears, Nina choked up, "Nelle is alive!"

GHGHGH

Cameron found the photo from his mom's first wedding to Lucky and tucked it under his shirt. He still didn't know if he was doing the right thing, but if this person was targeting their family he needed to put a stop to this. Maybe he'd even catch the person down at the pier.

He told Kevin he needed a mental break and wanted to visit Spencer and baby Laura. He headed out until he reached Pier 13.

He stared out at the water. Maybe he should've just told Kevin or gone to the police. But he wasn't even sure they'd be able to help. Chest heavy, he walked over to the trash can and dropped the photo inside.

"What are you doing?"

He whipped around to find Emma standing there. Her brown hair flowed over her maroon jacket.

"Are you okay, Cam?" Emma asked.

He nodded nervously. "Yeah. Just… just needed fresh air."

She nodded and stared out at the water. "I know the feeling. I love working at the hospital and helping people, but after such long hours I just need a break from it."

He stood beside her and glanced around to see if anyone was watching. He couldn't let Emma be in danger too. "You, uh, want to get some hot chocolate at Kelly's?"

She smiled at him. "Yeah. That would be nice."

"You know, I missed you when you moved to California," he said. "It wasn't the same after you left."

She linked her arm through his as they walked. "Well, we've got some years to make up for."

GHGHGH

"What do you mean Nelle is alive?" Liesl asked.

"I saw her," Nina said. "I thought I imagined it, but I saw her."

"Where?" Britt asked.

"In Denver. A taxi drove past us and I saw part of her face in the backseat. Plus Willow had a dream that her guardian angel came to see her… I saw my mother and she said Willow called her her guardian angel growing up."

Liesl's eyes grew wide. "Your mutter? Magda is alive?"

Nina nodded. "And she indicated to Willow that Nelle was her bone marrow donor."

"Do you think Carly would've run into her at the Denver lab?" Britt asked.

"The receptionist did say that Carly and the anonymous person were there on the same date," Liesl said. "But she didn't say what times they were both there."

"I need to talk to Carly," Nina said. "And I want more details from Willow of what happened last night."

GHGHGH

Morgan returned home to an empty house. He checked every room but found no sight of Nelle.

"Where are you?" He started to panic. "You've never left home without saying something first…. Did Lin come to get you?" His mind went to his family. "Or did Mom or Dad come find you?"

GHGHGH

The police arrived to question Nelle, but no one could figure out what she was talking about. The fact that she didn't really know who she was and couldn't give herself, Luke, or Lin a last name or an address or phone number, and that she said she was ex-communicated from a commune, they ended up taking her to the local mental hospital.

"Can you please state your full name?" the doctor asked her.

"Isla," she said.

"Full name?"

"Sister Isla."

"Do you have a last name?" he asked.

"At the friends we didn't have last names," she explained.

"What is the friends?"

"The Friends of Piece and Love is a spiritual awakening and home to many friends."

"All right." He wrote down some notes. "Did you have a last name before joining the friends?"

"I don't know. I don't remember."

"Do you remember anything before the friends?"

"Just that Luke and Lin found me after I fell off a cliff," she said.

"Do you know how you fell off a cliff?"

"Luke said I was trying to get away from his mother, but I don't know why."

"Okay, and who are Luke and Lin?" he asked. "Do they have last names?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Luke is my husband and I recently found out that Lin is my grandmother."

"And do you have any other family?"

"I have a mother and a twin sister," she said.

"And what are their names?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know your mother-in-law's name?" he asked.

"Sister Bertha."

He massaged his temples. "And does she have a last name?"

"I don't know."

"So, what brought you to Walgreens?"

"I wanted to see if they could help me find the medical lab I went to the other day."

"Why were you at a medical lab?"

"Bertha wanted me to get tested for bone marrow to save her sick friend."

"Do you know who her friend is?" he asked.

"No."

"Do you know if you were a match?"

"Oh, yes," she said. "I already had the procedure.

"Okay…. So, why did you want to go back to the lab?"

"To find out about Bertha's friend," Nelle said. "I thought maybe I could find out information about my mother and sister."

"Would your husband, grandmother, or mother-in-law know anything about them?" he wondered.

"I'm not sure about my mother-in-law, but Lin and Luke said they know."

"And have they not told you about them?"

She shook her head. "They say they're bad people and that Luke's family is toxic. They want to protect me from them. But… I don't know who to trust."

He smiled at her. "Well, we have a nice room set up for you here until we can figure out what's going on."

"Oh no, Luke will wonder where I am."

"Yes, but without an address or a phone number, we don't even know how to find him or to take you home."

Nelle frowned. Did she make a big mistake?