The fiercely bitter autumn wind roared, blowing the heavy rain sideways across the smooth surface of a windshield as a small silver sedan made its way along a quiet road just on the outskirts of Port Charles. Nadine pressed down on the accelerator pedal, silently praying to herself that she could make it to the bridge before the relentless thunderstorm got any worse. She was already a half hour later than she had thought she would be. It was Halloween night, and the children in the pediatrics wing had been saddened to see their favorite nurse try to slip out of the hospital on time. Nadine was always willing to spend a few extra minutes after her shift to read to one of the kid's or finish a braid. However, on this particular night, she had promised a very enthusiastic little boy that she would be on time so that they could dress up like The Three Bears and go trick-or-treating.
"Come on, come on," she pushed herself, slowing down slightly as she zoomed down a hill. The road was wet and she could see water on the pavement just at the crest of the next valley. Biting down on her bottom lip, she squinted to focus on the silvery street and tried to put the sounds of crashing thunder out of her head. A bolt of lighting streaked across the ominous black sky, briefly illuminating the trees that lined either side of the road. Nadine usually enjoyed the drive from General Hospital to Spoon Island but not tonight. Tonight, she just wanted to be within the safe and dry confines of Wyndamere with the men that she loved. Just a few more miles and she would be there.
Somewhere from the deep confines of her oversized tote bag, she could hear the jubilant melody of her cell phone ringing. Nadine could tell by the tone that it was Nikolas but didn't want to risk trying to answer it given the conditions. He had been quiet this morning at breakfast and hadn't answered when she had called to check in with him at dinner. He'd been on her mind all day, and she just wanted to get home so that she could find out what was plaguing him. With the one-year anniversary of Emily's death upon them like an unwelcomed friend, she knew that he was on edge. He had been for days. She tried to play it coolly and not pressure him into talking about it unless he wanted to, which he didn't.
Nadine could hardly believe that it had been a year since that magical and tragic night at Wyndamere. The Black & White Ball had started off splendidly, with everyone in Port Charles that mattered dressed in crisp white and elegant black threads. She had seen, really seen, Nikolas for the first time that night as he waltzed around the beautiful ballroom with Emily in his arms. Even then, she had dreamt that he would hold her like that someday. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty as she smiled at the thought, knowing that someone had to lose their life for her to have that dream come true. Sometimes she wondered if Nikolas would give her up if it meant having Emily back. Nadine didn't want to know what or who he would choose. It didn't matter. Life had a funny way of happening, and she had to believe that this was the way it was all supposed to go.
As she went over the next hill, she heard her cell phone start to blare again. It was the third time he had tried to call her since she had left the hospital, and he was probably starting to worry. Nadine leaned slightly across the seat and pulled her bag close to her so that she could dig for her phone. It always ended up in the bottom of the tote, no matter how hard she tried to make sure to keep it within reach. Keeping her eyes on the road, she managed to rifle through the papers and toys and clothes and retrieve her tiny silver cell. "Hey, I'm almost home," she greeted him without saying hello. Nikolas' relieved sigh came from the other end, causing her to smile to herself. "Sorry, I didn't want to answer it while I was driving, but I figured you were getting worried."
"It's just with the weather being so bad, I wanted to make sure that you were on your way home before it gets too much worse. Spencer is disappointed, but I think the storm's just too bad to take him out," Nikolas retorted. He knew that both Nadine and Spencer had been looking forward to tonight, but the cautious father in him just couldn't take the risk. "I promised him that we could make a frozen pizza and zone out together on the couch. I thought we'd make popcorn later and watch a movie or something. It's not everyday that I let my son eat junk food."
It was true. When she had first started staying at Wyndamere, there hadn't been a frozen pizza, bag of chips or package of microwave popcorn to be found in the entire mansion. However, thanks to her listmaking and Alfred's shopping, the place was now stocked with those delectable treats that normal people coveted as comfort foods. Nikolas still wouldn't eat most of it, but he liked how happy it made his girlfriend and son.
Shifting the phone from one ear to the other, Nadine allowed the car to speed up as she accelerated up the hill. By the time the car came over the peak, she knew that it was too late. Her first instinct was to slam on the breaks, which sent the car into an immediate tailspin. Water from an overflowing creek spilled out across the little-used road. The sedan hydroplaned, and before she could manage to regain control, it hurdled toward a light pole. Nikolas heard a single terrified scream followed by screeching tires. Seconds later, the line went eerily silent before going dead altogether.
"Oh, God," he muttered to himself as he struggled to redial the phone. Tears welled immediately in his coffee brown eyes, making it hard for him to focus on the blurring numbers. The line rang once before going straight to voicemail. Her cheerful greeting encouraged him to leave a message. Nikolas redialed immediately and cursed angrily when he got the same prompt. He tried once more as he ran down the stairs even though he knew it was useless. "Norma! Norma!"
The grandmotherly nanny came sprinting out into the hallway at the frantic scream of her employer. His eyes were already red and swollen as he scavenged through a drawer for his spare set of keys. "Mr. Cassadine, what is it?" she asked worriedly, peering at him with concern over the edge of her reading glasses. She held the top to Spencer's costume in her hand.
"Nadine was in an accident. I know that you were supposed to be off tonight to go see your grandchildren, but I need you to stay here until I get back," he pleaded desperately. "Call 911 and tell them to start looking for her on the road." He held up the keychain in triumph as he jogged toward the stairs. He didn't even bother to wait for the nanny to agree to stay. He knew that she would since it was an emergency. His feet pounded against the steps until he landed in the foyer. It took him less than two minutes to make it out to the garage, start the engine and head out onto the main road. He knew that Nadine had to be somewhere between the house and bridge by now. "Please, God, let her be alright."
He repeated his prayer like a mantra, forcing himself to focus on the road and maintain a reasonable speed despite the adrenaline pumping through his frazzled body. The car started to slide slightly as he went down the hill, reminding him that he needed to take it a little slower if he wanted to make it to her. He had to make it to her. He knew that tonight was Halloween. He knew what happened one year ago tonight. He relived it every single day of his life. He would not go through that again, not tonight or any other night. He would make it to Nadine and this nightmare would be over.
Flashing lights greeted Nikolas as he came around the next bend. He could see a single person standing over the wreckage of Nadine's car as he pulled his own car to a stop. The police cruiser's blaring sirens filled the air, barely managing to drown out the unsettling sounds of wind, rain and thunder. As he slipped out of the car and ran toward where Nadine's car was smashed into the pole, he was relieved to see his brother. "Lucky!" he screamed, his voice barely audible over the storm. "We have to get her out of there!"
Lucky grabbed hold of his brother's arm and pulled him away from the smashed car. "I checked on her Nikolas. She's still breathing. We can't move her in case she has internal injuries," he ordered, his voice booming and authoritative. Nikolas pushed his brother away and rushed to the smashed window, reaching through the shards of grass to touch her face. "Nikolas, the ambulance is on its way. I was headed out to Wyndamere when I found her. Just sit tight, they'll be here soon."
Nikolas wanted to scream at his brother, demand that he just shut up and help him. However, he knew that there was a good chance that moving Nadine could cause more harm than good. The only thing he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and kiss her back to life. "Hang on, baby, I'm right here," he pleaded desperately. He could barely stand to look at her beautiful face. The deep gash on her forehead was bleeding as she lay there unconscious. There was a lot of blood, too much blood. "Nadine, stay with me, okay? Please, just stay with me."
Yanking the receiver out of its cradle inside the police cruiser, Lucky watched in pain as his brother anguished at Nadine's side. He could hear his panicked pleas. "Get someone here now!" Lucky demanded into the radio. He threw the receiver back into his seat as the wailing sirens sounded in the distance, announcing the arrival of an ambulance and a fire truck.
Moments later, a team of paramedics were unloading equipment from the red and white vehicle. One of the men rushed forward and knelt by the side of the car, carefully pushing Nikolas out of his way so that he could tend to the patient. Nikolas listened as they rattled off numbers, wanting to know what they meant but unable to voice any of his questions. "Come on, Nikolas," Lucky prodded him gently. "Give them room to work."
"I can't get the door open!" another of the paramedics called out. "We need some help over here!" Lucky held onto his brother's arm as a trio of firefighters went to work trying to pry the metal door open. When they couldn't manage to get it open, they resorted to pulling it off using some piece of equipment. Nadine almost fell out of the car as the metal was thrown aside. The pair of EMTs sprung into action.
"There is a lot of blood," one of the men pointed out to the other. The man nodded as they tried to negotiate a backboard behind Nadine's lifeless body. "We're going to lift her on my count." The men counted to three in unison before pulling her free from the wreckage. One of the paramedics checked her vital signs again while the other barked them into their cell phone. "We'll try to stabilize her on the way to the hospital. Have the emergency room ready."
Nikolas broke free of his brother's tight grip and rushed forward. "I'm going with you," he told the EMTs. The men exchanged a questioningly look before granting their permission. They quickly and efficiently managed to load Nadine into the ambulance, leaving just enough room for Nikolas to join them. He heard Lucky promise to meet him at the hospital just as the doors slammed shut.
The ride to General Hospital was a whirlwind. Nikolas could barely focus as the paramedics worked. He tried to ignore the blood, their constantly screaming of figures, everything else but her face. He must have said a million prayers in those few short miles, and before he knew it, they were screeching to a halt outside the doors of the ER. Epiphany and Leyla were waiting outside with Patrick Drake and Matt Hunter. He knew that they had no idea who the patient was going to be until he jumped out of the vehicle. Leyla's eyes widened in panic as she caught sight of Nikolas. "No," she stated matter-of-factly. "No. No. No!"
"Leyla, get yourself together," Epiphany instructed her calmly as she started the process of brining her patient in. One of the hardest things for any nurse or doctor is to disconnect themselves from a grave situation, but it was also one of the most important things. "What do we have?"
The paramedics started to repeat the latest round of statistics to the General Hospital team as they rushed into the building. Nikolas knew enough from helping Emily study to know that they weren't good. Her pulse was weak and she wasn't breathing properly. She'd obviously lost a lot of blood and she was still completely unresponsive. "Let's get her into OR 1," Patrick demanded as they moved the gurney down the hallway. "Nikolas, you have to wait out here."
"No, I'm going in with her," he insisted. "I am not leaving Nadine. She needs me to be with her."
"Mr. Cassadine, the best thing you can do for Ms. Crowell is to wait out here," Epiphany told him. Her eyes softened slightly as she saw the petrified look blazing in his eyes. "Nikolas, we are going to do everything we can to make sure she's alright. Just stay here and we'll let you know as soon as we can." The doctors started to file into the room when Epiphany stopped Leyla. "You can't be in there. You're too close."
"We're all too close!" she argued back. "That is one of our own. She's my best friend. I want in."
Epiphany didn't back down as she called for another of the nurses and pulled the door shut firmly. Nikolas reached out for Robin Scorpio's arm as she slipped by them. "It's Nadine," he told her. "Take care of her."
"I will," Robin promised before heading into the operating room.
Nikolas pounded his fist against the wall in frustration as he started to pace across the waiting room. Just as he was about to start hitting pretty much everything in sight, a breathless Elizabeth stepped out of the elevator. "Nik!" she cried out as she came rushing into his arms. He pulled his close friend into his arms and buried his face in her hair. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, just as she had the night they had found Emily. Exactly one year ago today, she had held him as he fell apart over losing her best friend. Now, she feared that she was holding him as he lost the only person who had made him smile in the past year.
"Elizabeth," he sobbed. His voice was broken as he struggled to breathe. His breath was stunted as he gulped for air. "I shouldn't have called her. It was raining…" She smoothed her hand over his hair, willing her own tears not to come. "There was so much blood. She wouldn't open her eyes. I can't…"
"You won't," she promised. "We won't."
Elizabeth managed to pull his heavy body toward the couch and sit down in the private lounge reserved for the families of ICU patients. Leyla was silent as she took a chair in the corner, her face buried in her hands. These were the people that Nadine called her family. With Lucky due to arrive any minute, this was pretty much everyone that mattered to her. "I love her, Liz," Nikolas said finally. "I can't lose her."
"Nik, come on, Nadine wouldn't want you to think like that," she reminded him patiently. She wasn't sure how she was managing to do this considering the fear radiating through her body. Nadine had become one of her best friends over these past few weeks as the blonde nurse's relationship grew with Nikolas. However, he needed her to be strong right now. She could break down later when Lucky got there. Until then, she had to be there for Nikolas. "Take a deep breath and focus on that." He wanted to follow his friend's advice, but the only thing he could see was her lifeless, bloody body spilling out of the car. "I am going to go see what I can find out."
Elizabeth reluctantly let go of Nikolas so that she could go check in at the nurse's station. Before she left the room, her eyes darted over to Leyla. The beautiful nurse vacated her seat in the corner to come over to Nikolas. She reached for his hand and looked up into his eyes. She knew that they mirrored her own fear. "Nadine loves you so much, Nikolas," she said. "Now that she finally with you, she isn't going to give up now."
He ignored Leyla's words as he kept his eyes fixed on the door. He could see Elizabeth talking to someone at the desk as Lucky came rushing off the elevator. His brother caught his ex-wife in his arms as the brunette broke down in tears. They spoke to each other for a minute before looking at him through the small window in the door. Still holding on tightly to his hand, Elizabeth and Lucky came into the private room and said the only thing he did not want to hear right now.
"Nikolas, I am so sorry."