-"Tell me exactly what happened, Alexis." Laura sat next to Alexis in a corner of the waiting room that afforded them some level of privacy. The armrest created a wall between them that was breached by the grasp Laura had of Alexis's arm. Connected, yet distant: a summation of their relationship.

Alexis took a deep breath before she relayed the events of the previous 13 hours or so. "I got a phone call at about 1 am from the hospital here."

-"Why did they call you? Why not me or Lulu or Lucky?"

-"I'm assuming it's because I'm his medical proxy."

-"I don't understand. Why are you his medical proxy? I know you're close but…" Her eyes were wide with confusion.

Alexis silently cursed her nephew for not having had this conversation with his immediate family. "We decided to select each other as proxies after we both survived cancer. We had very clear ideas on what we wanted, and we promised each other to follow through."

Laura glared at her. "OK. So great. They called you. What did they want?"

-"They were looking for permission to operate. I asked them about a second opinion, but they told me there was no time. So I told them to go ahead."

-"But how did this happen?"

-"According to his team he was in Havana finishing a deal. They weren't supposed to stop in Cuba, but I guess he thought he could wrap it up on the way back from South America. His team said he slipped on some steps and hit his head."

-"Why didn't they take him to a hospital?" Laura's bewilderment at her son's injury was slowly evolving into finding those responsible for it.

Alexis sighed in frustration. "I don't know. His bodyguard, Dmitri, said he was fine. He was joking and shrugged off any medical assistance. And then they got on the plane. He read the paper for a bit and then they took out the cards to play some poker. Dmitri said they had just taken off when his speech started to slur and he complained of a headache. And then he passed out. So they diverted from Port Charles to Miami because they were so close. He's been in surgery since."

Laura was deathly quiet as she processed the information and slowly removed her hand from Alexis. "You bastards. Your family did this."

-"I don't know that that's true." Alexis had known that accusation was coming; it just arrived faster than she thought.

Laura practically spat at her. "You Cassadines and your vendettas. You kill people for sport. Anything for power. My son had a target on his back the day he became your prince. How many times has his own family tried—"

-"Mom?" Lulu's arrival stopped Laura mid-rant. She ran and hugged her mother. The two put their heads together and had a few quiet moments, exchanging information on Lucky's whereabouts and Lesley's trip to Port Charles, where she would look after her great-grandson.

Not wanting to intrude on the Spencer reunion, Patrick walked to Alexis and extended her the coffee he was holding. "It's a latte, but it's from the vending machine, so…"

-"Don't get my hopes up?" she joked feebly as she wiped an errant tear from her cheek.

Patrick looked at her grimly. "I know this is hard, Alexis. But you need to stay positive."

Alexis looked at him and recognized the face she saw not after Kristina's surgery, but after Rafe's. "He's not going to be OK, is he?"

The doctor ignored her question as he rubbed her upper back. "When does Sam get here?"

-"Another hour, maybe?"

Laura approached the duo, having restrained herself after her outburst. "Patrick, thank you for coming. For leaving your family and job so suddenly."

-"It's not a problem at all. Nikolas and I have been through a lot together. Of course I would be here."

-"Is there anything you can tell me about my son? Anything at all?"

Patrick shifted and appeared uncomfortable. "I really think you should wait until you talk to his surgeon."

-"But you know something?" Laura pressed.

-"I'm not in the operating room. I don't know what they've found. Anything I can tell you now is pure speculation."

Lulu jumped in, "But you can tell us why they operated, right?"

-"As they told Alexis, Nikolas has had a brain bleed. It was creating pressure in his skull as it pressed against his brain. They needed to operate immediately to stop the bleed and release the pressure in his head."

-"OK. So what is the survival rate?" Laura asked. "What are the chances of brain damage?"

Patrick raised his hands, "I wish I could tell you, but I can't. It will depend on where the bleed is, the amount of pressure that was on his brain and how quickly they could remedy it. Laura, every case like this is different." He paused. "Is it very serious? Yes. Should you lose hope? No. If treated in time, people make full recoveries."

Laura fell to the chair and started crying. Lulu sat next to her and wrapped her arm around her mother in consolation. Alexis felt like she didn't belong—like she was somehow partially responsible for shattering the Spencers' world by virtue of being a Cassadine. Even though intellectually she knew it was ridiculous, the guilt was choking her. She turned on her heels and walked outside the doors to get some air.

Sam and Molly saw their mother on a shaded bench outside as they approached the hospital entrance. She was wearing sunglasses and appeared focused on a shrub about ten feet away; that or she was zoning out completely.

-"Mom," Molly said gently.

Alexis turned to face Molly, and wiped her cheek as she did so. "Hey Molls." She scooted towards the center of the bench and patted her hands on either side of her, guiding her daughters to their seats.

-"How is he, Mom?" The trepidation Sam felt was obvious in her voice. Once she and Molly boarded the Quartermaine plane, she finally had the time to process what little she knew about Nikolas's status. She had sat quietly and felt herself starting to tear up when she heard the sniffling next to her. Molly was wrecked—Ric, Rafe and the lake house gone, and now Nikolas hurt—and Sam determined to put on a brave face for her sister. But now that she was with her mother, who had tucked her daughters into her shoulders, Sam felt the freedom to crumble if she needed to.

-"He's still in surgery, Sam. I don't think it's good, but I'm going to stay hopeful." Molly let out a little sob. "Oh, baby," Alexis cooed. "If you need to let it out, do it here."

Molly buried her face in Alexis's shoulder and cried. Her tears served as the catalyst, and soon the three women were huddled on the bench weeping. Alexis finally raised her head, ordering "OK. Two more minutes to get it out. We need to go back inside to get an update on Nikolas, and I don't want us falling apart in front of the Spencers."

Sam froze for a moment, "Spencers?"

-"Lulu and Laura. They're both inside."

-"Lucky?"

-"I think they're having a hard time locating him. The jet's ready once we know where to send it."

Sam nodded her head. Molly whipped out the box of tissues she had stolen from Sam's penthouse bathroom and shoved in her bag. Looking at her mother's face, she shrugged. "What? I knew we would need them and we didn't have a lot of time."

Alexis nodded. The three rose, inspected each other to eliminate signs of distress and walked inside the hospital.

The group spent another 45-minutes in the waiting area before the doctor emerged to speak to Alexis, Laura and Patrick. "You're all family?" Laura looked at Patrick and appeared to decide that lying was easier than explaining. She nodded, and he proceeded. The details were technical and the women in front of him pressed for answers, as Patrick stayed silent.

Sam, Lulu and Molly sat rapt, out of earshot but looking for clues in the reactions of their mothers as the expressionless doctor provided Nikolas's status. Alexis was stone-faced as Laura grabbed her forearm and squeezed. Laura's back shook as she hugged her former sister-in-law. The doctor walked away, as Laura and Alexis whispered to each other and Patrick stood a few steps away to give them some semblance of privacy.

Alexis noted that the girls all looked petrified as she and Laura approached. Laura started to talk, but a sob came out instead. Lulu went in to give her mother a hug. Alexis gave Patrick a pleading look, and he turned to face the women.

-"Nikolas had a bleed in his brain and the surgeon needed to do two things in the surgery: remove a piece of his skull to relieve the pressure on his brain and to stop the bleed. He was able to do both. Unfortunately, by the time Nikolas made it to the OR, his brain had already suffered a tremendous amount of damage."

-"Oh my, God, is he dead?" Molly cried.

Laura's head shot up. "No. He's not dead. He's still alive. We need to get a better neurosurgeon. Patrick, can you look at him? If we fly to General Hospital, you can take him on as your patient."

-"I can't—"

-"Why not?" Laura snapped.

Alexis stepped I and said soothingly, "Laura, Patrick isn't a doctor at GH anymore. He can't take any patients there."

-"So do something about it, Alexis. Doesn't your family basically own the hospital? Nikolas was a member of the board. You should be able to put pressure on them to have Patrick treat him."

-"Of course." Alexis hoped to placate Laura with her promise. "Let me get on the phone and see what I can do."

Lulu looked at her mother. "So there's a chance. We still have hope, Mom." Sam watched as Alexis turned and caught Patrick's eye as she went to start her phone calls. And that's when Sam knew that all hope was gone.

Sam and Molly approached a frustrated Alexis as she stood with her phone to her ear. "I understand. Look, we have a CFO that can easily look over those papers." The girls exchanged looks. "Can I call you tonight then? We have a fairly basic succession plan in case of emergencies. If Nikolas and I are indisposed, then John is the final word." Alexis realized her daughters were standing in front of her. "Fine. Then set up the conference call and send me the dial-in information…I can join in two hours…I'll call from my cell phone…I have to run now…OK…Bye."

Molly looked at her mother, "What was that?"

-"The Cassadine Industries CEO is in a hospital bed, and the natives are restless. Unfortunately, business doesn't stop, so they're looking for direction." She handed Molly her phone. "See? 14 voicemails. My phone has only been off for one hour."

-"Can't you find someone to take those calls for you?" Sam asked.

-"I wish, hon. Unfortunately, I'm the only Cassadine who can field a phone call right now and I'm the family attorney."

-"You're not the only Cassadine," Molly interjected.

She stared at her daughter blankly. Molly responded, "Uncle Victor."

Alexis was stunned that for a few moments she had forgotten Victor existed. "Molly, I appreciate that he's a nice man, but I'm not giving him authority to make decisions on behalf of the company. Besides, I don't even know where he is right now."

-"New York."

-"How do you know that?"

-"I called him this morning to tell him about Nikolas."

-"Molly, you didn't tell him to come here did you?"

Molly looked at her mother quizzically, "Of course I did. But he thought he should stay away for the time being. Why wouldn't you want him here? Nikolas is his nephew, Mom. He loved Nikolas."

Alexis sighed, remembering that Molly didn't understand fully the hatred between Spencer and Cassadine. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, sweetheart. Of course you'd tell him. It's just that there's a lot of bad blood between Laura and Victor, and this day is devastating enough without having to worry about those two confronting each other."

Sam looked from her mother to her sister. "OK. Mom. What can we do?"

-"Nothing." Alexis looked at Molly's face and felt bad that she'd been short with her. As a conciliatory gesture, she said, "I'm going to start by calling Victor and letting him know Nikolas's status. Then I'm calling the hospital to get Patrick reinstated so we can move Nikolas to Port Charles for more treatment."

-"Molly and I will go back to the hotel. I know I could use a nap. I'm exhausted."

-"I am, too," Molly echoed. "But I'm not sure how I can sleep."

Sam turned to her sister. "Can you look into calling a cab for us?" Molly nodded in assent and moved under a tree to cut the glare on her phone's screen. When Sam was convinced Molly was far enough away, she turned to Alexis and whispered. "I have to tell you something. And please, Mom. Don't kill me."

-"Oh God, Sam. What have you done?"

-"I may have told Julian where you are."

Alexis smiled in relief. "You may have or you did?" Sam looked sheepish. "It's fine, Sam. I'm not hiding from Julian. It's not a problem if he knows about Nikolas or where we are."

-"Good. I'm glad you're OK about it."

-"You're being so strange. Why wouldn't I be?"

Sam smiled. "I guess you're right." She looked at Molly who held up two fingers, indicating the number of minutes until the cab arrived. "Oh, and Mom. I just think you should probably also know that…um…"

Her mother's eyes narrowed. Alexis knew Sam was gearing up to share some unwelcome news. "Spit it out, Sam."

-"Julian knows where you are. And he's here."

-"What? Where is he?"

-"He's here. In Miami. And…" She looked at her watch, noting the time. "…he's probably checked into the Marriott by now."

-"Dammit, Sam."

Molly walked over to give her mother a kiss goodbye. Alexis promised to call them when she was back in her room. The three women hugged and separated.

-"Hello, Victor. This is Alexis."

-"Alexis. How are you? How is Nikolas? I've been so worried."

-"I know, Uncle. I'm so sorry I didn't call you earlier. I know Molly told you, and we've been waiting on news after the surgery."

-"How is the news, Alexis?"

-"It's not good. We're going to take him back to Port Charles, for a second opinion." She added under her breath, "Well, we are if we can get permission for the doctor to look at him."

-"Sorry, Alexis. I didn't catch that last part."

-"Oh, it's nothing. I just have to get GH to reinstate this surgeon so I can have him treat Nikolas. It's my next phone call. Well it is if I can get off the phone long enough to make it."

-"Alexis, what can I do? I would come but…" His voice trailed off.

-"Laura is here. So your instincts are correct. The best thing you could do for me right now is to stay away. The last thing I need right now is Laura focusing her attention on the Cassadine hatred as opposed to Nikolas." Her phone beeped. "Shit. I'm sorry, Uncle. I've got to run—it's another call from Cassadine Industries."

-"Alexis, before you get off the phone, maybe I can try?"

-"Try what?"

-"You've got your hands full with so much. Why don't you let me take a crack at the hospital? It sounds like it entails making threats and generally throwing the Cassadine weight around."

Alexis thought about his characterization for a moment before responding with a "Yes."

-"Well, my dear, I happen to be extraordinarily gifted in both areas. Let me have a shot. The worst that can happen is that you have to call anyway. The best is that I've solved the problem for you and you can focus on other things."

She couldn't see any fault with his logic. "You're right. Thank you, Uncle. I appreciate it."

-"What is the doctor's name again?"

-"Patrick Drake"

-"Alright. You focus on our boy, Alexis. I will focus on getting Dr. Drake back in the operating room."

-"Thank you again. If I don't answer the phone, just leave me a voicemail letting me know the outcome."

-"And Alexis, one more thing: take care of yourself, my dear. Sadly, it sounds like the hard part hasn't really begun yet."