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Continued...

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Scene: San Francisco General, waiting area.

Liz Bryant stops dead in her tracks at the sight of something she could have never imagined laying her eyes upon. While she adored Rick for his sensitive side, she had always known him to be a quite private man to the outer world. Alas, the fact that Rick can now be spotted in a lobby chair weeping to himself surely leads her to believe that he isn't as invincible as he sometimes tried to portray.

She pauses and thinks to herself for a moment that perhaps it would be for the best to leave him me, but her intuition tells her that Rick needs someone at this time to lean on. After all the two had gone through in the past year, she certainly wasn't going to pass up such an opportunity.

She continues walking over with a cup of coffee in one hand; the other ready to hold the hand of a friend in need.

"Oh, hey..." Rick looks up and quickly wipes off a few tears that have run down his cheek.

"Hey mister,thought you might want to talk about things…" Liz sits down next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"What's there to talk about?" Rick shakes his head in disbelief. "My wife almost died tonight- along with our baby."

"Yes, this is true. But Rick, you know how strong Kayla is- that woman is definitely a fighter," Liz tries to make light of her aggressive behavior as of late. "She's finally in stable condition and she's going to be just fine. And for Haylie...you have a beautiful new daughter surrounded by the very best that are going to ensure she is the healthiest baby when you bring her home. You have to stay strong, Rick...right now, your strength means everything to them."

Rick locks eyes with Liz as the two stare back at each other in silence.

Suddenly the two are interrupted by the very voice that sends chills down his spine. The voice that would forever be etched into his memory as truly vexatious- the one and only, Vanessa Devereaux Landon .

"Where is my baby?" She shouts out in distress. "Where is Kayla, Damn it?!"

Rick slowly stands to his feet. "Vanessa."

"I trusted you to take care of her, you son of a bitch! You made those vows...and now? Now you're sitting out here enjoying a cup of coffee and my daughter and her baby are fighting for their lives…How fucking fair is that?"

"In all due respect, Vanessa- you need to calm yourself down real quick and you need to realize who the hell you're talking to." Liz whips up and locks eyes with her. "If it wasn't for Rick, Kayla and Haylie would be dead. Where in the hell do you get off?"

Both Vanessa and Rick stand frozen and in utter shock by Liz' sudden display of fortitude.

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Scene: San Francisco General Hospital.

Kimberly Summers lifts her trembling fingers to pull a few hairs behind her ear. She gently bites her lip as she peers through the hospital room window to see Ashley Davison lying on the bed. A few simple moments have seemed like an eternity as she has forced herself to look at the wounds she has inflicted upon her half-sister.

She closes her eyes for a moment as she retraces the monstrous event that took place just a few hours prior in the basement. While Kimberly had hoped that the voices had subsided for good, her worst nightmare would truly become a reality when she lost control once again.

"She's in stable condition now. Are you a relative?" A voice startles her from behind. Kimberly whips around to see a young female doctor standing before her.

Kimberly shoots back a blank stare before responding. "No...no, I'm not."

"Oh, you must be a friend then. Well, you'll be glad to know she will be quite alright. I do have some news that may surprise her when she awakens though."

"Oh?" Kimberly raises a curious brow.

"I'll let her share the good news with you though. It's nice that she'll have caring friends surrounding her when she awakens."

The doctor smiles back and then walks off down the corridor.

Surprising news, eh? Well, I truly hope it's enough to keep her mind preoccupied....I would hate to see the aftermath that could prevail if the bitch tries to open her mouth and says one word about what happened earlier...

A sinister smile overcomes Kimberly's face as she spots Ashley coming to in the corner of her eye.