Episode 25, originally published 28-Feb-97

Found out!

The hospital. Sharon is in the hospital bed with Nick at her side. She is moaning. "Nick! It's those cramps again. Get the doctor!" Nick races out the door and sees Dr. Landers looking at a clipboard in the hallway. He yells, "Dr. Landers! Come quickly, Sharon's cramping again..." "Relax Nicholas," Joshua says, "it's still early." "Relax? My wife is pregnant eleven months!!" "Eleven? How time flies," Joshua mutters. The two walk briskly back to Sharon's room. In the middle of the room Sharon is convulsing wildly as if the basketball was being dribbled by some invisible hand.... Joshua exposes her stomach, which continues to convulse. Then, suddenly, as they watch in horror, Sharon's chest splits open and blood splatters everywhere as a small Neanderthal child pokes his head out. The child then stands, spits acid at a vent low in the wall (burning a hole in it), and then scurries into the new opening. The scene fuzzes and we hear Nikki saying, "Sharon, Sharon, ..." Sharon opens her eyes and sees her mother-in-law wiping her sweating forehead with a towel. "Nightmares again?" Nikki asks. Sharon nods. "Nikki--tell Dr. Landers--tell your husband, it's time. I want a C-section and I want it NOW!"

Joshua is in the den of the house. "Nikki!" he calls, but there is no answer. He looks for the obligatory "talking note" on the table to explain where she has gone but to his surprise there is none there. He wanders around the corner into a room we have not seen. It seems to be a small office with a computer. A screen saver, sporting images of daisies bouncing about, obscures the text on the screen. Joshua looks around the desk for a note but again finds nothing. As he does, he bumps the mouse and the daisies wilt as the screen comes to life. "What's this?" he asks curiously. He peruses the screen, which reads:

  >drop hankie
  You drop the hankie.
  Victor enters and takes your handkerchief,
   returning it to you ceremoniously.
  Victor mumbles, "Hello, Nikki."
  >kiss victor with passion
  You kiss Victor passionately.
  The door slams as Joshua enters angrily.
  Joshua says, "Victor, get out of my house!"
  Victor mumbles, "It's MY house, you punk!"
  Victor waves his magic wand.
  Joshua has been turned into a toad.
  Joshua says, "ribbit... ribbit..."
  >giggle
  You giggle uncontrollably.
  >say These fantasy role playing games are so much fun!
  You say, "These fantasy role playing games are so much fun!"
  Victor smiles.
  >say I love the way you indulge me, but I have to go now.
  You say, "I love the way you indulge me, but I have to go now."
  Victor morphs into Sam.
  Sam kisses you passionately.
  >grin at sam
  You grin at Sam.
  >@quit
  *** Disconnected ***
  HANGUP

Joshua is stunned. "So, Nikki. This is why I can never get you to go out of the house! You're busy playing fantasy games on the computer! And I see now what you REALLY want..." The phone rings and he picks it up. "Hello?" he says. "Joshua, it's Nikki. I'm with Sharon and she's says it's time." "I was just on my way to talk to you anyway Nikki. I'll be right there," he says, hanging up without saying good-bye.

Nick is in his house pacing back and forth in the living room when the door opens and Grace enters. It is snowing outside quite intensely and snow blows in through the door until she has shut it. She stamps her feet to clear the snow, still oblivious to Nick, who is looking up at her, surprised. "Oh, hi," she says as she finally notices him. "Sharon gave me a key," she goes on to explain. "She asked me to pick up some supplies for her from the bathroom... I didn't think anyone would be here. I thought you were glued to her side at the hospital." "I was," says Nick, "but she told me I was starting to smell from not having had a shower. So I decided I'd better come home and get cleaned up. I was just about to go back. I wonder why she didn't tell me to get her things at the same time," he says. Grace looks at him as if he were a Neanderthal for not understanding. "They're GIRL things, Nicholas. She wouldn't have been able to explain to you what she needed." "Oh," he says blushing. "Right. Of course. Well, help yourself." She nods and exits to fulfill her mission. Just then, his pocket cell phone rings. "Hello?" Nick says frantically, expecting the worst. "Nicholas, thank God you answered. Your wife has asked Joshua to go ahead with the operation. You should be here with her." Nick nods, as if she could see it and then hangs up without another word. "Grace!" he calls. Grace comes running down the stairs, stuffing some `supplies' into her bag as she does. "She's going to have the operation. We should go back over--can I give you a ride?" She nods. The two start to bundle themselves up to exit as the scene fades out.

"Esther!" Katherine yells. "Yes, Mrs. C.?" Esther says as she comes running out from the next room. "Isn't it time for lunch?" "Yes, Mrs. C., I'm just about to start work on it." "Just about to START?" Katherine asks. "It's 1:30, for goodness sake." "Actually, it's 1:19, Mrs. C. And my soap is almost over. Could you maybe wait just another 7 minutes because I think Ridge is going to propose to--" "Esther!" Katherine glares at her. Esther gets a long face and turns around slowly, saying "Yes, Mrs. C." as she walks toward the kitchen. "Oh, and Esther," Katherine calls after her. "Yes, ma'am?" she asks. "Will little Kate be joining us?" "Kate?" she says blankly. "Your daughter..." "Oh, my god, Kate!" Esther says all of a sudden and goes dashing up the stairs.

In the car, it is VERY snowy out. The lights barely illuminate the road ahead and Nick grips the wheel tightly. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive?" Grace asks. "You're stressed enough just about Sharon without having to drive, too." Nick turns his head to say, "No, I'd rather--" but as he does, she says, "Nick, look out!" and he jerks the wheel. The car careens off the road and into a snow bank. The two are belted in, so they aren't injured. But Nick's attempst to back up the car fail. The wheels just spin and get no traction. "I guess it's time to get out and hail a ride," he says, but his door is wedged by the snow and won't open. Grace tries her own with similar results. Nick pulls out his cell phone and tries to get a dial tone but is greeted only by static. "Now what?" Grace asks. "I guess we wait," Nick says. "I'm sure someone will be along and see us soon." "Well, crack the windows a little so we don't get carbon monoxide poisoning," she says. He tries to roll the window down, but it won't budge. "It's frozen," he says. "I'd better turn off the car for now." He turns the ignition key to off, and they both rub their hands briskly as if trying to make heat. "Come sit next to me, Grace," he says. "We can share bodily heat." "Aw," she says, "You're sure you don't mind?" "Nah," he says. "I'll cope." She giggles as he puts his arm around her.

"Mrs. C! Mrs. C!" Esther yells as she comes roaring around the corner into the living room. "Yes, Esther, I am here in Wisconsin with you, so you needn't shout." "Oh, sorry, Mrs. C. It's just that this house is so big and I forget you're always in this one room and--well, I thought you could be anywhere and if you were you wouldn't be able to hear me, which is--" "Esther, I am an elderly woman and I would like to hear the end of this sentence within my lifetime." "Oh. Sorry. It's Kate. I can't find her." "Well, when did you last see her?" Esther thinks for a while. "I---Oh, I'm not really sure," she admits finally. "Well, think--we were eating lunch and--" "Oh, that's right! That was it." "Esther, that was four hours ago." "Oh, I know it was. And you're right I should probably check on her more often. But taking care of a child is so much work and it's SOOooo repetitive. Sometimes I just have to take a break." "And when you `take a break', what does SHE do?" Esther thinks for a moment. "Gosh, Mrs. C., I've never thought to ask. Little kid things I suppose. She doesn't ask me what I do so I figured I shouldn't ask what she did." "Esther, she is your child. You're supposed to know!" Esther takes a posture that makes her look as if a 50 pound load had been hefted upon her shoulders. "All right, Mrs. C. I'll try..."

It's later in the car. Grace has been sleeping, and Nick nudges her. "Hey," he says, "It's dangerous to fall asleep in cases like this." She looks up at him and says, "Nick?" "Hmmm?" he responds. She kisses him square on the lips. "Wow," he says. "What was that for?" "Just for being a good guy," she replies. He kisses he back. "There," he says. "Now we're even. Because you're a good gal, too." She smiles. "Thanks! I feel warmer already." "Hey, I felt warmer that way, too," he notes. "Maybe we should do it some more--it sure is cold in here." She twists to face him and kisses him deeply. "Don't worry, Nick. You're not going to freeze. I'm going to see to that..."

That's all for this episode. Hope you learned something. Don't miss Episode 26!
If you missed any older episodes, see the index.

Feedback, good or bad, is always appreciated.