Lucas watched Carrie as she stood at the hospital's pay phone digging through her purse for change. He thought back to a few moments before he found her. When he walked into the cellar, the first thing he saw was a glint of light coming from something on the floor. As he drew nearer, Lucas discovered that it was Carrie's engagement ring. It must have fallen from around her neck. Lying beside it was a gold necklace. He fingered the ring in his pocket and pulled it out dangling from the chain. "This is definitely a good sign." Lucas knew Carrie hadn't realized it was missing yet. So he decided to do the only smart thing and hold onto it. It could come in handy.
Carrie didn't know where Jen or Laura could be. She had tried calling everywhere. In the end, she left a simple message on their answering machine to come to the hospital. Oh, Mike, she thought. Hold on. She could see the doctors working on him through the glass. The emotions from earlier flew back into her mind. Oh, God! What was she doing? If she loved Austin, then how could she feel this way about Mike? It was so confusing. For a few moments, she had forgotten about Austin. She had forgotten about Sami. And had focused completely on herself and her needs. How could she have been so blind not to realize these feelings before? Did she love Austin? The answer still had to be yes. If that was true, then she should feel nothing but friendship for Mike. But that wasn't the case. What was she going to do?
Kate had made a decision. A big decision. She was going to need help in breaking up Mike and Carrie if everything Austin had told her was true. There was only one man she knew of who could turn this around.
"Hello, Kate." Stefano appeared from a dark corner of her living room. He must have gotten her message.
"God, I hate when you do that. Can't you find another way to make an entrance?"
"I like to have the element of surprise on my side." She saw that Stefano was holding a manila envelope.
"I noticed." Kate informed Stefano of her problem with Mike Horton.
"Well, Kate, your dilemma has just gotten bigger. Last night Sami locked Mike and Carrie in Kristen's secret room."
"What are you talking about?" Stefano showed Kate the photo of Mike and Carrie. "What's wrong with him?"
"What's wrong is that if Mike doesn't get better soon, Austin can kiss Carrie good bye. Kate, Carrie is like Marlena in that she will do anything to make sure her friends and family are taken care of. Mike is important to Carrie so she'll sacrifice to make sure he gets well. That means..."
"That means spending as much time as she can nursing him back to health." Kate paced the floor. "This cannot be happening! It would not surprise me one bit if Sami had this all planned out. This reeks of her scheming."
"Kate, Sami may have thrown the two of them together, but she didn't make them do this." Stefano pulled another picture out of the manila envelope. A picture that was freshly printed that morning. It was of Carrie and Mike kissing.
"I can't believe it. It's gone farther than I thought. Stefano, I need help. What can I do?"
Stefano had a plan all right, but he didn't know if Kate was willing to risk it all for Austin's happiness.
They had moved Mike to ICU, and Carrie looked at him through the door. Laura had gotten her message and was with him now. She looked really shaken. Dr. Harris walked out of his office and approached Carrie.
"Carrie, I've talked to some of the other doctors on staff about Mike's condition. The fact that he hasn't regained consciousness worries me. Many of the other doctors have mentioned that Mike thinks very highly of you. You could make a big difference in his recovery."
"I don't understand. How could I help Mike?"
"How do I put this." Dr. Harris thought a moment. " Carrie, you're the only person, outside of his own family, that he really cares about. Talk to him. Tell him about your day. Something. Anything. He may respond to your voice."
Carrie walked into Mike's room with Dr. Harris' words still on her mind.
"Laura, I'm so sorry." Laura hugged her. Carrie had saved her son's life a second time.
"It's not your fault Carrie. If Kristen hadn't built that room, none of this would have happened."
"You need to stay positive. Mike is always telling me that. He is going to get better. I know it."
"I wish I had as much faith as you."
Sami was about to jump out of her skin and Austin had noticed how strangely she was acting.
"Sami, what's wrong? Are you feeling all right?"
No she wasn't all right. Lucas still hadn't gotten back to tell her about Mike and Carrie. What if he did die? Would that make her a murderer?
"I'm fine. I guess I'm coming down with a cold or something." Sami left the room to check on Will.
Austin still couldn't believe the change that had come over Sami since the accident. He hadn't known her when she was sweet. If things had turned out differently, and Sami had never become so evil... Austin felt he could probably love her. But that wasn't going to happen no matter how much Sami wanted it to. He still loved Carrie. Austin knew he had really screwed up. He had totally taken his relationship with Carrie for granted. He could still remember the day four months ago when he overheard Mike tell John he'd be there for Carrie since Austin couldn't. Why hadn't he stopped Mike's budding relationship with Carrie while he had the chance? Maybe because deep down he knew Laura was right when she said, Mike and Carrie were more suited for each other.
Carrie sat at Mike's bedside and reflected on how much time she'd spent a the hospital this year. Sami's accident and now Mike's injury. His hands felt ice cold, but the paleness in his face had been replaced with more color. Dr. Harris had said to talk to him. What was she going to say?
"Hey, Mike. You have to wake up." Carrie wiped a tear from her cheek. "I need you around. What would I have done if you hadn't been there for me all those months? All I know, Mike, is now you need me to be there for you." Suddenly she thought of Jeremy, had Laura told him what had happened? "And what about Jeremy, Mike? He needs a father. So wake up, ok. You promised me you would never leave me. You've got to get better." Carrie put her cheek against Mike's hand. "If not for me, then for Jeremy."
Stefano told Kate of his plan. "You can't be serious? What if he dies?"
"If you want Austin to be with Carrie, it's a chance you're going to have to take."
"Who would believe it, Stefano? Everyone respects Mike. No one would believe he'd be capable of this."
"After I'm through with him Kate, even Carrie will have her doubts."
"Lucas, thank God! What happened? What took you so long?" Sami couldn't sit still. She had never had her conscious bother so much before. She had nothing against Mike. She was only using his feeling for Carrie to her own advantage.
"Well, I got to them in time. Carrie's at the hospital with Mike right now."
"And, how is he?"
"He hasn't regained consciousness if that's what you mean." Sami didn't look happy. Lucas had never seen anything bother her so much. "Sami, don't worry. Mike is a trooper. And now that he knows Carrie has feelings for him. It won't be long before he wakes up."
Suddenly Sami had a hopeful look in her eye. "What do you mean, now that Carrie has feelings for Mike? How is that possible?
"I don't know what happened in that room. But it has definitely changed Carrie's opinion of him." Lucas pulled the ring from his pocket. "And to top it off... I found this in the cellar."
Sami grabbed the ring dangling from the necklace. "This is amazing. You mean she hasn't missed this yet?"
"She's so wrapped up in saving Mike right now, it could take weeks before she realizes it's gone."
"Things are looking better and better." The smirk returned to Sami's face. "Now all we have to do is find a way to get Austin to see the change in Carrie. We have to get him to the hospital today." Sami knew if Austin kept seeing Carrie and Mike together, pretty soon he'd do the honorable thing and let her go. She just hoped this would put even more doubts into his mind.
Sami noticed Austin come into the room. Now was the time. "I can't believe that Lucas. When did you say that happened to Carrie and Mike?" Austin's ears perked up at the mention of Carrie's name.
Lucas understood what Sami was up to and played along. "Oh, oh yeah. Last night."
Austin interrupted their staged conversation. "Excuse me, what about Carrie and Mike?"
"Remember when they disappeared last night?" Austin nodded. He remembered it well. "They were locked in Kristen's secret room. Somehow Mike reopened that gunshot wound he got the other night and nearly bled to death. If it hadn't been for Carrie patching him up, the man would be pushing up daises right now."
Austin thought back to yesterday. He hadn't known Mike had been in the hospital. Not to mention that he'd been shot. Austin remembered the elbow he put into Mike's side as he left the apartment. Could Mike be lying in the hospital right now because of him? Could he have caused Mike's injury to reopen? He had to find out.
"I'm sorry. I've got to go." Austin picked up a windbreaker and ran to the door. "Oh and Lucas? Could you stay here with Sami while I'm gone?"
"Sure thing, bro." Austin rushed out the door on his way to the hospital. Sami and Lucas gave each other a high-five. Things were definitely working out.
Carrie had called Marlena from the hospital and told her about last night. Marlena was still going over the conversation in her head. She had a feeling they were trapped and hadn't acted on it. John could tell Carrie's call had effected her.
"It's not your fault, Doc." John massaged Marlena's shoulders.
Eric walked in and overheard John's words. "What's not mom's fault?"
"It's nothing, honey." Marlena told Eric about her feeling. She smiled and pretended it didn't effect her. "Why don't you go visit Carrie at the hospital, sweetie. I think you'd be just the right medicine for her."
Eric agreed. He hadn't seen Carrie in years. It would be good to talk to his big sister again. Eric left for the hospital still curious about what was really going on in Kristen's house.
Dr. Harris came in and checked on Mike's condition. He noticed Carrie asleep sitting in a chair next to Mike. She was holding his hand and resting her head on the edge of the bed. He knew she was tired and had been through quite a lot in the last few days. So he let her sleep while he checked on Mike's vital signs. Dr. Harris breathed a sigh of relief. Carrie's presence had had quite an impact on Mike's condition, just as he knew it would. He just wondered if Carrie knew how important she was to Mike. Before he could leave, Mike opened his eyes.
"Sleeping Beauty awakens." Dr. Harris laughed but inside he was rejoicing that is colleague and friend was going to make a full recovery.
Mike could only smile. When he noticed Carrie asleep holding his hand, he gave a questioning look to Dr. Harris.
"She's been here ever since we brought you in. She's quite devoted to you. When are you going to tell her, Mike? When are you going to tell her that you're in love with her?"
Mike threw his head to the side and looked out the window. "Oh, Harry. She's not free. Not free to love me. But I can tell her feelings toward me are changing." Just then Mike noticed his mother standing in the doorway.
"They may be changing more than you think." With that, Dr. Harris passed Laura, nodded and left to check on his next patient. Laura attempted to shut the door, but it failed to latch and stood ajar.
"He's right, you know. We all can see the change. It's obvious to me that you've been in love with Carrie for months. Today, I even noticed something different in her too. What happened in that room, Mike?"
Austin arrived and watched Mike and Laura through a crack in the door. He could hear everything they were saying even though they were whispering. He couldn't figure out why until he saw Carrie asleep at Mike's side.
"It was amazing, mom. She's amazing. I woke up this morning and she was in my arms. Lying there staring at me with this look I can't start to explain. For some reason, I knew what was going to happen next."
"Mike, don't keep me in suspense." Laura was enjoying the fact that Mike was finally getting the happiness he deserved.
"We kissed, for the first time, we kissed. If I had ever questioned my feelings for her before, that kiss erased them all. It was like no one on the face of the earth existed except us. Not Austin. Not anyone."
"It sounds like her feelings for Austin are changing too."
"I think when you pretend not to be in love with someone, after awhile you start to convince yourself." Carrie stirred at Mike's side. "Hey, sleepy head." Mike squeezed her hand. Her once tired eyes became alert when she saw that he was awake.
"I was so worried. When you passed out back there, I really thought I had lost you." Carrie jumped up and hugged Mike. "Don't you ever do that to me again."
"Hey, remember what I told you? I will never leave you. You can count on that." Carrie continued to hold Mike and he drank in the feeling of her touch.
"I'll hold you to that one, Dr. Horton." Laura stood back and smiled. Her smile grew even larger when she noticed Austin lurking at the door.
Austin couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was it really too late for them? Had he truly lost Carrie to Mike?
Sami and Lucas stood not far from Austin in the hospital's hallway. They could barely hear what was happening but from the look on Austin's face, it wasn't good.
"I only wish I could hear what they were saying." Sami strained but couldn't hear anything clearly.
Eric walked out of the elevator and onto the fifth floor. Even from there he could see Sami hiding in the shadows with someone he assumed to be Lucas. He had never met him, but Eric had a feeling he wouldn't like him. He wondered what they were up to. According to Carrie, Sami had lost her memory of the last four years and was now the sweet girl he remembered her to be. Eric had his doubts as he observed her watching another man who was standing at the door to Mike's room.
"Hey, sis. What's going on?" Sami looked back in shock.
"Eric. What are you doing here?"
Eric nodded in Austin's direction. "I could ask you the same question."
Get your own Free Home Page