Someone had been shot. . .

Stefan started to pull himself up off of Chloe. There was a wide patch of blood across the front of her soft pink shirt. She made small little gasps as she stared up at Stefan. He slowly pushed himself up on to his knees. Their eyes locked. And with his sparkling green orbs, he told her that he still loved her. Despite everything. No matter what. Tears streamed down Chloe's face as she moved a trembling hand off the floor. She placed her hand on Stefan's chest, the blood running out to coat her fingertips. He grimaced from the pain before collapsing on top of her.

Chloe's screams pierced through the room. "NO!!"

Nikolas raced across the room, shoving the table out of the way and carefully rolling Stefan off of Chloe. She continued to scream uncontrollably.

"Nikolas?" Stefan breathed painfully, reaching his hand out. Nikolas clasped it tightly between his own.

"Don't try to talk! You need to save your strength."

"I'll call an ambulance," Gia said, the phone already to her ear as her fingers nimbly dialed 911.

"Nikolas..." Stefan said again. "I'm not going to survive..."

"That's not true. You'll make it. You have to believe that," Nikolas protested, his voice thick. He momentarily lifted his eyes to watch the woman who had caused all of this. Chloe, who had gotten up, shrieked incoherently as she stared at the bright red patch on the front of her blouse. She clung to the huge chair that Stefan always sat in. "Are you happy, now, Chloe? Does this make you happy?"

Her voice died as she looked at the scene in front of her. She shook her head angrily, her bloody hands coming to wipe her wet cheeks. They left huge streaks of red across her pale flesh. "This wasn't supposed to happen!" she hiccuped. "He wasn't supposed to get hurt."

"Only innocent people, right?" Gia added as she hung up the phone. "You're disgusting!" Gia squatted down beside Nikolas. "There's  been a pile up on the interstate. The helicopter is in use. They said they would free up an ambulance and send them on the launch. They're working on the helicopter.  How's he doing."

Nikolas' eyes were a strange mixture of hope and rage. "He's going to make it."

Gia leaned over Stefan. She looked down at his pale, tired face. Despite Nikolas' optimism, she had doubts. "The woman on the phone said we should apply pressure to the wound."

"Of course, get a towel, Chloe."

"A towel? Stefan is dying and you're talking about towels?" Chloe asked hysterically. "He's dying!"

Gia jumped up and left the room. She returned with a clean towel. Nikolas took it from her, folding it and placing it over Stefan's wound. He asked Gia to clamp her hands on top of it. "Shouldn't you do it? You're stronger..."

"Do it, Gia, okay?" he replied, his voice carrying an anxious edge to it. Gia pressed down, hoping she had enough strength to slow the bleeding. She didn't want Stefan to die. Though she would never admit it, she liked him. He was a strange man, but he loved Nikolas. That was something she could identify with.

Nikolas felt the strength draining out of Stefan's hand. It was so cold in his. He leaned closer, whispering, "Don't go and leave me again. I need you!"

Stefan turned his head to look at Nikolas. His eyes were glassy.  Proudly he said, "You'll always be my son...regardless of tests. You'll always be mine."

"Always! Please, just try to hold on. The ambulance will be here soon."

"I'm afraid I've wasted all of my time," Stefan breathed, his eyes closing, his hand going completely limp.

"Stefan!" Nikolas screamed.

"Nikolas, I think he's-"

"He's not, Gia."

"He's not moving...."

Nikolas looked into Gia's eyes and saw her doubt. He turned his gaze to Chloe. She stood behind the chair, watching, her hands absently tugging at her hair. She trembled, endless tears streaking their way down her bloody face. It was the blood that held Nikolas' attention. Stefan's blood was all over her.

Chloe.

This was all her fault. . .

Chloe. When Nikolas looked at her, he felt intense hatred.  Far more intense than any emotion he had ever felt before. Even more than the love he had for Gia. This consuming rage was building. Growing. Spreading.

This was all her fault. . .

Nikolas placed Stefan's hand at his side. Gia started to move her hands but clamped them down even harder when Nikolas gave her a stern look. "He's not dead, Gia."

"I hope he's not," was all Gia could think to say.

Nikolas looked around for a few moments, his eyes quickly scanning the floor. Finally, he located what he was looking for underneath the sofa. He retrieved it, slowly pulling it into his hand. Gia's eyes widened. "What are you going to do?"

He tenderly fingered the trigger of Chloe's gun. "I'm going to finish what she started."

"What! What are you talking about?"

Nikolas stood up. He approached Chloe, gun in hand. "Do you see what you've done?"

"He's dead, isn't he?"

"Yes, Chloe, he's dead and it's all your fault. You killed him!"

"NO! I didn't kill him. It was all an accident. I didn't shot him! The gun went off."

Nikolas smirked. "You did this! You wanted him dead!"

Chloe trembled violently. "That's not true!! I love him-"

"You don't love anyone."

"I love Stefan!"

"You used him. You used him to fulfill your own dreams of perfection. You never wanted him."

"Why are you saying this? These lies..."

Nikolas moved closer. Angrily, he replied, "There are no lies. Only the truth which you refuse to face. You're a vapid, useless, deluded, homicidal, nutcase! And you killed my father!"

"NO!!!! I wouldn't hurt Stefan. I wouldn't!" Chloe protested, desperate for Nikolas to believe her.

"Then why is he DEAD? You pulled that trigger on purpose, didn't you? You knew he'd despise you after you murdered all of those people."

"NO-"

"You knew that every time he looked at you that he would think about the blood on your hands."

"No-" Chloe stared down at her hands. She seemed shocked to see how red they were.

"All of that blood. You nasty murdering witch!"

"NO!!"

"You knew that he would see  you for who you really are, a  pale imitation of Helena!"

Chloe slapped Nikolas across the face. "I'm not like Helena!" she screamed through her sobs. She looked deranged as she stood before him, her chest heaving, her shirt drenched in  blood. "I'm nothing like that woman!"

"I don't see much difference!" Nikolas launched at her. "You destroy everything you touch! You're a monster."

"NO!"

"Face the truth, Chloe!"

"NO!!" she yelled again, he fists pummeling Nikolas' chest. She collapsed against him and he held her upright with his free hand.

"It's your fault. You know that, don't you. You know that you've demolished everyone?"

"Yes," she said in a tiny squeak. "It's my fault...I..I killed him. How could I do that? Stefan!!!!!!!!!! Come back to me. I'll be better this time."

"He can't come back, Chloe," he replied softly. "He's gone forever."

"Forever?"

"It's your fault!"

"I did this?"

"You can fix it, though," he said, leading her away from the room. Gia watched in stunned silence. She had no idea what Nikolas was doing. Somehow, she knew that she didn't want to know. ~*~   ~*~   ~*~

"What are we doing up here?"

"I want to help you, Chloe."

"How?"

"I want you to be with Stefan."

"You said he was gone forever?"

"He is, but there's a way for the two of you to be together," Nikolas said patiently. He guided Chloe over to the railing of the parapet.

"How? He's dead." she asked suspiciously.

"Well then, I guess that means you need to be dead, too," Nikolas replied matter-of-factly, his hand draped protectively across her shoulders.

Chloe's head snapped around. She backed away from him. "I don't want to be dead."

Nikolas raised the gun. His eyes were dark black as he watched her flinch. "Hmm...I would gather that it's not as entertaining being on the other side of the gun, is it?" he hissed icily. "Did you have fun? Watching all of those people suffer? Emily...who didn't do anything to you. Your own cousin! And Mac Scorpio? Your friend Felecia’s husband...I doubt she would forgive you for that. Then, that brings us to Helena. I don't care about her, but I do have a fond attachment to Gia and my baby! Was it fun to hear Gia plead for our baby's life?"

"I wasn't going to hurt the baby. Just Gia..." Chloe said pathetically.

"You moron! The baby can't survive without its mother."

"Oh..."

"And your greatest sin...you killed my father! The only one I have ever had. "

"It was an accident!"

"Well, this won't be! You have a choice. Either I shoot you right now, or-"

"Or what?"

"Or you take a nice jump over the edge."

"You want me to jump off the parapet? Won't that hurt?"

"I would assume so," Nikolas replied coldly. "It's your decision."

"I'm going back in the house," she said, running for the door. Nikolas grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back over to the railing.

"That's not an option."

"I don't want to die."

"I don't care. Are we going to have to do this the hard way?"

"You're not a murderer, Nikolas."

"Don't be fooled, Chloe. I'm a Cassadine. Murder is in the genes."  He towered over her, methodically wiping the handle of the gun clean with his shirt, and then carefully placing the gun in her hand.

Before she could react, he grabbed her by the neck. "My uncle deserved better, Chloe."

"I'm going to shoot you, Nikolas," she said, her voice strangled by the pressure on her neck. "You shouldn't have given the gun back."

"Good bye, Chloe," he said, deftly pushing her over the railing. A lone scream echoed through the night air as Chloe sailed to the ground with a hideous thud. Nikolas shrugged his shoulders. "Katherine was far more graceful." ~*~  ~*~  ~*~

The paramedics crowded in the room. They pushed Gia out of the way and went to work. "Is he still alive?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"Yeah, barely," a paramedic said.

They asked her questions and she tried to answer them, but her mind kept wandering. What were Nikolas and Chloe doing?

Gia wiped her bloody hands on her jeans. She headed up the stairs, running into Nikolas halfway up. "Where's Chloe?"

"She's dead."

Gia was startled by the deadness of Nikolas' voice. "What do you mean? You didn't...you didn't..."

"She jumped off the parapet."

"The parapet? Nikolas..."

"She felt so guilty over Stefan that she jumped."

Gia pulled Nikolas into her arms. She smoothed the hair at the nape of his neck. "It's best that way."

"Gia?" he asked cautiously.

"What?"

"Do you still love me?"

She took his face in her hands, lovingly caressing his cheeks. She saw the truth in his eyes. She knew what happened.  Gia smiled, placing a kiss on the tip of his nose. "I still love you, Nikolas. I always will." ~*~  ~*~  ~*~

End of chapter Twenty Nine, Please e-mail any feedback by clicking on the mailbox below :)

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