THE CRASH
It was a beautiful clear evening as the small plane lifted off from Llanview's airport. Sam chartered the plane to take Nora to Philadelphia for the weekend. They were going to fly over the city at night for a romantic look at the lights. And then later that night at the hotel, Sam was going to tell Nora what Lindsay had done-- How Lindsay had single-handedly changed the course of his life, Nora's, Bo's, her own and even Matthew's. For all he knew, tonight could be his last with Nora. He purposely wanted to tell her away from Llanview because he didn't even want her in the same city as Lindsay when she found out.
Nora seemed so peaceful leaning back against the seat looking
out the window--
but that peace was about to be shattered-- and even Sam didn't
anticipate how.
------
Back in Llanview, Bo was about to pack it in for the day
when he heard the
screeching voice in the outer office.
"Oh god, not Dorian. Not today," Bo thought to himself.
"Commissioner, I have had it," Dorian said in her usual demanding tone.
"Dorian, please, can this wait until tomorrow?"
She tossed a tape on his desk.
"Here's another tape of a crying baby I found in my house just minutes ago."
"Dorian..."
"Commissioner, I know who has been planting them there-- no thanks to you and your shabby excuse for a police force."
"Then help us out, Dorian. Who?"
With all the self-righteousness she can muster, Dorian spits, "Lindsay."
"Dorian, what proof..."
"Nevermind that. At this point the tapes are of little consequence. I have some other much more important information for you."
Bo is beginning to sound weary. "You're losing me,
Dorian. Can we talk about one thing at a time?"
"No problem, Commissioner. Let's talk about your sperm test
results."
Bo bolted straight out of the chair almost over the desk at Dorian.
"Excuse me?"
Dorian smiled a wicked smile. "I thought that would
get your attention. It was
no hospital mix up. Someone deliberately changed those results
before they got to Nora."
-------- ------
Nora looked out the window as the plane passed over the Llantano
mountains.
Rachel had been so happy when she'd asked her to stay with Matthew
for the
weekend. Hank was going to spend all day Saturday with them.
"I think I'm really going to be able to relax this
weekend. How about you?"
"Yeah," Sam said forcing a smile.
The moment was interrupted when the plane suddenly dropped.
It began to shake
like it was in a violent storm, but it was clear outside.
"Rick, what's wrong," Sam yelled at the pilot over the engine noise.
"I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe a little turbulence," the pilot responded nervously.
But it didn't sound like nothing. A noise came from the
engine and a horrendous
sputter began.
"What's happening," Nora screamed.
Sam grabbed Nora's hand and watched as the pilot fought the plane's controls.
The pilot was fighting the plane now. "My instrument panel has gone out!"
Sam put his arms around Nora as the plane continued to lose
altitude at a fast
rate.
"This can't be happening. I have my baby boy.. Rachel is just home..," Nora cried.
"Brace yourselves," the pilot said as he tried to guide the plane to a clearing.
But the tops of the trees began hitting the bottom of the
plane as it headed
straight for the side of the mountain.
--------
"So, Bo, would you like to know who changed those results
and the course of your life? Would you like to know who put a
little dab of white-out on that report-- ultimately causing Nora
to sleep with Sam-- breaking up Llanview's golden couple,"
Dorian asked.
Bo walked across the room to get his jacket. "I'm not listening to any more of this nonsense."
"I'm just getting to the best part. Can you say Lindsay? Yes, Lindsay."
Bo jerked around and looked at Dorian in anger and disbelief.
"Why the look of surprise, Bo? Lindsay knew how much Nora wanted a child. So she just fixed it so Nora would think it was impossible".
"Dorian, you're sick. Just how could Lindsay get the test results?"
"It seems the two Mrs Buchanans were at the hospital the day the results came in. Remember the day Nora spilled coffee on Lindsay's arm?"
Bo is now beginning to wonder if Dorian is actually telling the truth.
"Dr. Conklin's nurse gave the report to the wrong Mrs. Buchanan. Lindsay couldn't believe her good fortune."
Bo was staring at Dorian with a sick look on his face.
"And that's not even the half of it. That cute little baby, Matthew.. he just might be yours after all. Yes. It's true. He just might be a Buchanan after all."
Bo was adamant. "No, no way. We did the DNA tests."
"Don't shortchange Lindsay. She's very thorough. She fixed that too. She paid the lab tech Jeff Barnes to make sure the DNA tests said Sam was Matthew's father. That was her little gift to herself."
Bo walked back to his chair and fell backwards into it.
"So you see, Bo, without Lindsay's help you and Nora might be living happily ever after. Well, I'm sure you'll be wanting to pay Lindsay a visit now, so I'll just be on my way. And when you see her, be sure to tell her to stop with the tapes. Have a good evening, Commissioner."
And with that, she left.
Bo was still sitting in the chair-- stunned-- when an officer
came in.
"Commissioner, we have a report of a private plane down in the Llantano mountains."
"How many people on board," Bo asked, slightly preoccupied.
"Three. The pilot and two passengers. The plane took
off from Llanview airport
headed for Philadelphia."
"Call the sheriff and offer our help if needed, and stay in touch with the NTSB," Bo ordered.
"Sir, there's something else you need to know. This
is not confirmed, but the two passengers-- reportedly are-- Sam
Rappaport and your ex-wife".
---------
Sam tried to see if Nora was okay. "Nora! Nora! Can you hear
me?"
She is slumped over against the window moaning. Sam tries to move
closer to
her but the plane is so mangled, his legs are pinned down. He
was pretty sure
at least one of them was broken.
"Nora!"
"Sam?"
Sam turned to check on the pilot but the cockpit was-- gone. There was nothing but tree limbs poking through the place where the cockpit would have been. The plane was split in half. Through the brush he could see what must have been the cockpit ahead-- against the mountain. As for the part of the plane he and Nora were in-- it seemed to be lodged in between giant trees trunks. That's what caused the plane to split.
"Sam?"
"I'm here. Where do you hurt?"
"All over. My head.. and here," Nora said as she
put her arms across her ribs.
Sam thought she must have broken ribs or worse-- internal injuries.
-------
Bo raced out of the police station and headed for the crash site.
How could anyone survive a crash in the Llantano mountains? Please
let Nora be okay. He started bargaining with God. Begging God.
Please don't let Nora be gone.
------
"Sam, what about you," Nora asked, "are you okay."
"I think at least one of my legs is broken. I can't
move.. the door is pinning me down."
Nora pushed at the window and door on her side. Neither would
open. The ceiling of the plane was crumpled in like tin foil.
They were trapped-- and Sam could smell the distinct odor of jet
fuel. What if the plane caught fire?
We've got to get out of here, but it will be hours before
the plane is missed.
I don't know if Jeff even filed a flight plan. And no one is expecting
us in Philadelphia," Sam said.
"Bo will find us," Nora said in a confident and calm way.
"What?" Sam asked incredulously.
"He will," Nora said and then she passed out.
"Nora, Nora! Wake up."
Sam knew he had to keep her awake.
"Nora!"
"My head... sleep," she said groggily.
"No, Nora. You can't."
Although not the best of circumstances, Sam knew what he had to
tell Nora would keep her awake and alert.
"There's something I've got to tell you. I was going to tell
you when we got to
Philadelphia, but now... Nora, listen up."
"Okaaaay."
"Nora, the hospital didn't mix up Bo's sperm count test results.
Lindsay changed them."
"What?!"
That did the trick, Sam thought. Nora was wide awake now.
"The day you took her to the hospital with the coffee burn. The nurse gave the test results to her by mistake. She was so jealous of you and your relationship with Bo that she decided to cause you a little grief."
Nora's next words were spoken with uncharacteristic calmness. "If we make it out of this alive, I'll kill her."
---------
On the ridge above them, rescue teams had already spotted the
wreckage of the plane. Getting to it was going to be a real trick
in the dark. Use of a helicopter was out of the question. The
first rescuer had already started tying his gear to rappel down
to the plane. Bo arrived on the scene and ran to the sheriff.
"Have you found the plane?"
"Yeah, and it's bad. We've only been able to determine
that it's in two pieces.
It looks like the cockpit is over there. The fuselage is down
here. Bo, we don't know if there are survivors."
"There has to be. There just has to be."
-------
"Nora, there's more. Lindsay also made sure the DNA tests said I was Matthew's father. She paid off the lab tech. We still don't know if Matthew is my son.. or Bo's."
Nora started screaming. Not from the physical pain, which was bad enough, but from the emotional pain. At least she's fighting. Sam was glad for that. But soon her anger turned to tears.
"How could she do this to Bo? How could she? I got those test results after Drew was killed. I know she hates me, but how could she do that to Bo?"
"She just got in too deep. One lie lead to another. After Bo left you she even told me I should thank her.. that she had handed you to me on a silver platter. And of course, she wanted Bo for herself by then."
-------
The rescue team reached the cockpit first. They radioed the news.
Rick the pilot was dead. No sign of the two passengers. The plane
looked like it had been ripped apart by a giant can opener. They
could see what they thought was the fuselage in the thick trees
and brush. They had no idea how they were going to get to it without
a backhoe or bulldozer. But they had to try. If the passengers
were still alive, every second counted.
----
The tears began to take their toll on Nora. She began to drift
in and out of consciousness. Several times she called for Bo.
Sam knew he had to use anything he could to get her to stay alert.
"Nora, Nora, wake up! What did you mean when you said Bo will find us?"
"Hmmmmm?"
"Why do you think Bo will find us?"
"We're two halves of one whole. It doesn't matter that we're divorced. Bo and I will always be connected. Always. Just like in the fire at Club Indigo, Bo will risk his own life to save mine. And I would do the same for him. There are some things you just know. I know Bo loves me. He knows I love him. It always was and always will be kismet with us."
"Then why didn't you fight the divorce?"
"You give someone you love what they want. Even though Bo loves me, it hurt him too much to be with me. I had to let him go. I had to let him heal. When it comes right down to it, I don't think I'm good enough for him anymore. What we had.. it was so pure. He deserves better. Maybe it has more to do with how I feel about myself than how he feels about me."
------
Bo was pacing back and forth. The ambulances and paramedics were
there, waiting. They were blocking off and lighting an area on
the road for a helicopter ambulance to land.
"What's taking so long to get to fuselage, damn it!"
Bo was talking as much to himself as anyone else.
The Sheriff tried to reassure him. "They're two of the best
climbers around. They're used to this terrain. If anyone can reach
them-- it's Grant and Rob."
"I know, I know. I just love her so much..."
"Nora, do you hear that? It's voices. Here! We're over here!"
Seconds later, Grant and Rob were trying to open the doors
of the plane. Sam explained their injuries. Up top they got the
word-- the two passengers are alive, but looked seriously injured.
They asked for heavy duty chain saws to cut the trees and brush
in front of the fuselage, and the jaws of life to pry apart the
body of the plane. It was going to be a delicate process-- getting
these two people out without injuring them further. More rescuers
began rapelling down the mountain and others began rigging a pulley
system to lower a stretcher.
Above, Bo got the word-- Nora was alive. Over the radio he asked
Grant and Rob to tell Nora he was there-- just to hang on. Nora
smiled then passed out. Two hours later Nora was being put on
a stretcher and lifted to the top of the mountain. At the top,
Bo was waiting for her.
"Hey Red, you sure know how to get an audience don't
you?"
Nora was having trouble breathing, but managed a smile.
"Bo.. I knew.. you'd .. be here."
"Of course I am." He took her hand and kissed it as the paramedics prepared her for the flight to the hospital.
"My ribs.. ohhhhh," the pain was really beginning to get to Nora now.
"Only you could think of food at a time like this."
" Ow, that hurts. Stop making me laugh, Bo Buchanan."
She reached her hand up to his face and Bo leaned down to kiss her.
"I love you, Red."
" I love you, Bo."
The paramedics begin moving her to the helicopter. Bo is running
along side
them, still holding Nora's hand.
"Please don't leave me, Bo."
"I'm right here.. all the way."
The helicopter lifted off for the flight to the hospital
with Bo kneeling beside Nora holding her hand. She drifted in
and out of consciousness.
When she woke up, she was hooked up to all sorts of monitors at
the hospital.
And there was Bo, right there, like he said he would be.
"Hey, Red. This reminds of me old times. Remember that
brain tumor thing?"
"Ah, yes. I remember. But the best part was you.. always
being there."
"After you finally decided to let me in on a few teeny,
tiny details," Bo teased.
"You don't forget anything, do you?"
"Nope, not a chance."
"I remember something else too," Nora said.
"What's that?"
"A beach house for my recovery."
"You mean you don't want a mountain cabin for your recovery this time?"
"You think you're so funny."
Bo's eyes twinkled as he looked at her. "I am funny."
She kissed his hand. "I love you."
"I love you, too. I'll check on the beach house."
Nora looked down, "And I have a sordid little story to tell you, but it can wait."
"Wait until dark?"
"Something like that, smarty."
"Well, I'll be here."
"No matter how the story ends?" Nora asked.
"No matter how the story ends. We had a second chance after the Club Indigo fire and I walked away from it. I won't walk away from you again. Not now. Not ever."
Nora looked at him with a flirty smile. "You know, I staged that whole plane crash thing, just to get your attention."
"Oh, did you, now," Bo said with a loving smile on his face.
Nora continued, "Let's just see Lindsay try to improve upon that!"
They are both laughing as Nora grabs Bo's tie and pulls him over the bed to kiss her.