Expecting The Unexpected
Chapter One
He arrived a day earlier than expected. He looked down at the paperwork in his hands again making sure that he had the correct address. This place wasn't as he remembered it. Actually, he didn't really remember much about it at all. As he entered the building, all the sunlight that had flooded outdoors was now cut off by two sets of large doors of black glass. He looked around at the dimly lit office. Why would he, Nikolas Cassadine, have come to a place so dark and sterile?
But it was not as dark and sterile as his heart felt right now. He had lost everything that meant anything to him. He had just lost his son. The heir to the legacy. A legacy that he had sacrificed his entire life for. He had given up the freedom of his life in Port Charles to follow the path set forth by his family. He even dared to change his legacy. Everyone had said the Cassadine legacy would be about money, power and the control of both of those. But with the death of his grandmother, Helena Cassadine, Nikolas had managed to convince his family that life would be different for the remaining heirs of their legacy. He had manage to take the assets that Cassadine Industries controlled, sell them off and acquire all new holdings and establish a philanthropic foundation. He had built a successful conglomerate but it had cost him a lot.
A happy marriage. A baby. A family. A long and happily ever after life together he would have. Hard to believe with his Cassadine upbringing that he'd been naïve enough to believe that happy endings existed. He had married a well connected Greek society woman. As newlyweds, they had come to this fertility clinic at the suggestion of his uncle, Stefan. His gentle demand for a Cassadine heir prompted Nikolas' desperation. She had been unable to get pregnant naturally within a few months of trying. So Stefan had suggested Dr. Specter, a renown fertility specialist in the U.S. who had recently opened the Port Charles Fertility Clinic. So they travelled between New York City and Port Charles for treatment. Nikolas had hoped this doctor would be able to give them the hope of a family but she had two miscarriages before they gave up completely.
The issue of her difficulty to conceive and inability to sustain the pregnancies became a problem for them. Stefan constantly reminding him of it. He thought moving a continent away would help his marriage however it had not. The damage was already done. They were estranged. While Nikolas went away for months to handle Cassadine business matters in other countries and had very little contact with his wife; their relationship deteriorated. Gossip of sexual affairs, both his and hers, plagued their marriage. But they decided to reconcile. Their son was going to be their redemption. A chance to start anew but that had not happened instead it was another blow dealt to them especially him.
Well, he knew now that happiness had a cost. Dreams of happiness were nothing but diving boards for disappointment. The higher you climbed the deeper the plunge. He had fallen into an empty pool.
During his grief, he was confused when he received the letter from the clinic in Port Charles stating that they were out of his specimen and would like for him to donate again. He was in such denial that he had ignored the letter but then he received another and another. Infuriated, he asked his personal assistant to look into it. However, she was told that he had to come to the clinic in person to make any requests regarding his file. Since he was due to visit with his mother, he decided he would come early to take care of this minor error in the clinic's records.
As he walked in, he felt that people were watching him. As he looked at them, they quickly looked away.
He drew a steady breath and walk resolutely to the receptionist desk.
"Excuse me, I'm.... " he started.
The receptionist looked blankly up at him from the manual she was reading.
But when she really saw him her expression changed.
Are you a donor?, she said eagerly and louder than he wanted her to be.
No…actually, I'm a client of Dr. Specter's…..
"Well….um….Dr. Specter left months ago." she mumbled
"Well, my wife and I were clients. I came here to speak to him about this letter I received."
She held up her hand for him to stop while she answered an incoming call. After transferring the call, she gave him her attention. She shifted uneasily in her seat. "May I see your letter?" she said. When he handed it to her, she looked it over. "It says here that you are a donor."
Nikolas abruptly took the letter from her, "I am not a donor. I prefer to speak to someone in charge," he said with authority.
Within minutes a woman in a white jacket came out into the waiting area and greeted him.
Hi, I'm Dr. Susan Norman please come back to my office, Mr. Cassadine.
He followed her back to her office. He watched cautiously as she closed the door to her office and sat behind her desk. She typed something into the computer, looked at the screen, looked at him and smiled. "How may I help you?"
"I received this letter stating…or rather, asking that I make another donation of my sperm. I was not a donor. My wife and I were fertility patients of Dr. Specter's. I understand that he is no longer here but there should be some type of records."
She nodded politely as she looked at him and began to type into her computer again.
"Okay….well it appears that we have you as a donor, it was probably a typo and it appears we don't have anymore of your specimen. We probably used the last of your specimen inseminating your wife and just inadvertently sent that letter to you."
"Are you sure? It seems I recall that Dr. Specter had said that…", he started.
"Dr. Specter is no longer here." She said interrupted tersely.
"I understand that. I would like to see my record" Nikolas stated emphatically. He sensed that something was wrong.
Ms. Norman became defensive, "I assure you, Mr. Cassadine, that coding you as a donor was just a computer mistake on our part. We would not have catalogued your specimen to be used. When we have a client versus a donor their specimen are kept in separate vaults."
"My records."
"Of course." She typed in the information from the paperwork and as she looked over the record, he saw her facial expressions change.
Is something wrong?"
No…no. Not at all. If you will wait here for just one moment. I need to check some information and bring you the file. She typed onto the keyboard again and then left the room.
He had learned from the best of the best. There was something wrong. He leaned over and looked at her computer screen. He hit the backspace button several times until he saw his name.
NICHOLAS MIKHAIL STAVROSOVICH CASSADINE
Donor Number: A8LAO
Race: Caucasian
Ethnic Origin: Greek/Russian
Eyes: Dark Brown
Hair: Black
Complexion: Dark
Age: 28
Height: 5-11
Weight: 170
IQ: 140
Languages Spoken: English,
Greek, Russian, Italian, Spanish, French
Occupation: CEO,
Entrepreneurial
Temperament: Good
Hobbies: Reading, Equiery, Saxophonist
Reproductive History: Excellent
Genetic History: Excellent
Allergies: None
He scrolled down further. A donor number glowed in green.
Insemination: 7A8IO
Vials- 0008007004-0008007003 Negative
Vials- 0007006002-0007005001 Negative
He clicked on the number and saw a partial file of his estranged wife, Thalia. He went back to look at another file number he saw but then the doctor walked in.
"Mr. Cassadine. You are looking at private files." The woman fumed. Our patients rely on our confidentiality."
"I was looking at my own file. Don't I get to look at my own file for accuracy." He questioned.
"No, you don't."
"I would like to have a copy of my files. And if I don't get them Ms. Norman you are going to wish you never knew the name Nikolas
Cassadine."
"Please Sir, calm down. We have notations on your file that are for our doctors only. They are making a copy of your file."
The door swung open and another doctor dressed in a white lab coat walked into the office. "Mr. Cassadine, I'm Dr. Logan. I understand you were a
patient of Dr. Specter's?"
"I was. Now I am trying to find out why I was considered a donor."
Dr. Logan very coolly began, "Dr. Specter left us and we are in the process of collecting and inputting his patient files in our system. So we probably coded your file incorrectly. Unfortunately, we only have a partial of your file since you were one of his first patients. Right now, we can not find your full file only what we have here. However, we do have a clerk searching our old database for any infomation" He extended the file to Nikolas.
He opened it. There only contained a work up, a profile and a few letters.
"My wife and I were patients of Dr. Specter's for two years. This is all you have?"
"We…we….have a file on your wife as well but we can not share that with you."
"So how do you explain that there is no more of my specimen on file."
Dr. Logan shared a knowing look with Dr. Norman, "Then I assume it was used to inseminate your wife." The doctor said in a matter of fact tone.
Nikolas wanted to tell him that wasn't likely. As Dr. Specter took enough specimen to be used at least for 5 inseminations. His wife received two there
should still have enough for 3 more.
The doctor read his look and followed with, "Sometimes we may not tell a patient that. However during the insemination if the sperm doesn't seem viable, we would have used all the specimen in the few attempts at fertilization."
"I hope that is what happened but I wouldn't know that, would I?"
"True, but we will correct the error."
"Very well. So tell me Dr. Logan and Dr. Norman. I can sue you if what you are telling me is incorrect."
Dr. Logan looked down remorsefully as Nikolas was not the first disgruntled client of Dr. Specter's. "I'm sorry, Mr. Cassadine you cannot. Port Charles Fertility Clinic filed for bankruptcy and we reopened as an affiliate of General Hospital six months ago since there is a need for a fertility clinic in this area."
So in essence suing General Hospital was out of the question, "So where is Dr. Specter?"
Dr. Logan spoke up. "No one knows. We are left to clean up the messes and try to fill the void that he left."
Nikolas looked down
at the file that barely held a few papers and walked out.
