June 27, 2006

Kayla: Of course I'll answer your questions. I'll tell you everything that you want to know...about your old life, about us, about your family -- all of it.

Nick: All right. I don't know where to start.

Kayla: I do. I have a question for you. What really happened the day you supposedly died? Steve, tell me. What do you remember?

Nick: You sure you want to know?

Kayla: Yes.

Nick: I can tell you what I remember, but... [Sighs] It just comes back in quick flashes. You know, it's nothing.

Kayla: No, no, it is something. Please, just tell me what you remember.

Nick: Okay. The very first memory I have was waking up in this motel room -- this dirty motel room. I was dizzy. I was disoriented. I had this, like, hangover, but it wasn't like a hangover. It was -- man, I'd never felt like that before. I was sick. I didn't know where I was. I didn't know who I was.

Kayla: Oh, my God. You must have been terrified.

Nick: I knew I'd been through something pretty rough, but I just had no idea what it was. But I knew I was damn lucky to be alive.

Kayla: Steve, tell me more of what you remember.

Nick: Listen, like I said, before I woke up in that motel room, everything is a blank.

Kayla: Well, then tell me what happened after you left the motel room. Where did you go?

Nick: I have no idea how I wound up in that place. I went back inside, and I decided to take a look around. I found a wallet. It had money in it -- like 500 bucks. The only other thing there was a photo I.D. It said my name was Nick Stockton. I had no memories. Nothing looked familiar. So, I did the only thing I could do.

Kayla: Which was?

Nick: I went to the address on the I.D. I took a bus. It was in a real run-down section of town.

Kayla: What town?

Nick: Cincinnati.

Kayla: Cincinnati?

Nick: Yeah. Let me tell you, this dump made the motel room look upscale.

Kayla: Was anyone living there?

Nick: No, the house was abandoned -- at least, I thought it was.

Kayla: What do you mean by that?

Nick: Someone ambushed me.

Kayla: What happened next?

Nick: I don't know what happened next. After I walked out of that house, the next thing I remember was waking up in a hospital with a bunch of bluecoats standing over me.

Guy: You're lucky one of your neighbors found you and called 911.

Nick: Neighbors?

''Guy: He wasn't too sure how long you were laying on the lawn. That's a nasty gash on your forehead. It looks like you were mugged. You still had your wallet, but any money was gone.''

Kayla: So, you don't remember seeing anyone or arguing with anybody?

Nick: I told them I couldn't remember anything -- who I was, where I came from. They asked me a bunch more questions I couldn't answer, and then they left. That was it.

Kayla: And there you were, all alone in a strange hospital?

Nick: I had no idea who I was, what kind of work I did. I had one eye, man. I mean, where'd that come from? [Sighs] After a while, I just stopped tormenting myself and tried to put together some kind of life for myself.

Kayla: I don't know how you did it. I can't imagine how confusing and terrifying it must have been.

Nick: The people at the hospital were good to me. You know, I didn't have any money, but they helped me. They patched me up, and they treated me with respect. So, I decided the only way I could repay them was to, you know, go to work there, try to help some more people.

Kayla: So you got a job at the hospital.

Nick: It was volunteer work at first, but then it turned into a paying gig. The staff at the hospital got me a place to live. That's where I've been ever since.

Kayla: Jack...

Abby: Dad, what are you doing? You're not supposed to be out of your bed..

Jennifer: Jack, you need to go back upstairs right now.

Jack: No, I'm leaving, Jennifer.

Jennifer: You're not leaving. You're gonna go back upstairs so we can take care of you.

Nick: Where the hell do you think you're going, anyway?

Jack: Where we're going. You're taking me back to the hospice. I'm going back there to die.

Nick: [Scoffs]