Chapter 1

January 1999 had entered as a lamb, but the month was definitely leaving as a 
lion.  Upstate New York was experiencing the first severe blizzard of the year 
as snow blanketed the city of Port Charles.  The result had quieted the 
residents for nary a person could be found outside on the last day of the month.  
However, the one place that was full of activity was General Hospital.  For the 
adage, a hospital never sleeps was never truer.

On the eighth floor of the hospital, a baby was about to be born. In the empty 
waiting room sat the expectant father, Stefan Cassadine.  He had been keeping a 
constant vigil at the hospital because the health of the baby and the baby's 
mother was uncertain to say the least.  The mother had already gone into 
premature labor just over a week ago. Thankfully, the labor had been stopped.  
The doctors wanted the pregnancy to progress at least to the 36th week.  Then, 
if she went into premature labor again, the doctors were not going to stop the 
delivery.  So, on January 31, 1999, the mother of Stefan Cassadine's child was 
again going into premature labor.

For hours now, Stefan had been waiting for the birth of his baby. He felt this 
long wait could only mean that complications had occurred. Never before had he 
totally felt so helpless in his life.  Therefore, Stefan decided to pray to God.  
He could not even remember the last time he had prayed.  It was not that he did 
not believe in God, but rather, he preferred to be in command of his own 
destiny.  However tonight, all the Cassadine money and power cold not give him 
what he truly desired.

So slowly, Stefan Cassadine, a man that men feared, bowed his head, folded his 
hands, and began to pray for the first time in years.  He prayed to God that his 
baby would be born healthy and that the baby's mother would be able to endure 
the deliver.  So hard did he pray, his clenched hands began to tremble as he 
made his bargain with God.  If only God would grant him this request, Stefan 
vowed he would spend the rest of his life making up for the past sins that he 
had committed against the baby's mother.  For so grievous were those sins, it 
surely would take a lifetime of atonement.

As Stefan finished bargaining with God, the door to the delivery room opened and 
out walked Bobbie Spencer.  Stefan immediately began to stand. He braced himself 
against the wall for the news whether or not God had seen fit to answer his 
prayers.

"Congratulations Stefan, you are the father of a 4 lb. 11 oz baby girl," 
announced Bobbie.

Stefan heaved a sigh of relief and asked, "Is the baby all right? When can I see 
the baby and the baby's mother?"

"Well, the baby has passed all of the post delivery alertness test given to 
newborns and has not shown any signs of breathing difficulties. Of course, since 
she is almost three weeks premature, she will need to be carefully monitored for 
any signs of respiratory distress, which often develops in premature infants.  
By now she should already be settled into the nursery.  So, you will be able to 
see her at any time.  All in all Stefan, I would say you have one healthy baby 
girl."  Even though their marriage had failed miserably, Bobbie was relieved 
that she was able to give Stefan such encouraging news.  No one, not even 
Stefan, deserved bad news on the birth of a baby.

"Barbara, you have not said how the baby's mother is doing."

"I can't really say Stefan.  Perhaps you should speak to Dr. Hamilton about her 
condition."

As those words were being spoken Dr. Hamilton walked out of the delivery room 
and came to a halt in front of Stefan.  "I can see Bobbie has given you the good 
news that you have a healthy baby girl."

"Yes, she has, but how is the mother?"  Stefan was beginning to get anxious.

Dr. Hamilton turned to Bobbie, "Can you excuse us for a moment?  I need to speak 
to Mr. Cassadine privately."  As Bobbie headed for the nursery, Dr. Hamilton 
directed Stefan to one of the empty chairs in the waiting room.

"As I am sure Bobbie has already told you, the baby is just fine without any 
breathing difficulties.  I would have to say her healthy lungs are due to the 
steroid shots that were administered to the mother after the first time she went 
into premature labor.  Since all signs indicated that there was going to be a 
premature birth, those steroid shots helped to quicken the baby's lung 
development.

The doctor stopped and took a deep breath before proceeding on the health of his 
other patient.  "As far as the condition of the mother, the delivery may have 
taken several hours, but in the end, it went very smoothly without any major 
complications.  However, I will be honest with you Mr. Cassadine, I am not an 
expert with coma patients.  My expertise lies in obstetrics.  Therefore, I can't 
really comment on the comatose state of the mother.  Dr. Tony Jones is in the 
recovery room with her now assessing her condition.  Since his specialty is 
neurology, he will be better able to report any changes.  From the looks of the 
tests he was planning to run, it appears it may be quite awhile before he has 
any news. So, my suggestion is to go to the nursery and see your new baby."

As the doctor walked towards the nurses' station, Stefan slowly headed for the 
nursery.  He stopped in front of the nursery window, and his eyes quickly 
scanned the room for a sign to indicate which baby was his daughter.  Finally, 
his eyes rested on an incubator to the far left of the room.  The incubator held 
a baby wrapped in a light pink blanket, and Stefan could tell the baby was 
crying.  This infant was his daughter for on the outside of the incubator was 
taped a pink paper teddy bear which simply read "Baby Girl Cassadine."

Stefan's focus shifted as Bobbie came out of the nursery. "Newborns certainly 
are hungry after being born.  How would you like to feed your baby girl and rock 
her to sleep?"

"Thank, you Barbara.  I have waited weeks for this chance."

Bobbie punched in a security code to open the door to the nursery. As she took 
Baby Girl Cassadine out of her incubator, Stefan hesitantly sat down in a 
rocking chair.  Bobbie carefully laid the newborn infant in Stefan's arms and 
then handed him a bottle.  Almost immediately, the baby took to the bottle and 
began to suck.

"Well Stefan, I would have to say you seem to be an old pro at this.  Did you 
feed Nikolas often when he was a baby?"

"I did a few times Barbara, but Nikolas was mostly raised by a nanny." Stefan 
began to shake his head, "I really don't want to think about the past right 
now."

"I understand.  When a baby is born, one should only think about the future.  
They represent such hope and promise.  I will leave the two of you alone.  If 
you need anything, just let one of the nurses know."

As Stefan slowly began to rock, he looked down at his tiny infant. Her skin was 
pink and wrinkled like all newborns, and her head was covered with a smattering 
of light brown hair.  He picked up her small arm and read the hospital I.D. 
bracelet which stated her name as Baby Girl Cassadine. Softly, Stefan whispered, 
"You truly are my miracle baby."

As Stefan spoke those words, the baby opened its eyes.  For the first time, 
Stefan saw that her eyes were crystal blue just like her mother's. Stefan placed 
a gentle kiss on the baby's forehead and began to thank God for answering at 
least half of his prayers.  God had seen fit to give Stefan Cassadine a healthy 
and beautiful baby girl. Now, if only God would answer the other half of his 
prayers.

If raising Nikolas had taught Stefan anything, it was how much a child needed a 
mother's care.  However, the mother of Baby Girl Cassadine was still comatose 
and had been for the last eight months.  As Stefan continued to rock his tiny 
infant, he began to pray for the second time that day.  He pleaded with God to 
bring Katherine out of her coma because not only was Baby Girl Cassadine going 
to desperately need her mother, but Stefan Cassadine desperately needed 
Katherine as well.