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Ever Wonder How Nikolas and Emily became NikE?
What's In A Name

Emily Quartermaine returned to Port Charles in the wake of her diagnosis with breast cancer. Convinced that she would suffer the same fate as her biological mother Paige, Emily decided to keep her illness a secret from those she loved. Zander, although happy that Emily had returned, could not understand why she wanted nothing more to do with him. And her family, sensing that she was hiding something, worried that Emily might have returned to drugs.

Meanwhile, Nikolas Cassadine continued his work with Cassadine Industries and his struggling family fortune while reeling from his breakup with Gia Campbell. The two parted ways once they realized that they simply wanted different things in life.

Emily, becoming more frustrated at Zander's advances and his refusal to accept that she did not want to revisit their relationship, turned to an old friend for help. Nikolas was delighted to learn that Emily was back in town, but horrified to learn that she was ill. She asked for a favor. She wanted Nikolas to pretend to be in love with her so that Zander would back off. Emily feared that Zander would not handle the news of her cancer well and that he would insist on staying with her throughout the ordeal. She couldn't bear the thought of his watching her die a terrible death. Nikolas was hesitant but, wanting to do everything he could for his friend in her time of need, he agreed to the charade. Together they faced her family and Zander, convincing them that they were a couple and deeply in love. Nikolas took Emily to her chemo appointments and tried his best to be strong for her.

Meanwhile, the Cassadine fortune was in serious trouble. Helena Cassadine, Nikolas' grandmother, squandered the money and left extensive debts that Nikolas and his Uncle Stefan tried daily to pay off through various means. Without Nikolas's knowledge, Stefan took out a loan with crime lord Lorenzo Alcazar in order to pay off some of the debts and soon regretted the move. In time, Alcazar began threatening Stefan and demanding payment. Secretly Stefan devised a scheme by which Nikolas would stand to inherit 20 million dollars if he married and produced an heir with a woman named Lydia Karenin. She arrived and promptly moved into Wyndemere as a guest of Stefan's. Stefan desperately hoped that his nephew and the new arrival would hit it off and a romance would ensue. However, Nikolas was far too preoccupied with helping Emily through her cancer treatments and fending off trouble from Zander to notice the elegant and sophisticated Lydia. This did nothing to ease his Uncle's fears regarding the threats and the payment of their debts; and at Nikolas and Emily's faux engagement party, Stefan attempted to kill Emily by having his man push her off one of the bluffs on Spoon Island. In a twist of fate, the man, Darius accidentally pushed Summer Halloway, a friend of Nikolas' brother, Lucky, off the bluff instead.

The tragedy forced Stefan to come out about the state of the family finances. He told Nikolas that he must marry Lydia in order to secure the family fortune and carry on the Cassadine legacy. Nikolas, unfortunately, was beginning to realize that his feelings for Emily were becoming more than that of just friendship and he promptly rejected his Uncle's plan. He insisted that if he were to marry it would be for love and for no other reason.

It was about this time that Emily, overwhelmed with having to keep her illness from family and friends, decided to end the charade with Nikolas and tell everyone the truth. Zander was still deeply in love with Emily and forgave her for the lies. The two resumed their relationship and Zander tried to fill the shoes that Nikolas was forced to give up. By this time, both Nikolas and Emily realized that they were in love with each other. However, Emily's loyalty to Zander prevented her from leaving his side. Nikolas finally succumbed to pressure from his Uncle and from the threats to his family and married Lydia in a small ceremony at Wyndemere.

Before long a serious setback put Emily in the hospital and it looked as if she would not survive her battle with cancer. A deathbed wedding to Zander seemed a wonderful last gift to her first love and to a man who loved and devoted himself to her. Nikolas watched quietly from the hall as Emily promised what was left of her life to Zander. That night, as Emily slept, Nikolas took the empty bed in the room beside hers. Family and friends did not expect her to survive the night. But in a shared dream, Nikolas found Emily asleep in a darkened room, dressed for her wedding and as he bent down to kiss her, a light grew brighter and brighter until she opened her eyes. Her fever had broken and Emily was now miraculously on the road to recovery.

Initially resigned to the fact that they had chosen lives with other people, Nikolas soon realized that none of it would work. Their connection was too strong to deny and he was determined to be with her. He quickly made arrangements to annul his marriage to Lydia and let Emily know on no uncertain terms that he was completely in love with her. It was not an easy break from Zander, but in a dramatic conclusion to the Halloween Ball, Emily declared her love for Nikolas and promised her whole heart to him.

Zander was very bitter over the breakup and began a self destructive path that led him to work for Faith Rosco, a local criminal. He was hired to blow up a Cassadine freighter in another attempt to recover the money that Nikolas owed. Nikolas and Emily were nearly killed in the explosion but managed to get off of the ship in time. They clashed over her protection of Zander and his erratic behavior.

Nevertheless, Nikolas proposed to Emily and she accepted wholeheartedly. They began sharing the news with less than excited family members while trying to find a way out of the deep Cassadine debt. They learned of the existence of a long lost treasure and it seemed an answer to their prayers.