Y&R'S REED RUNS DOWN NIKKI
■ An inebriated Nikki leaves a holiday party at the GCAC and tragedy strikes. “She’s gotten into an argument and she ends up running out into the night,” sets up Executive Producer/ Head Writer Mal Young. “Nikki is under a lot of pressure. There’s a secret person who has been terrorizing her, so obviously someone knows what she did to J.T. and it’s scaring the hell out of her. And Victor’s not around, which is suspicious. Everything is closing in on Nikki and now she’s had too much to drink and is out in the blizzard.”
Just in time for Reed and Charlie to come along. Although they’re in the latter’s car, the former is driving. “Charlie has had a drink and shouldn’t even be out, and Reed shouldn’t be driving because he’s on a suspended license because of his past DUI, so this is like a perfect storm,” explains Young. “Here they’re trying to do the right thing by going home but fate throws a bad one their way and Nikki walks out in front of them.”
The car strikes Nikki and although the teens feel a bump, they’re not sure what they hit. “You know those moments when you’re in a car, and have the heater on full blast but still the windows are icing up,” Young describes. “They can’t see, so they stop — but they’re not sure what they hit. Was it a deer? A garbage can? A pothole? Reed is convinced
“The impacts will be huge.”
that it’s nothing more than one of those things, so he drives on.”
Leaving his grandmother lying unconscious and injured. “Nikki is found in the middle of the street by a passerby, but nobody knows who she is, except that she’s a victim of a hit-and-run,” says Young. “When she’s brought to the hospital, Nate realizes, ‘That’s Nikki Newman!’ and phone calls happen.”
Victoria, Nick, Phyllis, Sharon, Billy and Jack rush to the hospital to find out that Nikki is in emergency surgery. “They’re then told that Nikki had been drinking and that’s a major shock,” Young shares. “First, they’re struggling with ‘What was she doing out there?’ and then to find out that she’s been drinking again is another knife to their hearts.”
Nate comes out with the news that Nikki made it through surgery, but he can’t be certain if she’ll survive. “As horrible as this situation is, Victoria, Phyllis and Sharon can’t help but think, ‘Is this J.T. come back from the grave to get us? Is he going to pick off the rest of us, one by one?’ ” teases Young. “We have really pumped up the emotions for this one and the impacts will be huge.”