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Lean On Me: Nicole (Arianne Zucker) is drawing emotional strength from EJ (Dan Feuerriegel).
Nicole signs on to EJ’s proposal that they go out on a dinner date, determined to move past the devastating demise of her baby boy. Says Nicole’s portrayer, Arianne Zucker, “She’s trying [to cope with] another loss. This is baby number three. She has all these awful thoughts in her head and is just trying to get through life. But she has EJ and a beautiful daughter… all those things. She’s trying to do what she can to heal from the tragedy.”
And, fortunately, EJ is by her side. “He’s been surprisingly supportive. And even though he does EJ things, their relationship has really grown,” contends Zucker, noting that the dinner date goes well for the twosome. “I don’t think Nicole’s mind is off what happened, but she does try to enjoy the moment.”
However, upon returning home, Nicole and EJ are immediately slapped in the face with their tragic loss when they discover their baby’s ashes have been delivered. “It’s a huge reminder of the hospital making a huge mistake and the fact that Nicole didn’t get to see her baby again,” says Zucker. “It make all those feelings come flooding back. It’s just awful.”
The next morning, Nicole decides to go for a walk — and as fate would have it, Sloan has decided to take Jude for a stroll along the same path. When Sloan receives a call from Leo about Dimitri, she leaves Jude unattended for a minute. “Nicole sees this stroller sitting in the middle of the square, this baby that’s been left all alone,” recounts Zucker. “Imagine what it would feel like to see any baby left alone or hear any baby crying. Her natural instinct is to help this child, to go over to this baby….”
