together with Jenn seeing there is no baby. That same day Nicole gets into a fight with Jennifer on the stairs of the Town Square and Nicole falls down going into labor. Nicole gives birth to her stillborn son and seeing the opportunity she blames Jennifer in pushing her. A month later the truth comes out and seeing she is left with nothing, she tries to commit suicide but Rafe and Daniel step in just in time to stop her. Nicole's first love, Eric Brady (Greg Vaughan), returns to Salem as a priest. He offers her a job as his secretary at the church, which Nicole accepts. As the two continue working together, Nicole's old feelings for Eric resurface. Knowing that he is a priest and cannot be with her, Nicole aches about not being with him. In June 2013, Eric is drugged and seduced by Kristen DiMera. Due to coincidences that happened that night, such as Nicole finding a delirious Eric in his hotel room shortly after Kristen leaves, Eric is led to believe that it was Nicole who raped him. He confronts her about the matter. While Nicole admits her feelings towards him during the confrontation, she repeatedly denies any wrongdoing. Eric does not believe her, concluding that Nicole acted on her feelings. Dismayed by Eric's false accusation, Nicole does not want to have anything to do with Eric. After Eric is suspended from the priesthood due to the sex scandal, Nicole forgives him, and together with Daniel, they work together to prove Eric's innocence. Knowing that Eric would deny her help due to her feelings for him, Nicole fabricates a fake romance with Daniel, assuring Eric she is over him. The lie shocks both Daniel and Eric. Daniel is initially reluctant at first, as Nicole had made up the lie before informing him, but he agrees to play along, blindsiding Eric. Since finding out about Nicole's new romance, Eric begins to have dreams about Nicole and is unsure how he feels about her. As Nicole and Eric begin spending more time together to clear his name, Eric's old feelings for Nicole resurface. This becomes especially apparent after Nicole's photo shoot, when Eric reminisces about an old photo shoot with Nicole during her modeling days with Countess Wilhelmina. Nicole and Eric's relationship becomes more mutual, leaving both of them confused and unsure how to react. On January 13,