On New Year's Eve, a car carrying Connie and Johnny collides with a car carrying Michael, Kristina, Starr, and Trey, then hits Ellie Trout. Trey becomes braindead, and Kristina and Connie take him off life support. Ellie is temporarily thought to be paralyzed. That night Maxie miscarries Dante and Lulu's baby, and becomes pregnant again after sleeping with Damian Spinelli. She keeps it all a secret after Spinelli chooses to be with Ellie. Meanwhile, during February Sweeps, Lucy runs into John McBain and believes he is Caleb Morley, whom she calls king of the vampires. She is sent to Ferncliff after she stabs McBain and asserts that she is a vampire slayer. The storyline references the past spin-off "Port Charles", where Michael Easton played Caleb and Kelly Monaco played Livvie Locke. Valentini asserted "we're not doing vampires" and that the story was homage to the actors and characters involved. Carlivati commented, "The story does get pretty over-the-top yet it's still rooted in a certain reality. Lucy may be off-kilter but she's certainly not in Heather Webber territory. Her belief in vampires will be very convincing." Another former "Port Charles" character, Alison Barrington, arrives with her now teenage son Rafe Kovich, Jr.. McBain is arrested under suspicion of murdering Alison, while Caleb is revealed, seen to be a different person than McBain. A.J. Quartermaine (Sean Kanan) comes back to town after hearing that his brother Jason (Steve Burton) is presumed dead.