Zander attempts to return to his roots as a drug dealer, but realizes how much he loves Emily. The two reunite, and make love for the first time on her prom night. Emily is then shocked when Skye Chandler arrives in Port Charles and reveals she is Alan's illegitimate daughter from a dalliance with Dr. Rae Cummings, making Skye the eldest Quartermaine child. Due to Sorel's threats, Emily and Zander decide to leave town. Skye, jealous of Alan's relationship with Emily, agrees to give them money. Zander and Emily leave by train, but when the train is involved in an accident, Emily is paralyzed from the waist down. To be safe from Sorel while she recovers, Emily leaves for a rehabilitation center far from Port Charles in July, 2001.