Dear Dreamer

Plot: This is a series of events in the life of Maxie Jones. They are mostly unrelated and mostly canon. I consider the chapters to be missing moments between Maxie an several other characters from General Hospital. This is my way of getting what I've always wanted, other characters to understand and gain insight into the wonderfully complex character of Maxie Jones.

Pairing: Maybe Nikolas/Maxie, maybe others. Nothing is set in Note: I know that in the past I have not been great at updating. But, I think that it will be much easier with this story. It isn't a continuing plot, it's a series of short plot points. I think that given my busy schedule and what not this is the perfect story for me. If you have an idea of interaction you've always wanted to see the please feels free to let me know!

Chapter 1 : Dear Diary

Maxie Jones indulged herself in the girlish tendency of writing in a diary exactly two times in her tragic life. Approaching Maxie's thirteenth birthday, Bobbie Spencer had undergone the unthinkable task of tidying the family's attic. Wedged between the thick dust and friendly cobwebs, Bobbie discovers a treasure. Surrounded by smooth burgundy velvet lay page upon page of yellowed paper; a journal. During an especially difficult time in her life the beautiful redhead had ventured into the wide world of diary writing. But, the idea hadn't exactly panned out. Bobbie spent more time trying to figure out where she had hidden the private secret keeper than she actually did writing in it. The sentiment was still there though. So, with only a mere few days until Maxie entered the world of teenage troubles, Bobbie dusted off the velvet cover for the first time in years. Even into her old age, Bobbie would remember the elated smile on Maxie's face upon receiving the special gift. In return the young blonde would let her heart strings be pulled south, for just a moment, whenever she would come across the polished book. It was that first night, October 31st, that Maxie entered her one and only entry as a teenager.

October 31st, 2000

Dear Diary, My name is Maxie Jones and I just turned 13 years old. How cool is that. Pretty soon I'll have a boyfriend and a car and everything else a girl needs in life. I'm practically an adult now. I'm sure Lucky will start to notice me soon, he was just waiting until I was more on his level. Sometimes my friends make fun of me because I have a crush on him. They just don't understand that I need a boy who is mature and worldly. It's doesn't hurt that he's really, really cute. They can laugh all they want because one day, Lucky Spencer will be all mine.

Anyways I guess I should tell you a little about myself. My aunt Bobbie gave me this diary for my birthday. Aunt Bobbie is the best! I guess she isn't technically my aunt anymore since her and Uncle Tony divorced. But we still talk all the time and she says that we'll be family forever in her heart. I guess my heart would have to agree since it used to belong to her daughter… BJ. This is where my life gets really sad. My cousin BJ and I were best friends. We did everything together, with Georgie and Lucas tagging along of course. Then I got really sick, well my heart did that is. I think everyone thought I was going to die. That's how it seamed whenever people visited the hospital that is. I was pretty little but, I remember more than people think. How could I not? I still hate the sound of beeping, it reminds me of all the machines in the hospital. And I still can't stand the sight of people crying, it's makes my blood boil. What did crying ever help? It sure isn't what made me better. No, BJ was what made me better again.

While I was in the hospital BJ was going to school. Her bus got into a terrible accident and she was pronounced brain dead. The rest is kind of a blur to me. One minute I'm blacking out all the time, the next I hear really sad voices telling me I would be having an operation. The second I woke up from surgery I knew something terrible must have happened. I felt numb and cold, all except for my heart. It wasn't until later that they told me about BJ, about how I received the last present she would ever give; her heart. After that my life changed completely. It wasn't the diet change and physical therapy that made life so different. It was me. I still can't explain it to anyone but, I woke up a new person. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm better or worst now. But, I don't really like to talk about it.

The way I see it Uncle Tony and Aunt Bobbie never have to give me another present for as long as they live. But, they will of course. Mac told me that I'm special to them because of everything that happened. But… I don't want to be special to them because of that. Sometimes I think I wouldn't be special to anyone with out BJ's heart. I would just be Maxie Jones, the girl who always messed up. Not like my perfect sister Georgie or my genius cousin Robin. It really sucks being stuck in the middle of those two. I guess they aren't so bad though. They're family and really… I don't know what I would do with out them. Speaking of- Georgie is knocking on my door now.

Chow!

Xoxo Maxie

That night Maxie snuck down to the kitchen for a small snack. She witnessed Felicia and Mac arguing in a hushed tone. The look on Mac's face was enough to tell Maxie that her mother would be leaving yet again. Whipping back around and tip-toeing up the stairs the feisty blonde set her eyes on her newest friend; the diary. With little hesitation a swift hand reached out and snatched the book before shoving it to the back of her closet. Diaries were for girls with stories and dreams, hopes and laughter. Maxie was not that girl.

January 2009

"Maxie?" A deep voice shook the ashen woman from her thoughts. When Maxie looked up she was startled to find herself covered in dark soil and surrounded by life binding gravestones. The bitter soul could not recall the events that had lead her to her sisters grave, nor did she care to. Never the less she was there, dirt etched deep beneath her fingernails, a gray sky hovering above. It would all be so much easier if the sky would just swallow her. It had already stolen her most important pieces after all.

"What are you doing here." The voice sounded again, this time with enough force to make the petite blonde look up. With features dark enough to match her mood, Maxie's eyes rested on the distinguished figure of Nikolas Cassadine. The prince of Port Charles himself.

"Burying treasure." Her voice floated up like a feather, just plucked from a dying bird; lifeless and wronged. Nikolas squatted down to position himself at Maxie's level and examine what the troubled girl was up to. Never in a million years would he have guessed that his latest trip to Emily's grave would land him in this situation. Never in a million years.

"Hey, just- just slow down for a minute. What is that?" He urged gently touching her hand. She was looking down again, covering a book of some sort with layer upon layer of dirt. The hole she had dug was only about 3 inches deep and big enough to fit an average sized shoe box. Snatching her hand away from his Maxie let an angry shield cover her statuesque body.

"It's mine, so leave." Simple. Snappy. Hurt.

"This is a cemetery, you can't go around digging it up. It's disrespectful and illegal." Nikolas answered back, changing tactics. The dark Prince had enough experience with the fashion princess to know that she was in no mood to be taken care of. She wanted to stand on the edge, and anyone who wouldn't stand there with her would be thrown off in her mind. So, with a shield of his own in place, Nikolas readied himself for a battle.

"I am disrespectful and I've been known to bend the law. Besides if a cemetery isn't for burying things then what the hell are all these bodies here for." She rolled her eyes at Nikolas and shoved her hands away from the dirt. He wasn't planning to wave any sort of white flag.

"This is a place to honor the dead."

"There is no honor in death."

"I disagree."

"Once you're dead… you're dead. Everything is past tense except for the oh so lovely word 'dead'. All you are is dead. End of story."

"Death is only the beginning of a story… the rest is just a prologue." Nikolas fired back softly. With a curious expression smattering her face, Maxie let her eyes lock onto Nikolas's. He spoke in words she understood. He didn't refer to Georgie dying as 'passing away' or 'entering a better place'. Full lips spoke and unguarded ears listened. It was a match made on earth… never heaven.

"Then I guess my story is just beginning." Uttered the entranced young girl. Reaching forward, Maxie brushed aside the black soil and revealed the velvet cover of her diary. With out another word spoken she flipped through the wrinkled pages until she found the one she wanted. There in bold black letters lay the message she had yearned to scream at the top of her lungs.

December 2009, Maxie Jones is dead.

Letting out a soft breath Nikolas fingered each letter slowly, memorizing the texture as much as the sight. These words would be scorched into his very soul forever. Maxie topped his hand with her own and they traced the letters together, one by one, curve by curve.

"It's just the beginning Maxie." He whispered finally. Time was no longer present. The sky was now black and the letters invisible to the eye, though each one pulsed through their veins like a heartbeat.

"I wish I were gone too sometimes. But other times I'm glad I'm still here. Happy to have a chance to start over or even build off of who I was before." She spoke slowly and purposefully, trying so hard to convey what she felt. Nodding, though not entirely in understanding, Nikolas began to cover the book in dirt once again.

"It going to be okay." He said. Because they both needed to hear it. And because maybe it would be one day. Maxie sniffled, not fully believing the words, but accepting them none the less. With a shaking hand she watched the dirt cover her second and final entry into the diary that was supposed to hold her dreams. One day she would dream again, it was just too unclear when that day would be. Until then Maxie was content in knowing that death might just be the beginning. The beginning of a brand new life for Maxie Jones.

"Rest in peace Georgie. I love you always".

Authors Note: How was it? Terrible? Let me know. Not every section will be so sad and cryptic. There will be light parts, flashbacks, stories with Jason, Spin, Robin, etc. The sky is the limit just let me know what you are interested in seeing! Comment please - Di