Authors Note: Characters mentioned belong to GH, I own nothing but my own imagination. This is my take on the JoMax/baby Emma scenes with a twist, namely no Lulu or Spin - JoMax are together and in love.
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Johnny couldn't believe how quickly the blizzard had moved in. One minute he was rushing to get to Metro Court as the snow fell gently around him, the next he's frantically slogging through knee-deep snow to get to the driver's side of the smashed car that had careened into a ditch.
He glanced at the woman next to him and smiled at the sight of Maxie cooing at the fussy and feverish baby in her arms as they rushed through the hospital emergency room doors. She was completely unaware of his gaze; she was focused solely on her cherished cousin. Johnny narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of the large purple bruise already forming on Maxie's forehead. Seeing her crumpled car on the side of the road and then pulling out her unconscious form, he didn't think he'd ever been that scared. The thought of anything happening to the tiny blonde was a terrifying one. He didn't know how he'd ever survive losing her.
Luckily the crash had just knocked her out for a short while and they were close enough to his garage to escape the hard-driving snow that blanketed the city in a matter of minutes. Maxie made frantic noises under her breath as she pressed her hand to Emma's forehead and Johnny sighed. Maybe the biggest miracle was Maxie's insistence on driving home in spite of the blizzard, if they hadn't then Robin and her daughter would probably still be stuck in the snow slowly freezing to death.
They reached the counter where an exhausted-looking nurse stood. "Excuse me; we need to see a doctor. Emma is really sick." Maxie rocked the baby in an attempt to quiet her as she spoke.
The woman barely glanced at Maxie, let alone the baby and Johnny felt himself grow irritated when the nurse shrugged. "Take a seat; we'll get to you as soon as possible."
Maxie's face was tight with worry and fright and she glanced at Johnny for support. There was very little he could refuse his girlfriend and this was no exception. He could see that the staff was busy, obviously they were getting GH's overflow but Emma was sick and Maxie was frightened. A doctor was going to see them and they were damn well going to see them now.
"Excuse me." His posture, his tone of voice, spoke of a man used to getting his way and the nurse stiffened slightly, "I'm sorry Nurse but you don't seem to understand, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt since you're obviously having a bad night and I'm sure that you don't really want to make it any worse. My name is John Zacchara, perhaps you've heard of my family?"
The nurse swallowed audibly, eyes wide and nodded "Yes sir."
Johnny smiled but his eyes were cold, "And I'm going to assume that you realize I'm used to getting what I want when I want it."
The nurse nodded silently and he cocked his head toward Maxie and the baby, "So when I say that if you do not help my girlfriend and get this baby medical attention immediately, I'm going to take it very personally. You don't really want that now do you Nurse?"
The woman shook her head frantically and began walking rapidly towards the exam area, "Follow me, I'll get you settled in a room right away."
As they followed behind the nurse Maxie chuckled and leaned in to whisper, "Ooooh, that was hot."
Johnny rolled his eyes at her, "It worked, didn't it?"
Twenty minutes later they watched helplessly as Emma was whisked off for a battery of tests. Her fever was high and the doctor was concerned she was suffering from pneumonia, if not hypothermia.
Maxie turned to him, her eyes filled with tears. "God Johnny, what the hell was Robin thinking dumping that poor innocent baby with me? She should be here with her, not me."
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, "Baby, I know you love your cousin but you have to see there's something not right with her. She took an infant out in a blizzard, nearly got them both killed in the snow and refused to hold her own daughter, let alone come with us to the hospital."
She sighed, "I know – I'm worried about her. What if she can't handle this, what if being a mom is sending her over the edge?"
Johnny pulled back to look in her eyes, "She has Patrick and Mac and you. And I think her judgment is already showing signs of improvement."
"Yeah?"
He nodded, "She left Emma with you, probably the smartest thing she's done all day."
Maxie laughed, "Yeah right. I don't have maternal bone in my body."
"You're stepping up."
She shrugged, "If you weren't with me, I would probably have already run screaming out that door awhile ago."
Johnny shook his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "No you wouldn't."
She looked at him for a long moment before resting her head on his chest while her finger ran idly over the fabric of his shirt. "My mom used to take care of me when I was little, when I was in the hospital – which was a lot. This whole thing is giving me an idea of what she went through."
Johnny ran his hands down her back in an attempt to comfort her, he knew how she felt about her mom, "Well, I guess that's what family does. Takes care of each other."
She shrugged, "I guess. But this is just another excellent reason why I will never have children." She glanced up in concern as his hands stilled on her back and frowned at the unreadable expression on his face, "Johnny?"
He regarded her silently, and then fixed his gaze on the opposite wall, "You don't
want kids – ever?"
She laughed in attempt to ease the sudden unexplainable tension in the room, "Can you really see me pregnant, with a kid running around my legs?"
Johnny continued to stare at wall but his voice was wistful, "Yeah, yeah I can."
Maxie stared at him shocked, "What?"
He shook his head and smiled down at her but it looked more resigned then happy, "Nothing. No kids, got it." He shrugged, "With my gene pool that's probably a pretty damn good idea anyway."
She blinked, her mouth opening and closing silently, and then blinked again. "Johnny, I didn't mean that I didn't want kids with you. I just, I mean – you think of having kids, uh…with me?"
Johnny cupped her face in his hands and brushed a soft kiss across her mouth, "I think of having a future with you." He shrugged, "And well, if it doesn't include kids, I can live with that."
Maxie could still feel the terror of being responsible for Emma running through her and she was about the least maternal person she knew. But hearing Johnny, knowing he wanted more than today or just tomorrow with her, but an entire future – it tempered those fears with the knowledge that she could do anything knowing he would be right there beside her.
She arched her eyebrow at him teasingly, "If that's some sort of lame attempt at proposing, you should know I expect a hell of a lot better than that." She poked him with a smile, "And a ring, buddy. A great big giant rock of a sparkly diamond."
Maxie's grin slowly faded as he just continued to stare at her, his expression unreadable and she swallowed nervously. "Johnny – you know I was just kidding. I'm not expecting anything like…"
Her voice trailed off as her face flushed. She wanted to smack herself, why did she always manage to screw things up? She was surprised he wasn't already running for the hills.
Johnny shook his head with a chuckle and pulled his hand from his coat pocket. "Something like this?"
Maxie stared wide-eyed at the velvet pouch in his hand, then slowly raised her eyes to his. "Johnny?"
He grinned, "It was supposed to be really romantic and memorable. But I guess a hospital room is just as good as private table at Metro Court." He took her trembling hand in his and placed a magnificent diamond ring in her palm. "Kids or no kids – I want you to help me prove my sister wrong. Happily ever after does exist – marry me."
Maxie smiled through her tears, and then slid the ring on her finger. Johnny chuckled, "Is that a yes to the proposal or just a yes to the ring?"
Maxie threw her arms around him, "That's a yes to everything."
He hugged her back, swinging her around in a circle. Maxie laughed overjoyed, she was getting married!
Johnny looked down at her, his voice soft. "Maxie, we'll do whatever you want but don't underestimate yourself. You would make a wonderful mother, its okay to be scared but I think that it would be the luckiest little girl in the world that could call you Mommy."
She smiled, "Maybe it'll be a boy."
Johnny laughed, "One kid or ten, whatever you want baby."
Maxie gasped eyes wide. "Ten? Are you on crack? One."
He shrugged, "Three it is."
"One, you big cheater."
Johnny raised his brows at her, "Tell you what, if the Doctor comes through that door in the next 30 seconds with good news – we go home and celebrate our engagement by working on baby number one."
She rolled her eyes at him, "Yeah, okay."
The door opened behind them and Maxie whirled with a gasp at the sight of a gurgling happy Emma bouncing in the Doctors arms. "Good news folks, your little girl here has responded well to the antibiotics. No pneumonia, no hypothermia – she's good to go." He handed over Emma to a delighted Maxie and smiled at Johnny, "I'll send a nurse in with the discharge papers and a prescription."
Maxie stared at Johnny as he thanked the Doctor and began tickling and talking baby-talk to Emma. "Who's a little princess? Yes, you are." He glanced up at Maxie, his eyes twinkling, "Guess what Emma, Aunt Maxie here is going to give you a playmate. Yes, she is. You'd like that wouldn't you, eight or nine little Jones-Zacchara cousins running around?"
Maxie's eyes widened to comic proportions at his words and Johnny laughed. She shook her head at him, "How in the world…." Her voice trailed off as she stared at the door and her eyes narrowed, "Why you, you big cheater!"
Johnny stared at her with false innocence, "What? Is it my fault the door has a window in it and I was facing it and you weren't?"
She laughed and shook her head as she glanced down at the baby in her arms, "Let that be a lesson to you Emma. Your Uncle Johnny will do anything to get something he wants."
Johnny nodded, "When that something is you, damn straight."