01. Choices

"You give her too much credit Nathan," Maxie admitted. She was in Portland now but she and Nathan spoke daily about everything. She learned at a young age that the only way to preserve something valuable was to nurture it…And even three thousand miles away from her husband, her marriage was intact because Nathan believed the same thing. "You know what she's doing right?" she added.

Nathan could not help but smile as he thumbed his fingers across her picture, still sitting atop his desk at the station.

"But you forget the most important thing Max…She's not you. You know how much I love you right. "

"Nathan, that's not the point. You are too nice to her. People take advantage of nice guys like you."

"Do you trust me?" He asked.

"Of course I trust you. I know you would never do anything inappropriate. That is why I love you so much. You are one of the few good men left in this world…but trusting you, does not mean that I trust her because I do not. "

"What do you want me to do then?"

"I want you to tell her to back off…Because if she doesn't, then I'm going to have to come down here and kick her ass."

There was a brief moment of silence before Nathan said, "I miss you Max."

"I miss you too Nathan. "

He was just replacing the phone on the cradle when Anna walked in.

"Dante said you wanted to talk to me."

He took a deep breath before he handed her a letter. "I need to request a transfer. I am sorry to leave you in the lurch like this but my wife is in Portland and I feel like I need to support her wherever her career takes her. It is not fair for me to ask her to leave a place where she gets to see her daughter every day. She deserves to be a part of Georgie's Life."

Anna took a moment to process what Nathan just said before she put the paper down and offered him a friendly hug. "I admire men like you Nathan West; A man who is willing to go where his family is. I know you do not want to leave your sister but I am proud of you for stepping up and being a wonderful Husband. I will make sure the police commissioner in Portland knows that you come highly recommended."

"Thank you commissioner," he said.

"Please call me Anna."

"Only if you'll call me Nathan."

They both shared a chuckle before Nathan went to pack up his belongings.

"When does your Plane take off," she asked him?

"I don't have a reservation yet. I have to set the record straight with someone and then I'm going to head straight to the airport so I can surprise Maxie before she tucks Georgie in."

"Let me take care of the plane. You go make your wife proud."

"Thank you Anna. I have learned a lot from you over the years. "

"Likewise," she said.

Anna could not help but smile as he walked away. She only knew a few people in this world that had the good morals of Nathan West…One of them was her ex-husband Robert.


Nathan arrived at the hospital with a box of Amy's blog entries. She had given them to him to try to convince him to continue the masquerade. He showed up with the cops instead.

"What's going on," she asked him?

"I'm having you arrested for stealing my identity."

"What are you talking about
," she snapped. He knew this act well because sometimes Maxie would get that same look in her eyes when she was plotting. The difference was that Maxie always had a good reason. Amy just did not.

"The charade is over Amy. I am not going to risk my marriage to help you lie to the world. I am not now, nor will I ever be the person on this blog. "

"Why are you doing this," she cried.

"I'm not doing anything illegal Amy…that was you. You disrespected my wife based on some misguided feelings you had about her in high school. People change Amy. Maxie is a smart, beautiful, kind, and generous person and she is everything to me. I choose Maxie."

He watched as they placed the handcuffs on her and he had to remind himself that he was doing the right thing. Lulu came to sit next to him as he composed himself.

"Don't beat yourself up Nathan. You did not do anything wrong. You were just giving Amy a well-deserved lesson in consequences."

"Maxie talked to you didn't she?"

"Only every day," she laughed.

"Well don't you dare spoil my surprise okay? I am sure Dante has told you all about it."

"He has…and I just want to tell you that you are one in a million. Thank you for making my best friend so happy. She deserves that in life…especially after she lost custody of her little girl."

"I'm working on changing that Lulu."

"You have a plan don't you?"

"I do…but I'm not telling you about it because girls tend to gab."

She hit him playfully and he just smiled. "Thank you for forgiving her Lulu. You have no idea how much she beat herself up for that."

"I think I do. Now go get on that plane. Your future is waiting for you in Portland."