A/N: Oddly enough I wrote this before Spin and the car. Just a little one shot.
She watched it happen in slow motion. One minute Spinelli was waving to her from the door of Kelly's and the next minute Lucky was pushing her to the ground as gunfire caused a shower of glass to be rained on them. When it stopped she was off the ground in a matter of seconds running out the bullet ridden door. He lay there too still and her life flashed before her eyes…and she saw BJ... Jesse…Cooper…Georgie…and she knows she can't lose him too…she can't.
"Spin, oh God, Spin, someone call an ambulance, please…someone call…help" she cries out her screams guttural.
Lucky runs out and sees the blood pouring through the young man's shirt…Maxie has his head cradled in her lap smoothing out his usually tousled hair. Immediately he grabs his walkie-talkie.
"Rapid gunfire…Kelly's…I need a bus now" he exclaimed.
Tears wet Spinelli's shirt as Maxie rocks back and forth, "Spin, please…don't leave me, please" she begged touching his face.
"Maxie, Maxie" Lucky says touching her shoulder.
"STOP! Don't touch me…don't touch me" she said getting eerily quiet near the end almost pleading with the God's not to take another person she loved.
An ambulance came around the bend wailing, drowning out the sorrow in the air for just a second.
The paramedics jumped out, Lucky answering the questions they had.
"Ma'am, ma'am…I need you to move so I can take him"
Maxie looked up a feral look in her eye and Lucky took her gently by the shoulders, "Come on Maxie, they need to take him"
"They can't…please…please" she asked collapsing into his arms.
As they loaded him in, Maxie pulled away, "I'm going with" she demanded.
"I'm sorry, only family"
"He is my family, he is" she said a torrent of tears threatening to spill forth.
The paramedic decided not to argue, "Alright, get in" he said.
"I will follow, Maxie…be strong" he asked. She simply stared at him those ice blue eyes looking empty and he hoped with everything he was that the kid would pull through.
In the ambulance she laid her head as close to his without obstructing the wires, "Hold on Spin, please hold on for me" she whispered her mouth next to his ear.
Smoothing his hair she brought her lips to his temple as the tears wet his hair, "Please God, don't take him from me" she prayed.
As soon as they made it to General Hospital memories flooded her. ..the waiting…the look on the doctor's face when they came with the news…and she felt the water fill her lungs, and when a doctor she didn't recognized started asking his
vital signs she starting gasping for breath.
Robin caught her just before she collapsed, "Maxie, Maxie, sweetie breathe, please"
She took in short bursts of air in, each more painful then the last, "Spin, Robs…I can't…I love him" she admitted as she laid her head on her cousin's shoulder.
"Shh, oh sweetie" she said rubbing her back as she cried.
Lucky ran in minutes later and Robin mouthed, "In surgery" to him. He nodded not wanting to interrupt the moment.
They sat there for a long time…until the doctor came out, "Are you here for Damian Spinelli?" he asked.
"Yes" she said her eyes waiting for the look…the "I'm sorry we tried as hard as we could" look.
"You're friend is very lucky"
She didn't allow herself to breathe yet…lucky didn't mean shit…lucky only meant alive…it didn't even mean that he would wake up to look at her with those puppy dog brown eyes….or that he would drink an orange soda again…lucky didn't mean that she would ever be able to tell him how she felt about him.
"He's alive…the bullets did extensive internal damage, but he's a fighter…this next 24 hours is imperative" he said too matter of fact for Maxie's taste.
Just then Jason burst through the door, "Spinelli…Damian Spinelli" he said the usual calm demeanor shook with raw emotion.
Maxie turned to him and their blue eyes met, "YOU BASTARD" she cried lunging at him.
Her tiny fists beat on his chest, "It's all your fault…all your fault…he loves you, and look what it did for him…LOOK AT HIM" she cried and he let her beat upon him, the blows doing nothing to soften the knowledge that another person he loved had
been affected by his lifestyle.
Punches turned into sobs and Jason wrapped strong arms around her bringing her close to the hard plane of his chest. He didn't know what else to do but to hold her as the emotion overcame her. Right now he wanted to feel…feel every sting of the pain she was feeling…he deserved to feel it…and if Spinelli didn't make it he hoped she made him feel it everyday.
Pulling away she sniffed back tears, "If he dies Jason…it's on your head…and I will never let you forget" she said icily before going to the nurse's station.
Lucky walked in shortly after, "How is he?" he asked Jason curtly.
Turning to the man he stated facts, "They say it's important he wakes up soon"
"Do you know if anyone has called Lulu?"
Maxie sneered at the question as she came from behind, "Why would anyone call your cuckoo for cocoa puffs sister…everyone knows that little bitch only cared
about Spin when he was part of her little dork harem" she spat like acid on her tongue.
Neither man argued back seeing the fire in her eyes that waited to spew forth on whoever came close. They watched them soften when a voice broke the silence.
"Maxie" is all Mac had to say and she was in his arms.
"Daddy" she cried into his chest as he wrapped her in his embrace her head tucked under his chin.
He held onto her as tight as he could…and in moments like this she was his little blonde princess who fell off her bike and needed her daddy to kiss her knee…he just wished this time it would be so easy.
Her head lie on his chest the exhaustion of everything finally taking its toll…her body shook with silent dry sobs…her body unable to produce any more tears or sound…her mind flashing to his face, skin paled, eyes closed, the crimson of the blood as it poured through his white t-shirt.
"Maxie" Robin said coming out of the doors.
Wide blue eyes popped up to look at her cousin, "He is in recovery…he hasn't woken up…but you can see him, talk to him...sometimes that helps" she told her.
Swallowing hard she nodded, "Okay, okay...now? Please…I need to see him" she pleaded.
Robin looked to Mac and nodded, "Let's go"
Mac watched her walk away and all he could do was hope that his baby girl wouldn't have to bury anyone else she loved.
When Robin opened the door Spin laid there tubes connected to various parts of him, and she blinked back a torrent of tears. She thought she was all cried out and then she saw him lying helpless in that bed…unable to look up at her smiling. She didn't know what she would do if those brown eyes didn't open and twinkle while calling her His Maximista…and she wondered how much of a fool she was…never
seeing what was right in front of her.
Slowly she came to him smoothing an out of place hair as she leaned down to place a chaste kiss upon his head, "Wake up Spin…wake up so I can tell you a secret…you see, you don't have to be a badass tough guy to get the girl..you see, you got me Spin…I'm yours…I'm your Maximista and you're my Jackal…so wake up damn it…wake up Spin, wake up so I can tell you how much I love you, please wake up" she begged her tears wetting his hair.
Closing the door Robin choked back the own sob in her throat...she had always suspected her cousin protested too much about Spinelli…but it wasn't until that moment that she realized the depth of Maxie's feelings for the young hacker…she supposed Maxie was just realizing it too...she just hoped it wasn't too late.
She sat at his bedside and talked for hours…or moments. She didn't give a damn if anyone else wanted to come in and visit…they would have plenty time to do that when Spinelli was better…because he would get better. Hers were the first eyes she wanted him to see when he woke up…she wanted his first words to be spoken to her. Was it selfish…hell yes…but she never claimed she was anything but.
Sometime in the night she laid her head against his bed, their fingers threaded between each others. She let the steady sound of the monitor lull her to sleep.
"I love you Spin…wake up…please don't leave me"
His body felt made of lead and everything seemed fuzzy….like one of those dreams after too many bottles of orange soda. Add to that the fact that his temples throbbed in pain and even thinking about moving hurt…and then he heard her voice. It was then he started to make the journey back to her. Don't worry Maximista…I'm coming.
Mac peaked in as she slept tempted to wake her up, take her home, give her hot chocolate with marshmallows and promise her that Daddy was going to make it okay…he wished it was that simple this time.
"Come on, let me take you home" Robin said touching his arm.
Hanging his head he fought back tears and Robin wrapped her arms around him,
"Nothing hot chocolate with marshmallows won't solve" she whispered wishing it was that easy.
"He is my family"
The light in the hallway stung at his eyes as his eyelids rapidly blinked open. When he finally managed to focus he looked down at his hand…threaded in hers, blonde wisps of hair tied in too…and he didn't want to wake her at first, too content with watching her sleep there.
Unfortunately his arm had begun to fall asleep in the most uncomfortable of positions.
"Maximista" he whispered.
Words tickled her eyes and slowly her eyes flickered open. All she saw was the one goofy smile that made her borrowed heart feel brand new.
"SPIN" she cried out wanted to jump on him and afraid to hurt him at the same
time.
"Tis I, the Jackal" he said smiling at her beautiful face.
"Oh God Spinelli, I thought I lost you" she said her eyes filling with tears.
Shaking his head, "The Maximista could never lose the Jackal" he told her.
"I hope you mean that, because I'm serious…you are stuck with me"
"I would bathe in super glue for it to be true"
In that moment she didn't care if he was in a hospital bed recovering from a gunshot wound…she was going to kiss him…hard.
He wasn't expecting her lips to be on his but he melted away from the time her soft lips came to his. Who needed morphine when you had the lips of a Goddess.
When she pulled away he was surprised, "I love you Damian Spinelli"
"And the Jackal loves-"
She stopped him shaking her head, "No I love you Spinelli…like I love you more then Chloe bags, or Christian Louboutin shoes…or hell more then fashion week…and I know I'm selfish and a little crazy…but I don't ever want to lose you Spin, so don't you ever think about dying on me again" she said her little rant making her body shake.
Reaching out a hand to her, "The Jackal cannot express into words how he feels about this revelation…but he once told the Maximista he was never in the position to give his heart, body and soul to someone. He…I am now" he told her.
Her mind flashed back to what seemed so long ago in the sewers, "You better be sure about that…because I am selfish Spinelli…and what's mine is mine and I'm never giving it back" she told him tearfully.
"The Jackal has never been more assured of anything in his life" he whispered tears in his eyes too.
Their foreheads touched together and she whispered to him, "I love you Damian"
"And I love you Maxie"
One Week Later in PH2…
"This is too much…the Jackal just needs a small bounty of-"
"Nectar of the God's and BBQ chips…I don't think so" Maxie said finishing for him.
Handing him a cup he looked at it and she sighed, "Its hot chocolate with marshmallows…drink it, it will make you feel better"
Instead of arguing he slowly took a drink and she crawled into the bed next to him, "I have to get you well so you can take me to the Michael Kors show next month" she teased.
Setting down the cup Spinelli cuddled closer to her, "The Jackal would pluck a star
from the night sky as long as it made the Maximista happy"
Laying her head on his chest she sighed happily, "You make me happy Damian…just you"
After all they have gone through they were finally home and for the first time at peace.
