Title: Unexpected Guest
Author: Megs
Disclaimer: Characters from All My Children are not mine. They are owned by ABC and sadly I am not the owner of ABC. I do however put a claim on my original characters that pop up in this story.
Plot: Maggie enjoys a non-conventional Mother's Day.
Author's Note: So, I knew a character I liked from my other One-Shot would be back. He's back in this one and still making me love him all the more. :-D I wrote this the day after Mother's Day and didn't know where it was going until it got there. Tell me what you think.
Part 1 of 1
-May 14, 2023-
The smell of apple cinnamon wafted through the dimmed room. On the bed in the middle of the room lay an unmoving lump under the comforters. The smell, tantalizing and spreading, soon caught the sleeping woman's nose and her body stirred as her mind tried to regain consciousness.
With the delicious smell teasing her, the doctor slipped out from her slumber and rolled over into the warmth of her bed. A quick look at the clock revealed what she had already known.
10:24
The chef had let her sleep in.
With a smile the doctor laid back into the warmth of her bed.
It was wonderful to get this moment to sleep in. Any other Sunday would have her awake and rushing out to a basketball, soccer, hockey, or baseball game/practice at the crack of dawn. She'd drop off her brood and either spend the afternoon watching a game, or go out shopping while the practice took place.
This Sunday though was different. This Sunday was a celebrated holiday created by some conglomerate of companies that thought they could make a profit off of all the hard work mothers put in year round.
Mother's Day.
The aging doctor laughed to herself as she burrowed deeper into her bed. Fourteen years changes a lot. It had certainly changed her.
Mary Margaret Stone was a mother to a grumpy, intelligent, athletic, girl-challenged teenaged son.
Maggie Stone M.D. was a single mother to a teenager.
Who would have thought?
She certainly wouldn't have fifteen years ago. Yet, here she was sleeping in while her son made her breakfast. Usually that would cause some alarm, but she had faith that if he had started a fire she would have already known about it.
Thinking about the possibility of a fire starting Maggie threw the blankets off towards the end of the bed. Once out of bed she slipped her feet into her fuzzy mad scientist bunny slippers. They were a gift from the aforementioned teenager three years ago—when he was still only a pre-teen and thought they were cool. Even now after three years and his constant complaints about how silly they looked, they were still her favorite.
Maggie smiled, imagining the petulant groan he was sure to release when he noticed the slippers. Oh the joys of being a teenage boy with an embarrassing mother.
Maggie laughed and grabbed her bathrobe from her private en-suite before making her way downstairs to the kitchen. The smell of apple cinnamon grew stronger as she opened the swinging door to the dining room that would lead her into the kitchen.
Maggie remembered when she first looked at this house. The kitchen had been an intimidating factor in the purchase, but it had everything else she wanted. Through the years she had learned to earn the respect of the kitchen utensils and appliances. She had to, she was a single mother that was not about to raise a child on take out. That had of course been after she had moved back to the states after living abroad for nearly a decade.
It had been time to come back home.
Maggie had wanted to raise her son in the States and when he was three she had moved them across the ocean to Springfield, Illinois. Then two years later she had moved them to New York. This house was what had solidified the move, that and the close proximity to Manhattan and Port Charles.
The house was gorgeous. It had taken a great deal of time to pay off the mortgage but she had done it. Her old apartment seemed to get smaller and smaller as the years went by and the toys just seemed to grow out of the woodwork. So, on a thoughtful whim she'd started house searching and had come across the house she and her son currently dwelled in.
The house, three floor, four bedroom; two fully equip bathrooms, a two park driveway with a back and front yard was perfect. At first the size had been just as intimidating as the kitchen, but once all of the furniture and toys had been moved in, it all seemed to fit perfectly. The basement had been turned into the entertainment/game room where all of the neighborhood boys came running to after school. The third bedroom had been turned into the workout room that both mother and son often used.
Maggie stopped short just of the kitchen doorway and smiled brightly. Above the doorway to the kitchen was a computer generated graphic design sign that read Happy Mother's Day Mom! Before the image changed to a captured photograph from last Christmas with Maggie smiling as she opened one of the gifts she had received.
Maggie stood there and watched as the image changed to the soccer championship with Maggie standing proudly beside Leo as he held up his MVP trophy. His team had taken first place in the diocesan that year.
Maggie walked into the kitchen and smiled as she saw her son, Leonardo Franklin Stone, hard at work by the stove.
Leo…Maggie smiled.
The doctor wondered how her son could look so much like his namesake and have the personality of both his second cousin and aunt when he had never had the opportunity to meet them.
Maggie sometimes thought that the universe was trying to get one over on her, but most of the time she was happy to see the similarities. There were more similarities in the young 13 year old boy that reflected herself but that was to be expected.
"Good morning," Maggie greeted with a warm smile as she walked towards the island that kept her from the stove and her hard working teenage son. "Are these fresh?" Maggie asked with a smile as she noticed the new bouquet of flowers settled on the island.
"Oh mom!" Leo jumped into the air and spun around to eye his mother. "You scared me…" He chastised as he relaxed slightly.
"I apologize. I had no idea you wouldn't hear me walk in."
Leo smiled at the apology and moved around the island quickly. "Happy Mother's Day," he greeted as he wrapped his arms around his mother's waist. The t-shirt he wore covered in flour.
"Thanks, bud. So…" Maggie clapped her hands as she moved around the island after Leo. "What do we have this morning?"
"Oh this…?" Leo gestured to the mess that had once been Maggie's immaculately clean kitchen. "This is breakfast a la Leo."
"Oh…?" Maggie chuckled as she stood behind her son, awed that he was already as tall as she was and still growing. He hadn't even gotten past his growth spurt yet. "And tell me…what does breakfast a la Leo consist of?"
"Well…you've got eggs with cheese and ham. Then…you have the muffins that aren't ready yet."
"You made muffins?" Maggie asked feigning shocked. She had helped the young man before her learn how to cook muffins last year when he was afraid he'd fail his nutrition class if he didn't make at least one perfect batch of muffins.
"Yep, you're favorite! Apple cinnamon." He exclaimed proudly as he looked at his mother over his shoulder with a beaming smile.
Maggie mussed up his head of dirty brown hair before placing a kiss atop the same head of hair. "Thank you, Leo. It looks great. When can we eat?"
Leo was alive with excitement to see his mother's apparent eagerness to eat his meal. "Just a second, the muffins should be ready in five minutes."
Leo didn't cook much. Really, he didn't cook at all. He ate a lot, he knew that but he was a growing boy after all. He also enjoyed watching his mother cook. She had been cooking for as long as he could remember, and since then he could only ever remember her enjoying making a home cooked meal.
Today, while making one himself he wondered how she could. He was so nervous that he would get everything wrong that he was on edge the entire time he was cooking. He wondered if his mother was like that when she first started cooking. He'd make sure to ask her while eating breakfast.
"Okay, well I'll go set the…" Maggie turned to go set the table but laughed lightly when she saw there were already two table settings and a vase with one single white lily in it. "Thank you…" Maggie whispered as she turned back to see Leo smiling from ear to ear.
"Well, I figured I might as well butter you up now. While I can. 'Cause we both know I won't do this often." Leo explained.
"Is that teenage logic?"
Leo shook his head, "Nope, just logic."
Maggie chuckled as she moved over to the table and poured herself a glass of orange juice. "Well, either way. Thank you. If mother's day and my birthday are the only days I get home cooked meals from my son, I'll make sure to count my blessings that I even get those two."
"Well…maybe we can negotiate every other holiday?"
Maggie gasped and gripped at her heart playfully. "Negotiate every other holiday?"
"Well I mean…you know…" Leo looked down at the spatula in his hands with a smirk and a slightly tingeing face. "I'm not sure if I'm any good at it yet." He explained looking up at his mother through his bangs.
Maggie moved to wrap Leo up in her arms, "I'm sure you'll do fine and if you don't, it gives me a reason to keep you home and all to myself so I can teach you. After all the way to a woman's heart is often times through her stomach."
"Are you sure that's just not the way to your heart?" Leo chided with a lopsided grin.
"The way to my heart…" Maggie had to think about it, it had been a very long time since anyone had even tried to get to her heart.
"Mom…?" Leo frowned as he noticed a faraway look cross his mother's face.
"Hmmm…?" Maggie hummed as she came back to the present, her smile just a tad bit dimmer then it had been seconds before.
"Are you happy?" Leo asked, and felt a lump form in his throat.
He often wondered if his mother was happy. She seemed happy. His friends often commented that she always had a smile ready for anyone and was apparently a MILF, but he didn't like thinking about that. The thing was he knew she could get sad. She had these moments, where just a simple statement could make her look off into space for long periods of time and come back looking just a little sadder each time. Today, right now, was no different.
"I am." Maggie's voice broke as she smiled at Leo and ran her hand gently across his cheek. "I'm very happy with my life. With our lives, please never doubt that."
Leo nodded his head as he put down the spatula and wrapped his arms around his mother once again.
"Two hugs in one day, it must be my lucky day." Maggie's voice was one of mirth but Leo just held on tighter.
"I love you, mom."
Maggie felt her heart swell as she held Leo against her and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I love you to, Leo."
When the two had received as much comfort from the hug as they could they pulled apart and set about enjoying the rest of the day together. Breakfast, to Leo's immense satisfaction, was delicious. He was so proud of himself that he promised to cook breakfast more often. Maggie had laughed and told him not to make promises he wasn't willing to keep.
When afternoon rolled around it found both Stones in the middle of getting ready to head on the road to Port Charles to have dinner with the Scorpio-Drake-Devane clan.
Therefore the sudden sound of the doorbell ringing was unexpected.
Leo looked at his wrist watch, the one his father had gotten him for his thirteenth birthday—explaining he now had no reason to be late for school or practices—and was confused. None of his friends had texted to say they were stopping over, and they never had unscheduled family visits.
"I'll get it…" Leo called to his mother's room. He heard the blow dryer running and as he raced down the stairs—jumping the last four to make it to the front door; he wondered if she had even heard him.
When he made it to the door without being reprimanded for jumping the last few stairs, he knew she hadn't heard a thing. Probably didn't even hear the doorbell. With a shrug he checked the peephole and furrowed his brow. He didn't recognize the woman standing on the other side. Careful to keep the lock in place he opened the door slightly so the woman could see him and he her.
"Hi, can I help you?" He asked as he eyed the woman suspiciously.
Why did she look familiar?
"We're not interested in anything, unless it's Girl Scout cookies or chocolate." Leo added with a smile that people told him was charming.
"I'm not selling anything. I was…" The woman looked down at a piece of paper. "Is this Dr. Mary Margaret Stone's residence?"
Leo remained skeptical of the woman at the door even as he answered, "Who wants to know?"
The woman smiled and shook her head. Her hair was a dark brown that went to the tops of her shoulders. It suited her, Leo thought. She was tall, taller than he was by a few inches and had a beautiful smile. She had a small gap between her two front teeth, but somehow that seemed to make her all the more attractive.
"I'm sorry, my name's Miranda." She smiled again and Leo wondered why she looked so familiar, when he was sure he had never met her before. "Miranda Montgomery…?" She obviously was hoping he would know who she was. Sadly he didn't know why he even recognized the name.
Leo crinkled his brow as he thought over that name. Why did the name now sound familiar as well? He couldn't place the name or her face, but he knew both from something—somewhere.
Apparently, Ms. Montgomery began to get a little uncomfortable as she stood waiting on the front step for him to answer her.
"Well…?" Miranda tucked a strand of her long hair behind her ear as she smiled nervously.
"Well what?" Leo asked shaking his head a little, his hand tightening around the doorknob.
"Does Dr. Stone live here?" Miranda asked again, no unkind infliction behind her repeated inquiry.
"Um…yeah she does, hang on."
Leo closed the door and quickly unlocked the chain before opening the door once again to see the young Ms. Montgomery was facing away from the door seemingly trying to calm down. He thought about closing the door once again when the older teenager turned around to face him with a bright, albeit nervous smile.
"Here, come in…" Leo moved aside to the let the woman inside.
"Thank you," Miranda bowed her head as she stepped inside.
"Um…just wait here. I'll go get my mom."
"Your mom?" Miranda questioned as her eyes widened.
"Yeah…" Leo's eyes zeroed in on the girl and his progress to the stairs halted at her inquiry. "So…?"
"Nothing, I just…" Miranda shook her head. "I didn't know she had any children."
"She doesn't have children." Leo informed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "She has me."
"Oh…I meant no offense."
Leo took the semi-apology for what it was worth and moved towards the stairs, still weary of the strange girl in his house. When he made it to the top of the stairs he looked back at the woman and decided to leave her with a threat, just in case. "Don't…ya know…" He thought for a moment. "…touch anything."
Miranda threw her arms up into the air as if surrendering and smiled as she watched Leo disappear around a wall at the top of the stairs.
So…Maggie has a son. The thought made Miranda smile.
Miranda made her way around the front room and she noticed Maggie was doing very well for herself. Miranda hadn't been sure what she would do when she got here, but she had to try to see if—if there was anything here for her. If there was anything to be hopeful about finding.
Her mom had been upset, very upset when she found out that Miranda had used her resources at Cambias to track down someone. At first Miranda thought her mom would be upset because of what she used the resources for. It wasn't until her mom found out what she had done with them did she get upset.
Miranda understood. Miranda hadn't known the full story all those years ago. She was too young to be told about Maggie's mistake, her infidelity. Technically she wouldn't have known about any of it had it not been for the box in the attic.
There was a box in the attic that held all of their family photographs that were not in frames or photo albums in the trunk at the end of the hallway of the second floor.
For a school project Gabrielle needed to find pictures of her family members to help make her family tree. So, Reese had sent Miranda up to the attic to find the box that held all the old photo albums.
While going through the box and helping Gabrielle find all the photographs she needed, Miranda found an old photo album she had never seen before. In it there were pictures of her by the dozens with her mother and a shorter dirty blonde woman. There were hundreds of photographs of the three of them, together and in Pairs.
Miranda had wanted to ask her mom about them but as she flipped through the album she came across old letters. The letters were addressed to her that she had never seen let alone opened. There had to be at least twenty. All post marked from the time she was three to seven. Only two of the twenty letters had been opened. The two that had been opened were addressed to both her and her mother.
With a curiosity that became a Kane, Miranda opened the letters hoping they would give her the answers that lurked in the recesses of her memories. As she read each letter many things became clear. Old memories that had been buried in the back of her mind returned.
The face of a smiling short brunette woman that had always made her smile as a child had been replaced by the face of the mom she had grown up with. Now, Maggie's face had returned to memories in which she belonged.
Then, as Miranda read the letters addressed to her and the two addressed to both her mother and her, things became so very clear.
Miranda hadn't wanted to cause trouble, but she wanted to know the woman that had cared so much about her that she had tried to remain in contact with her. She wanted to talk to the woman that had made her mother smile like she had never seen her smile before. A smile Miranda could now only see in the photographs, most of them now stored under her bed instead of in the attic.
Miranda wanted to know that mystery woman in the photographs. So when she turned 18 this past March she began her search. She assigned a Private Investigator that her uncle Zach had trusted to find this Maggie Stone.
There hadn't been much to go on, but the PI had finally contacted her with all the information she could ever want about Maggie three weeks ago. The last three weeks Miranda had spent deliberating over whether or not she should come.
Miranda's home life was one that others dreamed of. She had a loving parent and an intelligent if only slightly annoying younger sister. Her aunts and uncles were crazy, but many aunts and uncles tended to be. Her mom had many partners, only two of which Miranda still talked to, none that remained for long. Miranda had her own suspicions about why that was, but she never questioned it out loud; afraid of the sorrow it might cause her mom.
It wasn't to say her mom wasn't happy. She was and she was currently involved with an attorney that was nice, intelligent, and sweet.
Miranda expected to see her around more often now that their relationship had hit the year marker. Except, her mom was unhappy with her. That was to be expected. Her aunt Kendall and her grandmother Erica were upset with her too, which she had not expected. Apparently by looking for Maggie, Miranda was drudging up a past that had wanted to be forgotten.
This was her choice though. Not theirs.
Miranda had decided that today she would attempt to finally contact Maggie.
Miranda had been in New York City for a Broadway play with her mom, Aunt Kendall, and Erica. The rest of the group had come along, Kendall's two sons her cousins Spike and Ian, and of course Gabrielle was there. It had been a wonderful afternoon spent together, but there was something she needed to do before she lost all courage.
It seemed logical. She was in the neighborhood or close to it. The neighborhood Maggie lived in was in the heart of Queens and seemed nice. It was only a little over a half an hour trip from the city by car, so with a disapproving look Miranda had driven her own car to the Broadway show and gave the excuse that she wished to stay in the city longer.
Gabrielle had wanted to stay with her but she had refused to look after her younger sister. Her mom and two Kane women had protested the entire time but she hadn't given in. They had no idea she was here. They thought she was still in the city hanging around with friends, living up the night life that the city offered.
Little did they know that she was in suburbia looking for the woman that they all didn't want her to see.
Miranda did wonder though, the look in her mom's eyes, this sad overcast that had taken over them as Miranda had kissed her goodbye, it was as if her mom knew. It had been as if she had known and it hurt her.
Miranda hoped that she could explain this to her mom in a way that wouldn't hurt her. She loved her mom more than anything on this earth, but she had questions that needed to be answered. And these answers she knew could only be found here, by the doctor that was slowly making her way towards her.
Maggie slowly walked down the stairs from the second floor to the living room. She stood by the last step of the stairwell and observed the young woman standing before her fireplace.
Leo had mentioned a young woman was here to see her. He hadn't mentioned her name, but was curiously confused. Maggie had wondered why he would seem confused, and as she made her way down the stairs, watching the woman's every move she could see why.
It had only taken a moment, and the sight of the woman's profile to know who she was. She, after all, looked so much like Bianca.
Miranda….Maggie shook her head as she watched as Miranda looked over the many pictures on the mantle above the fireplace. The young woman's eyes seemed distant as if she weren't really seeing the images in the frames.
Maggie began to walk forward again, her eyes moving to the top of the stairs at the second floor landing to see Leo looking over the banister.
Maggie smiled, he was ever the protector she thought as she moved into the living room and noticed Miranda had picked up a specific photograph.
"You were two…" Maggie mentioned as she stepped up behind the young woman, her arms wrapped around her waist as she looked at the photograph in the teenagers hand and then to the teenager herself. "…it was your mother's birthday. You ate your fair share of ice cream before you fell asleep." Maggie watched Miranda's eyes look over the image and gently place the frame back on the mantle.
"You seemed to have eaten enough yourself." Miranda commented as she looked between the photograph and the woman standing before her.
Maggie laughed as she nodded her head, the image contained the both of them fast asleep on the couch covered in chocolate ice cream with Miranda fast asleep on Maggie's chest.
"What can I do for you, Miranda?" Maggie asked as the young woman turned from the mantle and all the memories captured in the photographs reverently placed upon its surface.
"How did you know my name?" Miranda wondered and then shook her head, obviously her son had told her.
"You look just like Bianca." Maggie informed and watched as a surprised yet sorrowful smile lit the young woman's face.
"I came here to…" Miranda sighed as she ran a shaking hand through her hair. "I came here looking for answers, Doctor Stone."
"Maggie, please, call me Maggie." The formality of being called doctor Stone by the young Montgomery nearly tore at her heart.
"Alright, Maggie…I'm here looking for answers."
Maggie lifted a brow and waved her hand in an attempt to have Miranda continue.
The young woman could only sigh as she looked around at her surroundings. All the pictures on the mantle contained several people Miranda didn't recognize and a young boy at varying ages in different uniforms and at different events.
This was Maggie's family, her son, and the woman that accompanied most of the shots of the doctor and child. It seemed the woman that had been involved in most of the young man's life and Maggie's but was no longer a part of it. She stopped appearing in the photographs after he was seven or eight by the looks of it.
It was intimidating to see such happy photographs of a family that she hadn't even known about until a few weeks ago. Yet, amongst all of the other photographs there was a photo of her. A photograph taken 16 years ago of her and Maggie together! That one photograph was the only reason Miranda had the courage to stay.
Maggie saw how much trouble the young woman was having so she decided to go easy on the young woman. "Here, why don't you sit down? Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee, tea, soda, water…anything?" Maggie asked as she ushered the young woman towards the armchair a few feet behind her.
"No…" Miranda pulled away before Maggie could touch her and pulled her arms tightly against her chest. "I'm fine, thank you."
Maggie nodded her head and waited.
This was…not something she had expected to happen…ever.
The door that held Miranda behind it had been closed more than a decade ago.
The life she had with Miranda and Bianca had left a lasting impression but it had been a childish romance. They hadn't been ready for the life they were desperately clinging to together, and in the end it had been their undoing.
God…it had been such a long time since she had thought of Bianca and their sordid tale of friendship and subsequent romance. Now, thoughts of Bianca and all that they never had, could now never have, left her feeling hollow.
"I'm afraid you caught me at a bad time. My son and I were just preparing to leave," Maggie mentioned fairly, so the younger woman knew there were other places she needed to be.
"Robin and Grandma Anna can wait." Leo stated as he moved down the stairs and stood alongside the railing on the bottom floor, his eyes moving between Miranda and his mother. He had known from the second that his mother saw this young woman that something was going on. "I'll go call them, let them know we'll be a little late."
"Leo…" Maggie turned to her son and he just smiled and waved her towards their guest.
"I'll be back." As much as he wanted to stay and make sure his mom was okay, he knew that they needed privacy.
He was a teenage boy but he wasn't clueless when it came to women, especially having grown up surrounded by women. His two mothers, his aunt, his older and younger cousins, and his grandmother, there were a lot of women around.
He wondered why he was so girl challenged sometimes. His grandmother Anna thought it was because he knew the working of a woman's mind too well to get along with them. He really hoped not.
Once Leo had slipped out of the room, Maggie turned towards the woman still standing by the fireplace, her eyes once again looking over the photographs.
"I didn't mean to intrude." Miranda sounded contrite but didn't make a move to leave.
"Your visit is just…well it's unexpected." Maggie admitted as she let her arms fall to her sides. She was far too uncomfortable to stand still. Part of her had hoped Miranda would want something to drink so it would give her something to do.
"What can I do for you, Miranda?" Maggie asked again, hoping this time it would lead to the questions the young woman needed answered.
"I…" Now or never Miranda "…I wanted to know if—if you…I wanted to know why you stopped sending the letters."
"I'm sorry?" Maggie questioned, surprised.
Miranda sighed. This wasn't as easy as she thought it might be once she arrived. The nervous jitters that had been plaguing her since she decided she would come here and talk to Maggie were becoming bothersome.
"I read your letters. The ones you sent me for my birthdays, Christmases, what would have been my first day of school. I—I wanted to know why they stopped. Why you stopped sending them." Miranda looked up from staring at one of the many photographs on Maggie's mantle and met the doctor's eyes.
Miranda's eyes were full of unshed tears and were begging the woman for an answer to a question Maggie was sure she hadn't even asked yet.
Maggie stepped forward, afraid to touch the girl but afraid to leave her uncomforted. "I stopped sending them because I needed to move on. I couldn't keep myself so stuck in the past. By the time I stopped sending them you would have been seven…I…" Maggie shook her head as she grabbed at her own hand to keep it from moving to brush the tears from Miranda's face away. "I had no idea you got any of them. I thought…I thought Reese would have kept them from you."
Miranda sighed this was not going well. "Mom didn't let me see them. I found them."
"When?" Maggie asked, not surprised that Miranda hadn't been given the letters when she originally sent them, but slightly surprised to know Reese had kept them at all.
"Two years ago."
Maggie's eyes widened. "Two years ago?"
Miranda nodded her head.
"I, I'm sorry Miranda. I'm confused. I don't understand…you were sixteen two years ago. It would have been 12 years since I last saw you almost 13 since we had last spoken to each other. I…why did you want to contact me at all?"
"I wanted to talk to you. I wanted…I wanted to know things that mom wouldn't tell me. That no one will tell me."
"Miranda, if you're mom…hasn't told you things then you can't expect me to tell you I…"
"Why did you keep this photograph?" Miranda asked, cutting Maggie off as she picked up the frame that held the image of the two of them together.
"I love that photograph." Maggie explained easily.
"Why?" Miranda questioned as she looked at Maggie hopeful.
Maggie shook her head; this was not how she thought her mother's day would turn out.
"It was one of the only ones I kept from our time together in Paris. I wasn't about to throw it away because I was no longer a part of your life. You were a part of mine, a part of my life that I treasure. I couldn't very well just put it in some box and pretend like it didn't happen. I love and respect all of the memories I share with you, and the ones I shared with Bianca. By hiding them away somewhere, forcing it out of sight, well it didn't make them go away. Forcing them into a little corner and not acknowledging the part you and your mother played in my life, well it would be like admitting to not being able to move on." Maggie explained as she took a hold of another photograph hidden behind a few others.
"This one…" Maggie caressed the smiling faces of two college students that had gone through so much but had yet to even brush the surface of life. "It's one of my favorites. Your mother and I were happy that day, so happy…." Maggie let Miranda look at the photograph in her hand, showing two girls spread out on a picnic blanket smiling up at the sky with Maggie's head rested against Bianca's, before she put it back where it had been before.
Maggie's eyes moved over the photographs that stood on the mantel that held her new family. "I did move on. I was married…" Maggie looked at the picture of her dressed in a dark green gown and Sarah dressed in a deep blue suit with a two year old pint sized Leo between the two of them. "…for five years I spent my life with a woman that loved me and my son unconditionally and I loved in return just as fully." Maggie felt tears form at the memory of Sarah. "She died four years ago." Maggie mentioned as she placed the frame back on the mantle.
"I'm sorry…" Miranda whispered understanding what it was like to lose someone so dear to you. Miranda wondered if Maggie had lost Sarah suddenly, like she had, or perhaps slowly. Miranda wondered which would was worse never getting to say goodbye or having to say goodbye everyday unsure if that day was your last together.
Maggie waved off her condolences with a watery smile, "Now…" Maggie wiped at the few tears that had fallen. "…why don't you tell me why you're really here."
"My mom…"
Maggie nodded and waited on baited breath.
"She doesn't smile like she used to. I…" Miranda looked down at her hands. "She doesn't smile at me the same anymore."
"What do you mean, Miranda?"
"I make her sad." Miranda wrapper her arms around herself and tried not to break down completely.
"Oh honey, I'm sure that's not true!" Maggie insisted as she moved forward and touched the girl's shoulder gently.
"You don't see it. I came here hoping you could tell me…" Miranda caught herself and shook her head as tears fell freely.
"Tell you what?" Maggie prodded as she rubbed up and down Miranda's arm.
"How to make her love me again…"
Maggie's eyes widened as she found her arms full of a tall sobbing 18 year old brunette. The force of Miranda's initial lurch into her arms knocked Maggie back a few steps but she compensated and held the crying girl in her arms.
"She never stopped, oh Miranda she could never stop loving you. My god…Reese loves you!" Maggie insisted as she held on tightly. "Nothing on this earth could ever change the way Reese feels for you. She fought so hard for you…what on earth makes you think she doesn't love you anymore?"
"I look like her…I look like my mother."
Maggie's breath was sucked out from her lungs. The simple statement almost made Maggie want to fall to her knees with the pain within them.
"Yes…" Maggie nodded her head as she pulled Miranda's head off of her shoulder so she could look deeply into the young woman's eyes. "Yes, you do look like Bianca. But that is NOTHING to be sorry for…" Maggie insisted as tears welled in her eyes.
"But…" Miranda hiccupped as tears continued to fall.
Maggie gripped Miranda's face tightly between her own hands. "Miranda Mona Montgomery, you look at me and you listen well…" Miranda nodded her head and said nothing. "You are you're mother's daughter. You have her face, her eyes, her nose…you have her figure, her bone structure, her kindness, her beauty, her intellect, charm, and countless other things. There is not one thing about any of those things that you should be sorry for, not one! You are Miranda Mona Montgomery, the little girl that survived a flash flood, helicopter crash, survived living with the Chandlers…"
Miranda chuckled a little as Maggie continued.
"…you are the little girl—now the growing young woman—that has made Reese proud and I'm sure Bianca is looking down on you with a brilliant smile on her face as she watches you grow into a beautiful woman. There is nothing wrong with looking like your mother." Maggie insisted as she shook Miranda's shoulders a little. "Nothing…Do you understand?"
Miranda nodded her head.
Maggie released Miranda's face and gently pushed back a few strands of hair from the young woman's face before stepping back.
"Good." Maggie took a deep breath and smiled at the young woman.
"Thank you." Miranda whispered as she wiped at her tear stained cheeks.
Maggie just nodded her head and smiled warmly at the young woman. "You should talk to Reese about this."
"What makes you think I haven't?" Miranda asked with a raised brow.
Maggie laughed, "Because you're a Kane. And you wouldn't have been here if you had talked with your…mom…about this already. She would have reassured you to everything I just said and then kicked your ass for even thinking it." Thinking of Reese as Miranda's mother was hard, even after all of this time but the way Miranda had easily called Reese mom left no room for Maggie to argue or disagree. Reese had raised Miranda and Gabrielle after Bianca's…Maggie felt her heart clench in her chest…after her death.
Miranda laughed halfheartedly as she looked at Maggie. The woman that had helped raise her for the first few years of her life. Maggie…the woman that had been there for her mother after Michael attacked her. The same woman that had stuck around for years to help raise her even after all the drama of her paternity was questioned. This was the woman that had written to her for her birthday for years just to tell her that she was loved.
Miranda had needed that.
Bianca had died when she was six years old. The private jet taking her back to Pine Valley had crashed when they were caught in a thunder storm. Unlike her grandmother's crash they had not found her trapped on an island awaiting rescue. This time they had just found the wreckage at sea and found two of the three bodies of those on board, one of them being her mother's.
Miranda hadn't taken the news well but neither her Reese. For a long time after that everyone was fighting over where she and Gabrielle would be staying.
Reese took on the entire family, everyone looking for custody of them and had won on the condition that she move back to the States to be closer to the rest of the family.
So, Reese had done so and had raised her and Gabrielle since then.
Miranda thought herself lucky to have the memories of her mother that she did. Gabrielle had only been two when she died and couldn't remember her at all. The family tried to help Gabrielle remember, told stories, but after so many years of her mother not being here the stories didn't change, they were always the same ones over and over again. It was like her mother hadn't been there the rest of the time and Miranda needed that. She needed her mother to be a fully rounded person, not just the wonderful woman everyone said she had been. Miranda needed to know about her mistakes as well as her successes but no one wanted to speak ill of her, so she stopped trying to learn more about her until she had found those letters and photographs. They had opened to her a new part of her mother's story and she was eager to know everything about it, and when her mom and family were unwilling to talk to her about it she knew she had to go to the source. She knew she had to see Maggie.
"You know…" Maggie needed to say this before she lost her opportunity. "…I never stopped loving you, Miranda."
Miranda sobbed as she nodded her head and cried all the more. Maggie wrapped her up once again in her arms until she calmed down.
When she was twelve Miranda had found out about her father and what he had done to her mother.
The young heiress had needed someone to tell her she was loved because of who she was—no matter who her father was back then. Hearing it from Reese and family could only go so far she had never been able to hear it from Bianca. Her mother had never been able to explain to her that she was loved no matter the form of her conception and it tore at her.
Miranda needed to hear it from someone else, someone that had known her mother before and after the attack. Miranda needed to hear she was loved by someone that chose to love her because she was her and not her mother; that chose to keep her memory alive if only in the one photograph on her mantle after 15 years.
Miranda had needed Maggie Stone's unconditional love, had hoped she would find it, and was pleasantly surprised that she hadn't needed to worry. Maggie had cared. Maggie still cared and she didn't have to.
"Thank you, Maggie."
Maggie rolled her eyes and laughed a little nervously, "You already said that, darling."
Leo poked his head out from the kitchen and decided now was as good a time as any to come back in. "Mom…grandma Anna wants to know what time you think we'll make it." Leo said as he walked back into the room.
"Tell her we'll be leaving in twenty minutes." Maggie informed Leo as she turned to look at the sandy haired boy.
"Kay, grandma Anna? Yeah, we'll be leaving in twenty minutes." Leo explained into the phone as he walked back into the dining room.
"I should go…" Miranda stated as she looked at Leo's retreating form and then Maggie's slightly faltering smile.
"I…" Maggie took a deep breath. She had so many questions. Now that Miranda was here she wanted to ask her so many things. Talk to her, get to know her. Alas, it was not her place anymore. "You can stay for a little longer if you'd like."
"No, I think it's time I started my drive back to Pine Valley." Miranda admitted with a sad smile, she noted how torn Maggie was. It was very easy to read the doctor. "I've taken up enough of your time." Miranda moved towards the door.
"Don't worry about taking up my time." Maggie admitted as she walked with Miranda to the door.
Once they stood on the stone porch Maggie slipped her hands into her pockets and shifted her weight back and forth.
"Do you have my number?" Maggie asked, aware that she hadn't even asked how Miranda had contacted her in the first place.
"I do, do you think I could…call sometimes? You can…tell me about my mother?" Miranda asked as she tucked a long strand of dark hair behind her ear as her head was turned downward as she looked up at the doctor.
"I'd like that. I have a lot of stories I'm sure you've never heard."
"Really?" Miranda asked her smile burning brightly as her entire persona changed from the sullen tension filled aura to one with a bright happy energy.
"Yes, really. I was after all her roommate for her formative years." Maggie smiled and watched as Miranda mirrored the smile. Maggie laughed and shook her head at the young woman, confusing her.
"What?"
"You look so much like your mother it scares me. You even have her mannerisms." Maggie informed as she continued to shake her head at the uncanny resemblance between mother and daughter.
Miranda smiled brightly, "Really?"
Maggie laughed, "Yes…goodness yes. The second I saw you today I knew exactly who you were because I saw your mother. That, is nothing to be sorry for. It may hurt Reese to see Bianca when she looks at you, but it is not a bad thing. Your mother was a beautiful woman both inside and out. I know that you make her proud."
Miranda smile turned deadly as she nearly burst with joy at this. "Thank you, Doctor Stone."
Maggie gave Miranda a look.
"I mean, Maggie. Thank you, for everything."
"I'm not sure what I did besides tell you the truth, but you're welcome, Ms. Montgomery. It was a pleasure to see you again."
Miranda nodded her head and backed away from the porch and walked towards her car, just as she opened the door she looked up to see Maggie still watching her. With a wave she moved to enter the car before she quickly popped her head back out.
"Happy Mother's Day, Maggie."
"Thank you," Maggie whispered as she waved back and watched the young woman drive away.
Leo stepped out onto the porch and looked down the street in both directions. "So…is she gone?"
"Yes, she's gone." Maggie informed with a reminiscent smile.
"Do you think she'll be back?" Leo asked as he looked back up at his mother, curiously. He knew she would tell him all he wanted to know, but not right now. That was alright, he was a little confused right now anyway. He could wait for answers about his mother's past for a few more years if he needed to.
"I don't know…" Maggie pondered the idea of seeing Miranda again and shook her head. A call here and there was more than likely. But seeing her was unlikely, but apparently not impossible.
With a smile Maggie looked to her son and ruffled up his hair. "You ready to go?"
"Hey…watch it!" Leo cried out as he tried to swat his mother's offending hand away as she laughed at him. "Yes, I'm ready to go."
"Good…now hurry up. Grandma Anna and Aunt Robin are going to be upset enough as it is that we're late." Maggie pointed out as she rushed into the house to grab her things.
"Well, technically I'm not the one that was late. I was on time. You were the one still doing your hair fifteen minutes after the time we were supposed to leave." Leo pointed out as he stood on the porch waiting for his mother.
Maggie thought about that for a second as she locked the door to their home. If she had been on time then she wouldn't have been here when Miranda showed up. If she hadn't been here when Miranda showed up then she probably would have never even known the young woman had come looking for her.
With a shrug and an internal smile Maggie realized that she could deal with being lectured on being late now that she had one more memory with Ms. Miranda Montgomery.
"Hey mom, come on." Leo called from inside the car.
Maggie started the car and the two started their two hour drive to Port Charles. Somewhere between the first hour Leo turned to his mom and smiled.
"What?" Maggie questioned as she looked between the road and her smiling son.
Leo wanted to find the right words but couldn't seem to articulate the extent of what he wanted to thank his mother for. She had given him everything, including life. A life he loved and was happy living. She gave him a house and she was the one that made it a home. She saved people's lives every day and today he knew she had saved another one. It wasn't the life or death, kind of save though. This one was different.
This time she had saved that girl's heart from the pain it had surrounding it. He had heard most of their conversation, and was confused by it. He didn't know much about his mother's life before he was born. She didn't talk about it much, but when she did she always had a wistful smile. So he figured it couldn't be too bad of a past.
Today was supposed to be about people respecting and expressing their love for their mothers. Yet, he had watched his mom express an unconditional love for a child that wasn't even hers. It made him understand how lucky he really was.
So, it didn't matter if that girl never came back into their lives again, because his mother was happy. He could see that now and he was glad she was happy. He wanted to thank her for sharing that happiness with him but he didn't know how to start.
So…he decided one thing was enough.
"I love you."
Maggie caught Leo's eye and with one hand grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
"I love you too, bud."
Leo smiled and placed a kiss to his mom's hand. "Happy Mother's Day mom."
Maggie looked from Leo out to the road in front of them and then up towards the beautiful blue sky and closed her eyes for a moment.
'Happy mother's day, Bianca…Sarah.'
Maggie opened her eyes and could have sworn as the wind blew into the car through the open windows she heard the lithe laughter of two women she had loved in life and still loved even in death.
Maggie herself began to laugh as she smiled and looked out at the open road ahead of her and Leo.
The End