A/N: This turned out a little (okay, A LOT) longer than I'd anticipated. It was supposed to be just a short little piece on key players reacting to the death of Maxie. Once I started typing though, it took on a life of its own.

You'll find it a little vague in some places – that's intentional, you're supposed to make your own connections and use your imagination to fill in the blanks. The ending was actually tacked on due to my sisters begging, so it too is a little vague.

Reviews would be lovely.

The third floor of the newly re-opened General Hospital was eerily silent. Nurses and doctors walked quietly and spoke in hushed whispers. The mood was too somber, the grief too flagrant in the air to do anything else. The dark swirling emotions coming from the waiting room so thick it was nearly tangible. Nobody wanted to be the first to intrude on such palpable grief.

Anguish and stunned disbelief leant eerie shadows to the ashen and haggard face of Sam McCall. Glazed eyes shone with tightly reined in tears as they swept over the others in the room.

Slumped, dazed on the floor back against the wall, Lulu stared vacantly at the floor. Tears slid slowly unchecked down her cheeks. Harsh silent shudders wracked her body, fingers curled tightly into fists.

Jason crouched wordlessly next to Spinelli. The young hacker sobbed unashamedly. His usual preoccupation with appearing stoic in the presence of his master, forgotten. He was consumed with sorrow, his entire body shaking violently with depth of his unrestrained grief. Beside him, Jason's tight expression gave away nothing of his feelings.

Robin wept harshly as she sat huddled in her husband's arms. Her shoulders heaved with the force of her sorrow. Patrick rubbed her back reassuringly and murmured soft comforting words, but his eyes too were glassy with unshed tears.

Sam let her gaze settle on the still figure next to her. His had been expected to be the most overwhelming grief of all. But Mac hadn't cried, hadn't really reacted at all to the news. He'd stood there silently, listening to his officers and the doctors. Had nodded once, eyes flickering once at the sound of crying and devastation around him. It was the only reaction he'd shown so far.

It was disconcerting and more than a little frightening.

He stood noiselessly next to her, his face vacant and uncomprehending. He seemed oblivious of her presence or her comforting hand on his arm. She wasn't entirely certain he was even aware of where he was at this moment. But she wasn't about to leave her spot standing next to him. She felt like she'd be letting down the woman they were mourning if she did. Sam grit her teeth as she took in the grief-soaked room.

She wanted to cry, to scream, wanted to destroy she couldn't – wouldn't. Not now, not here. Sam shut her eyes and willed herself not to break down. Later she could rage against the injustice of it all. Later she could lose herself to the crushing weight of her own grief.

But now was for her friend. She wouldn't let her down. Not tonight. She wouldn't leave Mac's side. She couldn't.

She didn't know how Mac would survive this awful, horrible, fucked-up night.

Maxie, for all her faults and all her schemes, was first and foremost – a daddy's girl. Sam knew her friend had a father out there somewhere, but Mac was her daddy. The girl had truly adored her step-father. Sam thought the only reason Mac had survived the crushing injustice that was Georgie's death, was Maxie. She drove him crazy, but he loved her without question and without judgment.

And now she was gone.

Beautiful, head-strong, stubborn, flirtatious, scheming, selfish, wonderful Maxie…was dead.

Sam's eyes slid shut briefly at the thought. Then snapped open, flinching slightly at the unexpected sound of the commissioner's anguished wail next to her. The tortured sound of unadulterated grief had everyone rising and rushing over. She stumbled slightly as she attempted to hold up the grieving father. His weight dragged her down with him as he sank to the floor.

"Uncle Mac." Robins' voice shook as she attempted to comfort the grief stricken man.

"She's gone Robin. My baby's gone." His words were a tortured whisper of anguish and loss. "I need Maxie, Robin. I need her."

"I know. God…" a sob shook her small frame. "I know." Robin sank to the floor beside him, wrapping her arms around him as they cried together.

Sam shifted uncomfortably. She didn't know what to do. Part of her felt like this was a private moment, for family. But as she took in the red-rimmed eyes of the concerned faces around her, she sighed. This was Maxie's family.

"Where is she? I don't…I don't understand Robin. She needs to be here." His words were thick with tears and grief and his niece shook her head silently. She tightened her arms around him as sobs wracked her body.

"Why isn't she here?"

Mac searched the faces around him, his gaze unfocused with grief and a kind of wild-edged confusion. "I don't understand." He mumbled again.

Sam frowned. "Mac?" She reached out a hesitant hand, "What is it, what don't you understand?"

Several eyes flashed at her in annoyance at the apparent stupidity and insensitivity of her question. Sam shrugged it off. She leaned sideways a little to catch his gaze.

"What don't you understand Commissioner?" Her soft voice trembled as she stared into his fevered gaze. There was a wild blankness there that terrified her. She held her breath waiting for his answer.

"Where's Maxie? Why isn't she here already? Maxie should be here."

Sam swallowed convulsively. "Commissioner?"

Mac glared at her for a moment. Then broke down in tears. "She loves Georgie so much – she'd want to say good-bye. Maxie…Maxie should be here. Robin, you have to find Maxie. She'll want to see Georgie, go…go find Maxie. She should be here; she's all I have left. Why isn't she here?"

Sam blew out a harsh breath. Around her everyone began exchanging frightened glances.

Patrick rocked back on his heels and pulled up from his crouching position. Lulu covered her mouth with trembling fingers. Jason and Spinelli stared in sick shock. Robin tightened her grip on her uncle and sobbed in earnest.

Sam watched as Patrick's face eased of the dazed anguish. He shifted from grieving family member to analytical doctor in the space of a few seconds.

In what felt like an eternity but was probably only a minute or two he'd left the room and returned. Elizabeth followed behind him. She carried a syringe in one hand, her face wreathed with concerned sympathy as she motioned to a following intern pushing a wheelchair.

Sam swallowed heavily. She watched as the increasingly incoherent man was sedated and taken from the room.

Sometimes she really hated this fucked-up, unbelievable, incomprehensible town.

TWO WEEKS LATER…………………………………………………

Sam slid the digital pictures inside and slammed shut the manila folder in front of her with a grunt. Another cheating spouse case closed successfully. She rose from her chair with a grimace. Well, she doubted the devastated wife truly considered proof her husband was doing his secretary, as successful. But she'd done her job and this one had been fairly easy. It had only taken two days to gather sufficient evidence.

Sliding the file into the closed case cabinet, she sighed. She didn't particularly care for these cases, but they were a staple of her type of business.

And they kept her busy these past couple of weeks. Between her clients and frequent visits to Shadybrook or Jason's penthouse to check on Spinelli, life had kept her so busy that she barely had time to think about Maxie. Or Mac.

She grimaced again. Poor Mac. Officially, he was on an extended personal leave to give him time to mourn the death of Maxie. Unofficially, he was a resident at Shadybrook. The death of his beloved step-daughter had sent the man into a deep, nearly unreachable depression. He wasn't quite catatonic, but it was close. Maxie would have been heartbroken to see her cherished step-father so completely broken.

A sharp rap at her office door broke her from her thoughts.

"Come in, it's open."

Her eyes widened in surprise as the door pushed open and Johnny Zacchara strode in.

"Sam."

Her head tilted in confusion. "Johnny – what brings you by?"

"I want to hire you."

"Uhh…" She floundered for something to say. She wasn't sure she could handle the inevitable drama that was sure to come with anything dealing with Claudia and her family.

He pulled a cashier's check out of his coat and handed it to her. "Here, this should cover any costs you might incur. And hopefully, motivate you to ensure the outcome I am looking for."

"Whoa. That's some serious motivation, what exactly are you hiring me for?" Sam took it slowly, eyes widening as she looked at the amount.

He didn't answer. He paced around the small confines noiselessly. She observed him with a frown. He reminded her very much of some sort of languid panther right now. Powerful and dangerous with a silent and deadly sort of grace. In spite of herself, she shivered. He'd always had an on the edge, risk-taker vibe to him – more dangerous to himself than anyone else. Now though, he looked every bit as lethal as the name Zacchara implied.

Tilting her head, she realized he was different. Wordlessly, she took in some of the changes. He was wearing an expensive suit, his face was drawn and harsh anger seemed to vibrate off him. She remembered vaguely that Jason had said something about Claudia spending several days recently at her brother's house. She wondered if he was in some sort of trouble – maybe that's why he was here.

"Johnny?"

"It's about Maxie."

She hissed in a harsh breath and glanced sharply at him. "No."

"No? You don't even know what I want yet, Sam."

"And I don't care. If you thought throwing around Maxie's name would make me rush to help you – you're wrong." She thrust his check back at him with a sneer. "I would do anything for one of Maxie's friends. You obviously weren't one of them - you couldn't even be bothered to show up to her funeral."

"I couldn't."

"You couldn't bother, you mean."

Johnny stared at her, a muscle in his jaw working furiously. He jerked around and stepped up to the window to stare out it. "I was drunk that day Sam. It's a shitty excuse and I know it, but it's the truth. I was at the bottom of a bottle for nearly five days after she died. I couldn't, I couldn't…"

He trailed off and she sighed. Spinelli had ranted endlessly about The Worthless and Faithless One that could not be bothered to attend the fair Maximista's funeral. That he had obviously never even given a damn about her. Lulu had been uncharacteristically silent during the grieving hackers many rants on the subject. Maybe she had already known Johnny too was drowning in sorrow.

"Tell me what you want and then I'll decide whether or not to take the job."

"I should tell you first how it happened."

"How what happened?"

"How my entire life changed." He smiled wearily. "About four months ago, I had a brief fling with Olivia."

"Hmm, heard about that."

"Yeah, so did Maxie. We played this whole she's jealous/she's not jealous, she wants me/she wants Spinelli game for a couple weeks. But then I had enough. I went to see her at Crimson when I knew she'd be alone."

FLASHBACK…………………

"What the hell do you want Johnny?"

He smiled, "You naked and bent over the desk."

She stared wide-eyed at him.

"What – no snarky comeback Maxie?"

"You shouldn't be here."

Johnny laughed harshly at her words. No fucking shit. Being anywhere near the tiny blonde could only spell disaster for him. And her.

It didn't stop him from stalking forward slowly. Deliberately trapping her body between him and the wall.

"No? Where should I be then Maxie?"

"Olivia's?"

"Mmmm…I think she's busy tonight."

"You think?" her voice tight, she arched an eyebrow at him. He shrugged.

"I'm not her keeper."

She rolled her eyes at his reply with a huff. Placing tiny hands against his chest, she shoved hard. Only to huff again when he didn't even budge.

"Maybe not, but I doubt she'd be happy to know you showed up here. Especially not with little Johnny making an appearance too." She arched an eyebrow, her glance pointed as she gazed downwards.

"Nothing little about him." He emphasized his words with a slow roll of his hips. Maxie fought back a groan at the sensation of not so little Johnny rubbing erotically against her.

She narrowed her eyes at his confident smirk. Smug bastard.

"I don't care Johnny. I've already been the dirty little secret, so thanks but no thanks."

"It's not like that Maxie."

"Yeah, what's it like then?"

"With her - casual." He kept one hand firmly planted on the side of her head. Thrusting his free hand into her hair, he grasped it tightly with fingers and yanked her head back. His lips traced a slow pattern down her neck that he followed back up with his tongue and teeth. "With you – complicated and frustrating as hell."

"Johnny –stop." Her voice sounded weak trembling and unconvincing to her own ears. She cursed her traitorous body. Damn him and his uncanny ability to leave her trembling with want and anticipation.

"Maxie – I like Olivia, I do but it's just a casual thing. It has nothing to do with us."

"Us? And what exactly are we Johnny…casual too?"

He lowered his mouth back to her exposed neck and licked a slow line up the soft column of her throat. She whimpered and he grazed her skin with his blunt teeth. She moaned harshly and the hand in her hair tightened reflexively.

"Not casual, never that – not with us. The reason you're running so hard and so fast Maxie is because we will never be casual. You want to be in love with me just as much as I want to love you."

Maxie shook her head furiously eyes wide and fixed on his lips. He grinned and lowered his mouth to hers. He thrust his fingers in her hair and anchored her head as his lips caressed hers. Maxie broke away, gasping and stared at him.

"Fuck."

He grinned, "That's the idea."

She panted out a shaky breath and willed her hands to keep from reaching for him. They curled around him anyway. Touching, grasping, and pulling at soft way hair before moving to the buttons of his shirt.

Their lips found each other, mouths clashing furiously. He thrust his tongue past her parted lips. His groan swallowed into her mouth as their tongues dueled furiously. Fuck, she was hot. He broke away with a gasp that turned into a moan as her lips found the sensitive spot where his neck met his collarbone.

In one quick movement he yanked off his shirt and pulled her back against him roughly. Fingers dug into the pliable flesh of her ass he lifted her up. Maxie moaned and felt her traitorous body tremble as he ground his hips against her hot wet heat. He returned the moan, gasping into her mouth when she wrapped her legs around his hips and molded her body against his.

Blindly, he stumbled his way over to the nearby desk. With one sweeping motion, files and office products went flying.

"Johnny – stop…unh..Yeah…no, wait…" ignoring her garbled whispers, he bit down on her neck and sucked harshly. She whimpered at the sensation and he drew back. His eyes turned even darker with lust and satisfaction as he took in the mark in her neck. The sight of it turning him on even more. He wanted to mark her, wanted to possess her, own her.

Dimly, he registered the fucked up macho intent in that thought. He didn't really give a damn though. The need to be inside her, to feel her dripping with want with need, consuming him. He eased his hands between them and grasped the two sides of her silk blouse. It jerked open with a satisfying rip of material and he smiled down at the sight of her bra-covered breasts….

"Whoa…whoa. That's WAY more info than I needed there Zacchara." Sam held up her hands in front of her and grimaced – yep, definitely way too much info.

Johnny shrugged unapologetically. "That one night turned into days, then weeks. We've been together ever since."

Sam stared thoughtfully at the tortured face of the heir to the Zacchara legacy. There was the possibility that he was lying to her. Could be selling her a load of crap for some reason.

But she didn't think so. He looked like hell. Behind the newly acquired hard mask of cold cruel indifference and the deliberate casual posture that spoke of power and arrogance, his eyes shone with a dullness that came from many recent sleepless nights. Grief and rage was apparent in his every word, step and expression. No, this was a man nearly undone in his sorrow.

The swelling and bruises along his knuckles on both fists told of violent encounters with something or someone. Instinct told her it had probably been a wall. She'd certainly seen Jason take his frustrations out on enough helpless building foundations to know it was a distinct possibility. There was so much of Jason in the brooding Zacchara. And she and Maxie certainly had a weakness for the whole tortured bad boy thing in common.

"You don't believe me."

Sam shrugged in response. "Does it matter if I believe you or not?"

"Yes."

"Why?" She wasn't trying to deliberately provoke him. Though like both Sonny and Jason, she thought maybe his more honest reactions rose to the surface through anger. She really was curious though.

"I told you - I want to hire you."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "And you need me to believe you and Maxie were sleeping together for me to do a job for you?" She cocked her head thoughtfully.

"I guess I can believe that. Maxie liked hot men and pushing the self-destruct button of her life." She shrugged again. "You'd be both. Kind of hard for Maxie to resist that kind of temptation. It always was her favorite way to self-destruct."

"Fuck you." His words hissed out, face glowering with outrage as he stalked towards her. "Don't ever fucking talk about her like that again." Her eyes widened slightly in the face of his white-hot anger.

It occurred to her then that it was a very good thing her gun was tucked into the back of her pants. The man looked like he'd take pleasure in putting a bullet in her head at the moment. Realization hit her like a sledgehammer. Sam stared at him eyes wide.

"Holy shit." She breathed and sat heavily against the desk she'd been leaning on. "You were in love with her."

She watched in fascination as the anger turned to inconsolable grief. It flashed so quickly across his features she would have missed it if she wasn't searching for it. She shook her head as the familiar mask of cold indifference slammed down, eyes hard and unflinching. He and Jason were so similar, it was a little unnerving.

Her heart clenched a little. There was some solace to be found in knowing Maxie had died being loved so fiercely. She wondered if Maxie had returned the feelings. She sighed – of course she had, she and Maxie were so alike it too could have been a little unnerving. Johnny had obviously been to Maxie what Jason had once been to Sam.

"Okay."

He stared at her. "Okay, what?"

"Okay, I'll take the job."

"Just like that? You don't even know what it is." His eyes narrowed, his tone turning bitter. "Don't you need approval from your watchdog Morgan before doing business with a scumbag Zacchara?"

"You want me to take the job or not? Cause I gotta tell you – pissing me off? Not a great way to ensure I'll do much more than take your money and let you twist in the fucking wind. You, you…arrogant prick!"

He laughed. Sam's eyes narrowed. He fucking laughed. She stood up and pointed towards the open door.

"You know what asshole? Get out, find yourself another P.I."

He shook his head, his laughter dying out. "God, you sounded just like Maxie on one of her rants." His eyes danced with amusement. "I can just picture the two of you in the same room with Jason – I'm surprised his head didn't explode."

Her lips quirked up in a reluctant smile. Between Sam's rambling, Maxie's crazy schemes and unapologetic pushiness with the enforcer and both girls uncanny ability to find – and fall into - trouble, she too was a little surprised Jason hadn't throttled either – or both -- of them.

The thought had the smile fading. Jason's own blind rage and grief had been….unexpected. She had known of course, that Jason tolerated the scheming blonde for Spinelli's sake. Maybe even a little for Sam herself. But even she hadn't anticipated that Jason would be affected by Maxie's death to any great degree.

But he was. To the outside world, he appeared to be the same cold and uncaring mob enforcer wholly unaffected by the tragic death of the police commissioner's daughter. But she knew better - knew him better. Jason was focusing all he had on getting Spinelli through these past weeks. But those that really knew him could see how hard he himself was taking Maxie's death. That he too was grieving wouldn't have occurred to many people. Jason had always appeared to barely tolerate Maxie when she was alive.

Sam was beginning to understand how the vivacious and scheming blonde had gotten under the infamously intolerant enforcer's skin.

Maxie wasn't afraid of Jason…he respected that.

Maxie had worked hard to become a different person, a better person… Jason admired that.

She had loved her sister fiercely and become nearly undone at her death… Jason related to that.

She thought too that Jason had seen more than a little of himself and Carly in Spinelli's relationship with Maxie.

She thinks the depth of his bond with the police commissioner's daughter didn't truly hit him until she was gone. With her death, Jason had lost yet another family member.

When it came to Jason, Maxie had been pushy and bossy, smart-mouthed, sarcastic and undaunted in the face of his intimidation techniques.

Emily had been the calm, sweet, forgiving and completely unquestioning loving sister. Maxie had been the frustrating, button-pushing, aggravating little sister that lived to annoy her big brother.

Maybe that's why it was so easy for her to recognize the genuine grief and rage thrumming just under the surface of Johnny. She'd been seeing it every day in Jason recently.

Sam shook her head slightly to clear away the depressing thoughts.

"What's the job Johnny?"

"I want you to find out who killed Maxie."

She blinked against the sudden burning against the back of her eyelids. "Johnny --" Cleared her throat, drew a deep breath and tried again. "Johnny…I've read the police reports – backwards and forwards. There was no foul play, it was an accident."

She swallowed hard. It was the truth – she and Jason had poured over everything the police and the coroner had. Surprisingly, Lucky had too, just as eager as they for answers.

It had been awful and gruesome.

There had not been much left of the once beautiful blonde. Sam could barely sleep anymore; every time she does she sees Maxie's broken body covered in blood, bruises and burns. There had been so little recognizable of the tiny blonde, they'd had to use fingerprinting to identify her body. It takes everything in Sam not to throw up daily from the memories.

She understood Johnny's request – it was too painful to think they'd lost Maxie for such a stupid and random reason. They were all looking for someone to blame.

"I've already gone over every inch of where her car went off the road. There's nothing there." Her eyes filled. "It was an accident Johnny. A stupid, stupid accident. She was going almost thirty miles over the speed limit and wasn't wearing a seat-belt."

Johnny shook his head, fists clenched. "That's how I know it wasn't an accident. Maxie would never have been so careless that day, she wouldn't have. Someone is responsible for her death and I want you to find out who it was."

"Johnny…Maxie was the police commissioner's daughter but she didn't exactly have a fondness for adhering to the rules. And safety was never exactly her first priority." She sighed deeply and rubbed at her eyes. "Ignoring the limit wasn't exactly unusual for her, even on that section of the road. It's awful that she didn't wear her seatbelt that night, but not out of character – she hated them."

Johnny shook his head stubbornly. "No, maybe before but not since…" he trailed off, jaw clenched and swallowed harshly. "She would never have taken that chance, no way in hell – I know it. Not that day."

"Oh for..." she threw up her hands, "Why Johnny – why that day?"

"Because she was pregnant." He hissed out, teeth clenched. "She was pregnant and she would have protected our baby with everything in her." His voice broke a little. "We were going to name her Georgie if she was a girl."

Sam's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Wha…?"

"There's something else that doesn't make any sense…"

She blinked at him. Something else?

"Her engagement ring wasn't recovered. She wouldn't have taken it off willingly."

Sam stumbled backwards slightly and slumped into her chair. Whoa. Maxie had been pregnant and engaged – why hadn't she known? Although, she hadn't even known that Maxie had been dating Johnny before her death.

"We were going to make a formal announcement the next day. She was on her way to talk to Spinelli when it…" he trailed off, then visibly brought himself back under control. "…when it happened. She knew he would take it hard and she wanted to tell him face to face. She wasn't sure he would talk to her, but she wanted to be the one he heard it from."

She nodded, it made sense. It had taken awhile but after weeks of Spinelli giving Maxie the cold shoulder some months ago, they had finally gotten their friendship back on solid ground. Sam been shocked when Spinelli had abruptly turned cold and angry with his Maximista again. She knew it was part of the reason he was taking her death so hard. The guilt over being so cold and silent to Maxie in the weeks before her death was killing him.

Now she knew why. Apparently Maxie had finally faced the truth; she loved Spinelli but would never be in love with him. And it seemed, she'd chosen Johnny. She sighed. Poor Spinelli – it must have been a double blow. To lose Maxie and to Johnny of all people. No wonder he'd shut Maxie out of his life again. Watching her move on with the man he'd been so jealous and so insecure of, must have nearly killed him.

"Why me Johnny?" He stared at her blankly and she sighed. "I mean the size of the check you gave me tells me you have money – and a lot of it. So why me? You could hire anyone."

"I have other people looking into it." He admitted in a low voice, "But none of them knew Maxie, loved Maxie…you, you're different. Her death matters to you."

She nodded in understanding. "You think I'll be more motivated than a stranger."

"I know you will."

"Okay then." She took a deep breath. Shook off her lingering melancholy and nodded. "I'll do it. I'll get started right away and check in with you in a few days.

He shook his head. "Tomorrow."

"Johnny…you can't possibly think I'll have something that quickly. It's going to take time; we may never find the answers you're looking for. If you're telling the truth about her pregnancy," she held up a stalling hand as he flushed angrily and opened his mouth. "if she was, then you're right – Maxie would never have taken a chance like that. It's worth looking into. I'll want the name of her doctor that confirmed her pregnancy and if you have any kind of receipts or paperwork for the engagement ring, I'd like to see that too."

Johnny nodded. "I already have all that put together, I'll have one of my men drop it off in an hour." She raised an eyebrow at that – one of his men? She wondered vaguely if there was a Zacchara/Corinthos power struggle looming on the horizon. She shoved the thought to the back of her head. She was more concerned why the autopsy report had made no mention of a pregnancy. She decided against bringing it up yet, she'd look at the reports again. Maybe she'd just missed it. She wondered if she Robin could get her in touch with either of her parents, their contacts could prove invaluable if there was truly foul play at work.

Johnny interrupted her thoughts with a hard look, "I expect to hear from you tomorrow Sam. I don't care how slow the progress is, I want daily updates."

She shrugged, "Well for the amount of money you're paying me – I guess that's not too much to ask. The number of zero's on that check ensures you're pretty much my number one client right now."

He chuckled and she narrowed her eyes at his amused expression.

"What?"

"You, you're so much like her. Pretending the money matters to you. She never wanted to admit how kind and generous she was either." He arched an eyebrow. "We both know now that you have the slightest question it might not have been an accident, you don't give a damn about the money. You'd go bankrupt in a heartbeat if you thought you could catch who did this to Maxie."

She felt the anger leech out of her. "Yeah, yeah I would."

"Good. Me too."

With a final nod he turned to leave. He hesitated at the open doorway, facing out into the long hallway. "She told me once that Lulu was the only friend she had left."

Sam felt her chest tighten painfully, had she been so wrapped up in Jason and his drama that Maxie no longer felt she could count her as a friend?

"I asked her what about you…" he kept his back to her, but she heard the slight tremor as his voice lowered to barely a whisper. "…she said you weren't a friend, you were her sister."

He left without another word, closing the door behind him. Sam collapsed into her chair with a sob. "Maxie…" she whimpered painfully. There were so many people to be strong for, to keep everything together for. Alexis kept telling her she needed to grieve too, but Sam kept telling herself later, she would mourn later. Apparently later was now. She laid her head down on her desk and wept.

FIVE DAYS LATER…………….

Johnny ran into the police station, skidding to a halt in front of Lucky Spencer. His eyes swept over the weeping, overjoyed crowd gathered. Sam, Jason, Robin, Patrick, Diane, Bernie, Dillon Quartermaine, Alexis, Lulu, Spinelli, even Robins' parents – half the fucking town seemed to be there. But not one of them was the face he was looking for.

"Where the fuck is she Spencer?" To his credit, Lucky didn't even flinch at the harsh shout. He smiled and gestured towards the closed door of a nearby interrogation room.

Johnny took a stumbling step and it opened.

"Johnny?" Trembling, crying and slightly uncertain – she was a vision. The angel, the miracle he knew he didn't deserve. He thanked God anyway.

He had her yanked into his arms and was crushing her to him in seconds. There was no way – just no fucking way – he was holding her in his arms. She sobbed against him, her tiny hands grasping at him and it was real. She was really in his arms. Tiny, pale and heartbreakingly fragile, but she was here in his arms where she belonged. He was never, ever letting her out of his sight again.

He lifted his face from her neck and found himself staring into the overjoyed face of Mac. Animosity momentarily forgotten, the men grinned at each other through their tears. They had her back – the woman they both loved more than life itself, they had her back.

Behind Mac, Patrick stepped into view. He had his medical bag at his side and Johnny frowned. Fuck. In the rush of the cascading emotions at the unbelievable news, he'd nearly forgotten about the baby. He glanced down fearfully at Maxie. "Is the….?"

"I want her to come down for a complete check-up, but both she and the baby have strong heartbeats."

Johnny nearly sagged with relief at Patrick's words. He placed a gentle kiss on Maxie's forehead and glanced back at Mac.

"Sir, I know I'm probably the last man you would have chosen for Maxie, but…"

Mac held up a hand, cutting off Johnny's words. "Son, I don't want to argue about whether you're good enough for my daughter, you're not." He softened his words with a grin. "But no man could ever be. As long as you make her happy – and she assures me, you do – that's all I care about."

He held out his hand and Johnny shook it gratefully. Now that he had her back, there was no way he was letting her go ever again. She was his and he would fight death itself before he lost her again. But for her sake, he was glad she had Mac's blessing. He knew how much she loved her step-dad.

"I'll make sure she's safe, I swear it."

"I believe you." Macs face hardened as his gaze swept over the occupants waiting for their own reunion with his daughter. "Everyone in this room will make sure Frisco's life never affects Maxie ever again."

Anna stepped forward. "We'll make sure of it."

"I can't believe Felicia and Frisco couldn't be bothered to tell us her "death" was an elaborate cover for her kidnapping by rogue agents." Robert shook his head and sighed. He was far from the ideal parent, but the hell that Frisco had allowed Mac and Robin – and from the looks of it, half the damn town -- to live through in the name of his job, was indefensible. At the very least, Frisco should have reached out to him and Mac with the truth.

Maxie sniffled and turned in Johnny's arms to face the crowd but did not step out of his embrace. "Hi guys, miss me?"

She grinned and everyone stepped forward as one. Talking, laughing, crying over each other as they erupted in joy.

She was alive.

Beautiful, head-strong, stubborn, flirtatious, scheming, selfish, wonderful Maxie…was back.

Johnny kept his world firmly in his embrace as he caught the eye of Sam. They grinned at each other.

Sometimes they really loved this fucked-up, unbelievable, incomprehensible town.