The Bodyguard

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own General Hospital. If I did Jason would be with either Brenda or Sam. Logan Hayes would not exist. Lorenzo Alcazar would have never died. Oh and Jerry Jacks would get way more air time.

Author's Note: I'm happy that other people thought this was an interesting idea. So the first chapter was mainly Cooper so I figured this chapter should mainly be Maxie. There may be some interaction near the end, but the real stuff is going to be featured next chapter. Thanks for coming back for more.

The Bodyguard Chapter Two

Maxie should have known something up. Brenda was usually stressed and bitchy this close to a deadline. Instead today for some reason she was for the most part calm and quiet. Maxie wanted to know but figured it was stupid to mess with a good thing. She sighed, happy to have a moment to breath. She loved her job. She'd been doing it since she was seventeen. She'd managed to convince Brenda with a collage and a top ten list of reasons she should hire her even though she was still in high school at the time. If she closed her eyes she could vividly remember juggling French homework and conference calls with Ralph Lauren. She often felt like Expensive Taste was just as much her baby as it was Brenda's. Still there were moments when she thought the stress was going to get the best of her. Something always went wrong. No matter how detailed or planned out the magazine was, somehow something went astray. Troubleshooting these problems was her main job. Currently she was working on finding an All American, classic, and rugged male model to accompany a spread they were doing for the Fourth of July. Their original model "retired" three weeks before the shoot to become the next Paul Wall. Just when she thought she was going to get a moment to herself the fax machine noisily spit out a contract for Brenda. She sighed and leisurely took the fax to Brenda's office. She was shocked to find Brenda sitting behind the desk humming what sounded like "My Heart Will Go On". "Okay I can't do this anymore. Who are you and what did you do with Brenda?"

"What are you talking about?" Brenda feigned innocence even though she was acting out of character. She had yet to scream shit today which was a word she yelled nearly everyday.

Maxie scoffed and rolled her eyes in disbelief. "It's a week and a half before deadline and we still don't have a male model for the Fourth of July spread, but instead of being "normal" Brenda and stressing both of us out, you're in here humming what sounded like Celine Dion and grinning like a fool."

"I'm just trying something new." Brenda replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

Maxie just looked at her. Brenda was set in her ways. She thrived on stress. One of her the best issues had been put together in two weeks and half her usual staff.

"Fine it may have something to do with the fact that Cooper's home, finally." Brenda admitted slowly as she read over the contract Maxie had brought in. She made a point not to look up; because if she did Maxie would see the twinkle in her eye and know she had something up her sleeve. She still hadn't quite figured out how she was going to present Maxie with her new idea. Damn Maxie's will to stand on her own two feet. It was going to take smooth talking and finagling to get Maxie on board.

"Ugh, why didn't you just say that Brenda, must you make everything so difficult?" Sometimes her best friend was too dramatic. "What're you even doing in the office? Shouldn't you be smothering him?" She knew all too well how much Brenda loved her baby brother.

"He's with Ava and Jason right now and then is headed over here for a while. And yes I do have to be dramatic its part of my charm, as well as yours as if I have to remind." She left out the part about wanting to smother him, but having plenty of time to do that later on. If she had it her way she definitely would be with Jason, Ava, and Cooper right now but that wouldn't exactly help her plan to get the two interested in each other. She'd come up with the plan the moment Cooper expressed interest in coming back home. Her only problem was how she would do it without interfering too much. It wasn't until recently when someone ransacked Maxie's apartment that she realized the solution. Cooper would guard Maxie and Mason and win her stubborn best friend over on his own. If he had been any other guy she would have doubted his ability. Maxie hadn't really dated anyone since Jesse. Despite Mac's urging for her to give Logan Hayes, a son of a bitch cop who had made it his main goal in life to take down Jason and the organization, a chance. Anyone who knew Jesse knew that Logan could never replace Jesse in Maxie's heart. It wasn't that Brenda wanted to replace Jesse with Cooper as much as she wanted Maxie to be happy. She was only twenty four. She was far too young to be spending the rest of her life alone. And Brenda knew wholeheartedly that Jesse would want Maxie to rediscover happiness even if it she found it in the arms of another man. She wasn't sure how but she just knew that Cooper could be that man for Maxie. Her baby brother, in so many ways was just like Jesse. He was quiet, stoic, would do anything for the people he loved, and most importantly he was patient. God knows any man who ever fell in love with Maxie or Brenda had to have the patience of a Saint. So she decided she'd give them all the pieces and would just let them put the puzzle together themselves.

"Well I better go back to my desk before you start boring me to death with Cooper stories. Lord knows I've heard enough to write his biography." Maxie joked as she stood to leave. "On a side note I like this Brenda. She's a lot less snippy."

"Wait Maxie before you go there's something I need to tell you." Brenda realized she was just going to have to put the plan out there and have faith that Maxie would eventually give in to her charm and good sense. "Jason and I have been talking and in lieu of recent events we think you and Mason should move into the penthouse across the hall. It's been empty for forever and there'd be plenty of room, plus the views amazing."

"I don't know Bren I mean are you sure because Mason and I are fine where we are and both of you already do enough for us?"

"Nonsense, of course I'm sure." Brenda could feel Maxie's hesitation. "Come on Maxie you and I both know it's perfect and it's the solution we've been looking for."

"Yeah but -"

"But nothing it's settled. You and Mason will move in across the hall. There is one other thing I guess I should tell you."

"What?" Maxie knew the moment she walked in that there was a reason Brenda was acting strange and know she was going to find out what exactly the cause was.

"We want Cooper to move in with the two of you as a live in guard."

"What? Tell me you're kidding." Maxie asked in disbelief. "I don't even know Cooper and up until recently Mason and I have been fine. We don't need a live in guard Bren."

Bren sighed and leaned forward. "Please Maxie. This way it's one less thing I'll have to stress about. Plus he'd have his own room and you know this way you'd have someone to help you out when it comes to Mason. And before you jump down my throat it's not that I think you aren't handing things just fine I just think this situation would help everyone out. I mean we don't really have room at our penthouse for Coop, but I don't want him just living over Kelly's or something. And it's nice to have a man around the house."

Maxie sat there knowing she should say no and continue to protest, but everything Brenda was saying did make sense. She loved her son to death, but sometimes being a single mother made her doubt herself. Boys were handfuls. Lately he'd been asking questions that led her to believe he thought he needed male guidance. And Cooper was Brenda's brother, how terrible of a guy could he be. It wasn't like he'd try and take advantage of her. She sighed and saw that Brenda was fighting the urge to smile. She hated Brenda's ability to sense triumph. "Fine, we can try this, but if it doesn't work I reserve the right to pull the plug on the whole operation without a protest from you. Deal?"

"Deal. And believe me Maxie you'll be thanking me in no time."

"Or wanting to kill you."

X-X-X-X

He parked his motorcycle in front of the brick building which according to a large wooden sign was home to "Expensive Taste". He couldn't help but smile at the name. It was so Brenda. He shoved his helmet under his arm and made his way inside. He could feel all of the women in the room eyeing him the moment he walked in. He figured this is what it felt like to be a Hooter's waitress. He casually glanced around the room trying to see if he could pick out which one she was. It was harder than he thought. The only thing that distinguished most of the women in the room was their age and even then the difference wasn't that big. He sighed and made his way towards the door in the back, assuming it was probably the door to Brenda's office. It was then that he saw her exiting Brenda's office. Laughing and shaking her head. Jason hadn't lied. She definitely was beautiful. Her blonde hair was being kept out her eyes by a metallic headband and she was wearing a black dress that showed off just how nice her body was. He silently chastised himself for eyeing her this way. He hadn't realized just how much he missed appreciating the female form while in Iraq. He made his way to her desk as casually as he could. "Hey."

Maxie looked up from her computer screen to find a tall, dark, and handsome guy who looked like he'd just walked out of a magazine advertisement smiling down at her. She mentally frowned assuming he was just another male model. If that was one thing her job had taught her it was how to spot a male model from a mile away. "Hi, are you here for the Fourth of July spread?"

"The Fourth of July spread?"

She did her best not to roll her eyes. She hated when agents sent their models without giving them any information like what they were trying out for. "If you just want to give me your portfolio I can look over it and we'll get back to you in the next couple of days."

"I think you have me mistaken with someone else."

"Aren't you one of the male models the agency sent over for our Fourth of July spread?"

"Uh no I'm not actually I'm -" He started but Brenda burst out of his office and tackled him before could finish. He smiled sheepishly at the blonde whose look could only be described as shocked.

"Oh Cooper, you've gotten so much taller. Okay maybe not taller as much as older. Oh I've missed you so much." Brenda gushed as she hugged her baby brother, who just happened to tower over her. She turned on her heel and faced her young assistant. That crazy grin plastered on her face again. "Maxie, I'd like you to meet Cooper. Cooper this is my right arm Maxie."

Maxie wasn't sure how her hand ended up in his, but it did. Deep down inside she'd known he was probably handsome, I mean how could he not be? Still she'd never have him imagined him to look anything like this.

"It's nice to meet you Maxie."

Just when Maxie thought he couldn't get any cuter he flashed her a smile that she was sure was made to make women weak in the knees and thank God for her desk but it most certainly worked. And it was then that Maxie realized just how long it had been since she'd really eyed a guy before who wasn't a model. Not only did she like what she saw, but she realized this was why Brenda had been so confident she'd end up thanking her.

So that was the update. It actually contained a little more of the two of them together than I thought it would which I thought was pretty awesome. I hope you liked it. It definitely made me smile. Feedback is great. I'd love to know what ya'll are thinking. Thanks again. I'll try and update again this weekend.