Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed and/or added me to various lists...I appreciate it! It seems Janie the nurse has become popular, so I'll have to find a way to bring her back sometime in the future. Hope you all enjoy this chapter! I know it's starting off a little slow, but hang in there. :)
Chapter 3
The rest of the day went by slowly. She had no other visitors aside from Janie and Doctor Montgomery, along with a few other nurses from time to time. Jason didn't make another appearance which didn't surprise Maxie at all. She was still preoccupied with thinking about what had happened earlier. She wasn't quite sure what had really happened and decided not to dwell on it.
Maxie flipped channels on the TV for a few moments before a soft knock on the door took away her focus. She smiled when she saw who it was.
"Hey, sweetheart. I'm sorry it took me so long to get here." Mac moved over to his daughter's bedside, pulling over the chair. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm all right." She replied softly. "Bored more than anything." Maxie smiled and laughed a little before changing the subject. "I'm sure work's been busy. Are there any leads?" She turned the TV off and set the remote down on the table beside the bed.
What had happened at the hospital was beyond horrible. Maxie was hazy on the details of how it all started, but she knew enough to know it shouldn't have happened in the first place.
"No." Mac sighed and sat back in the chair. He was visibly tired and stressed. "I mean, the FBI claims they are investigating but it seems like they don't really even care."
Maxie frowned. "So there's basically nothing you can do?" She asked, concerned. The fire had changed so many lives and it was a shame that the FBI wasn't going to claim some responsibility.
He shook his head and shrugged. "We're trying to do everything we can, but they pull rank and it's hard to fight that. I've worked so hard to keep Port Charles safe for years and now this…"
"It's not like it's your fault, Dad." Maxie assured him, reaching over to take his hand. "You couldn't have prevented this, right?"
"I guess not, but that doesn't make it any better. So many people have lost their lives because of this."
Maxie nodded. She wasn't quite sure of all who had died, but she assumed none of the victims were friends or family members. Someone would have told her if that were the case. "So…who died?" She asked, not sure how to phrase the question.
Mac took a deep breath and rubbed his hand over his face. "Well, where should I start?" He asked softly, shaking his head. "Leyla Mir, Trevor Lansing, Anthony Zacchara. At least those two won't be causing problems anymore."
"I'm sure a lot of people are happy about that." She knew Spinelli and Jason would be. Having Anthony out of the picture would make things much easier.
"Death is not normally something to be cheerful about, but in this case, it is a good thing." He agreed with a nod. "Jasper Jacks also didn't make it out. He crashed his helicopter when he tried to make a risky landing on the roof. He was able to rescue a few people before the crash, but he died a hero."
Maxie smiled sadly. She didn't know Jax that well, but he had been respectful and supportive of her work at Crimson. "That's too bad."
"Yeah, it really is. I mean, the papers are focusing on them, but what about all the other patients that burned with the hospital?" Mac was the most upset about that. There was just nothing that could be done to save them all despite all the efforts to move them to safer areas.
Maxie hadn't thought of that. "That's really horrible." She said softly and sighed. "It makes you think, you know? I could have been one of those people. I was lucky to make it out." She still wasn't sure how she made it out, but she was grateful to whoever had helped her. There was no way she would have been able to do it on her own.
"Families are coming into the station wanting answers, but there aren't any. There's nothing you can say that makes it any easier and that's the toughest part." He shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Let's focus on happier things, okay?" Mac forced a smile and sat up in the chair.
"All right." Maxie was all for that. It was depressing enough to be stuck in the hospital all day long without thinking of everyone who lost their life. "I met a really nice nurse." She said, deciding to bring up Janie. Just thinking about the cheerful nurse made Maxie smile.
"I'm glad you have someone to keep you company. I'm sorry I can't be around here more." He told her softly.
"No, it's okay. I know you're busy and I'm fine here alone." She assured him and squeezed his hand gently.
"I know, but I feel bad. I should be here." Because of Felicia's absence, Mac had felt the need to be both the mother and father of his daughters. Now with just Maxie left, he wanted to be the best father possible.
"Don't worry about it, Mac. You're here now and that's all that matters." Maxie smiled and looked over at the bouquet of flowers. More had bloomed and it looked even better than it had when she'd first laid eyes on it. "Did you see my flowers?"
He nodded and looked them over. "I did. Who are they from?" Mac had meant to send flowers at some point, but anything he would have gotten would look pathetic in comparison.
"That's a good question. I honestly have no clue. I've been trying to figure it out, but I don't know." She shrugged and smiled wider as she looked at them.
"Maybe you have a secret admirer." Mac joked.
"That's what Janie thinks too, but I'm not sure. I think I would have noticed at some point, you know? I thought they might be from Spinelli, but Jason said he didn't think they were."
"Jason? Jason Morgan?" He asked, not sure why Jason would be visiting Maxie.
She nodded. "Yeah. He was just checking up on me for Spinelli I guess. He knows we're kind of going through some stuff, so…"
Mac frowned, not sure what to think of that.
Maxie saw his expression and sighed. "Mac, calm down. It's not like there's anything between Jason and I. His visits have been completely harmless. All he does is poke his head in for a minute, it's not like he's here for hours on end." She explained.
"All right, if you say so…"
"I do say so. He comes here to visit Monica and whoever else."
He nodded. "There are a lot of people here from the fire. Mercy is very crowded. I'm surprised they haven't released you already."
"The doctor told me it should be soon. Hopefully this time tomorrow I'll be in my own bed." She smiled.
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Like she had hoped, Maxie was released the next morning and decided to head home with Mac instead of going back to the apartment she shared with Lulu Spencer. She really didn't want to have to deal with any drama, especially since Maxie and Lulu were not exactly on good terms. Ever since the news had come out that Johnny slept with Maxie shortly after his breakup with Lulu, the atmosphere in the apartment was tense to say the least.
Besides, being at Mac's house would make Mac more comfortable and Maxie wanted to make things easy on him as well. He was under a lot of stress with all that had happened at General Hospital and she didn't want him to worry about her too.
She laid in bed for the most part and slept. When Maxie needed a change of scenery, she would go downstairs and watch TV for a little while. Mac came in the door one evening just as Maxie was coming down the stairs.
"Hey, how was work?" Maxie asked before seeing the look on Mac's face. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" She questioned, getting concerned.
Mac sighed and took off his jacket. He was so stressed and disgusted with everything lately. It was getting to be too much to handle. "There's been another death. Monica Quartermaine."
