The Luckiest

Chapter 4: The Punch Line

Spinelli was finally finished straightening up the living room. Now he was heading into the kitchen to grab himself an orange soda and get Maxie her favorite bottled green tea. He'd been sure to stock up on them ever since they had started working together every Thursday night. Jason had asked why he had suddenly started buying the tea and Spinelli had come up with a stupid lie about wanting to find his Zen and how he thought that drinking the stuff would help. Jason had also asked why the penthouse was always neat these days, and Spinelli blamed Zen again.

In fact, Spinelli just didn't want to tell Jason how he was spending his Thursday evenings. He and Maxie had devoted the last three to meeting up at the penthouse in order to do as much research as they could before Spinelli thought Jason would be in for the night. For some reason he didn't want Jason to know, concerned that his friend would speculate as to what Maxie was trying to do.

He was expecting her any minute. Spinelli had to admit that as grim as their work was he looked forward to spending a few hours talking to someone again. Lulu was absorbed in her own life these days, getting more and more involved with Johnny Zacchara than he would like. That left him seeing her less, and with Georgie being dead and Jason constantly working with Sonny on the Zacchara problem Spinelli couldn't help but be excited when a friend chose to be with him for a change.

She was different when alone, he'd found out. Maybe she was just less threatening when there was no one around that she needed to intimidate, or maybe it was just an attitude that she adopted after the death of her sister. Either way, Spinelli was grateful for her company.

Sitting their drinks down on the table, Spinelli propped up his laptop on the coffee table and started bringing up a few of the things he'd found in his spare time that he wanted to show Maxie. They hadn't gotten very far, but deep down he thought that their new project was more about feeling as if they were doing something instead of just mourning the normal way.

"Spin let me in," Maxie called from the outside the front door. She sounded irritated, so he hurried to answer her. He'd barely had the door open before she had stormed in and started removing her jacket, throwing her bag on the ground. He backed up a little to give her some space.

Pulling at her hair, Maxie let out some of her frustration. "I HATE my life."

"Greetings to you too." He scanned Maxie quickly. She looked really drained. It must have been a really bad day for her.

"I'm sorry, Spin," she apologized, sighing heavily. He had to get used to her calling him that. It was strange to be on the receiving end of a nickname.

She kicked off her heels where she stood, throwing her scarf on top of her bag. Maxie then stormed over to the couch and sat down, falling back into the couch, closing her eyes. Spinelli followed her lead and sat down on the arm of the couch, his feet resting on the cushion, wrapping his arms around his knees. He tried to give her a bubble in which to vent.

"So, this woman comes into the boutique today and starts ordering me around like I'm her personal shopper. I'm looking at her like she's an idiot and then my manager tells me to do anything the woman says because she's a Porter heiress," Maxie began, but stopped when she realized Spinelli was confused. "You know...The Porter's own that casino in Atlantic City...I guess she thinks she's the next Paris Hilton or something...Anyways, she's being a total bitch to me and tries on about fifty dresses, all of which I had to hang back up because she tossed them on the floor of her dressing room, OH and she got RED lipstick on a white Jastin sweater! A Jastin!"

Spinelli tried to hold back his need to laugh. He hadn't ever seen Maxie this upset unless it had to do with Lulu. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Stop making fun of me."

"The Jackal is not making fun of the Currently Mad Maxie, it indeed sounds like a most grievous experience," he replied with a chuckle.

She sighed. "Oh, that wasn't the end of it. Miss Hilton decides she was 'too cold'." Maxie made air quotes. "So I'm forced to turn up the heater, and it had been like, completely burning up in there all day. I mean, I realize it's winter, but come on. After all that, she doesn't even BUY anything."

"I'm sorry, Mad Max. Do you want some green tea?" He pointed to the bottle on the coffee table. She smiled a little at his small gesture. Spinelli found that he loved making her smile, she didn't do it often. It showed a different side to her. Maxie reached for the bottle and sipped it quickly before putting it back down. He noticed a bruise on her outstretched arm. It was rather dark and looked new.

"What happened to your arm?" When he asked, Maxie quickly tried to pull the sleeve down over it. Her cheeks went pink from embarrassment.

"That's from where I fell yesterday," She muttered.

Spinelli slid down from the arm of the couch onto the cushion, concerned.

"You fell?"

"In the shower...I think was still half asleep because I felt really weak all of a sudden and lost my balance...Banged my arm on the tub."

"Oh..." That didn't sound right.

Maxie straightened on the couch. "Anyways, did you find anything about other cities with unexplained murders? I was thinking about that today and thought that was a really good place to start. I mean, maybe this guy is new to Port Charles."

"So, wait, you were just fine one moment and then you had a dizzy spell? Why aren't you worried about that?" Spinelli asked, refusing to change the subject.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about me Spin. I'm fine. It wasn't a big deal."

"Does that happen often?"

"Spinelli!" Maxie looked flustered.

"What, Maxie? I don't like the thought that you almost passing out yesterday. Has it happened again?"

"Oh my god, Spinelli, stop it."

"Has it?" He demanded. Spinelli hated that she was trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, okay?" Maxie confessed, looking away from him to the floor. "I felt like I had vertigo in the elevator just like fifteen minutes ago. I probably have an inner ear infection or something. Now can we please do some actual work?" She reached for his laptop but Spinelli blocked her. She wasn't going to get away with this. Her need to avoid the question made Spinelli positive that she was worried about it too.

"Maybe you should eat something" He jumped off the couch and headed into the kitchen to get her something to eat. He could still hear her muffled protests but ignored them. Opening the fridge, Spinelli looked around for something that he thought Maxie would like. He grabbed a jar of mustard and plate of some leftover fruit slices he'd had for breakfast, balancing them as best as he could against his chest, and got a better view of the back of the fridge. How long had that apple been back there?

She was still yelling at him from the living room. "Spinelli, I don't want your barbeque chips, okay? Seriously...Orange soda and barbeque chips cannot be appetizing. It sounds like some sort of crazy pregnant lady craving food or something," Maxie yelled from the living room.

The mustard jar and the plate of fruit slipped from his arms and crashed to the ground. The jar cracked and leaked mustard while the pieces of pineapple and grapes wobbled across the floor. The disaster on the floor mirrored exactly how Spinelli felt at that moment.

His feet carried him back into the living room before he registered he was even moving. Spinelli pointed directly at a confused and startled Maxie.

"No," he stated firmly. "No no. No no no no. No. NO!"

Maxie looked baffled.

"What?"

"NO!"

"What the hell are you freaking out about?" she demanded.

Spinelli spun around a few times, thinking. Six weeks ago, six Thursdays ago. What had happened? Maxie had led him into his room, that was the beginning. She'd told him not to think, to stop thinking, and he had. She had been intoxicating. A shiver ran down his spine. He'd played the scenario over and over in his head, and though none of it made sense it was always the same chain of events.

He finally stopped and froze in one spot. A shaking hand made its way up to his mouth, and when he spoke it was muffled.

"Maxie-Ma...Max..." He stuttered.

She was looking at him, frightened. Maxie leapt off the couch and took a few steps towards him, but Spinelli backed away from her. Now he was the one with vertigo.

"Spin, what is it?"

"Maxie," he found his voice. "Maxie, is it at all possible that you are pregnant?"

Her eyes went huge. That was obviously not the thing she had expected him to say.

"Spin...No...There is no way. I'm on the pill." Her words reassured him, but her tone made him doubtful.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah...yes...Yeah. I mean...well...we used protection too so we were like...double protected..."

"Maxie, I don't remember us putting too much thought into what we were doing...We didn't use anything."

"Sure we did."

"No. We did not."

"Well that was dumb." Maxie said, blinking a few times, her tone blank.

"Uh. Yeah."

"Spin...so what. I'm still on the pill. I took my pill that day. I always take it before I go to bed." Maxie tried to sound calm, but she was breathing rather quickly and it looked as if she were counting on her fingers.

"BUT YOU SLEPT HERE!" Spinelli thought he would throw up.

"I took the pill damn it!"

"Then why are you having fainting spells?"

"I'm not a doctor Spinelli!" Maxie yelled, then grabbed her head. Spinelli instantly was at her side, just as she was reaching out an arm for something to grab onto. Maxie's knees buckled but Spinelli was there to catch her. He pulled her swiftly back onto the couch and insisted that she lie down, which she did without protest. Spinelli sat down on the floor next to her, brushing her blonde hair out of her face with a shaking hand. Maxie's eyes were tightly closed. His heart was going a hundred beats a minute.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Spinelli whispered. "I mean…It wouldn't be a disaster if you were…I wouldn't leave you, Max...we could...you know...figure it out."

She opened her eyes finally, staring at him unblinking. She pet his hair with one of her small hands and Spinelli instantly felt a little better. He rested his chin on the edge of the couch, looking at her, pleading with his whole heart.

"I promise you, Maxie."

"You're sweet." Maxie murmured. She sat up and stood, suddenly full of energy, heading towards the door. Stepping back into her heels and putting on her scarf and jacket, she almost had a hand on the doorknob before Spinelli could get up off the floor.

"Wait, Maxie, don't go. Please, you don't want to fall again. Just stay here tonight." Spinelli stepped between her and the door. She couldn't just leave him after this.

Maxie quickly kissed him on the cheek and went around him. He didn't know if she did that to distract him or if she meant it, but either way it shocked him enough to fail at keeping her from opening the door.

"I have to do something. I'll call you, okay?" She backed out of the penthouse, closing the door before he could protest anymore.

Don't think, she had begged him, just don't think.

It was all a mess now.

----

Maxie was counting everything. Times she'd slept with Spinelli--one. Number of weeks late she was--two. Chance she was pregnant-zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Chance if she was pregnant it was Coop's--Zero. Number of tumors she hoped she had that would explain her fainting spells--four.

Number of times she knocked on Sam's door--five. Number of seconds it took Sam to answer--twenty.

"Maxie what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Sam instantly led her into the apartment.This felt oddly familiar. Maxie had no idea she'd even been crying, not registering the salty taste on her lips. She headed over to table and dumped a plastic bag full of rectangular boxes onto it. Maxie gripped the wooden chair nearest her and eyed the loot. Sam picked up one of the boxes and a shocked look fell over her face.

"Maxie..."

Number of pregnancy tests she'd bought at the 24 hour pharmacy--ten.

"I had to come to you...I really needed a friend..." Maxie cleared her throat and wiped a few tears away from her eyes. Her voice felt hollow.

"Sweetheart I don't understand," Sam said gently, putting the box back with the rest of them.

"Sam, there is a plethora of pregnancy tests on your kitchen table. What do you not understand?"

"Plethora?"

"Spinelli's word, not mine" Maxie laughed and cried at the same down, sinking into the kitchen table chair and burying her face in her hands. She heard the chair next to her squeak as Sam pulled it out and sat down beside her. Sam laid a hand on Maxie's shoulder supportively.

She'd been lost in the forest many times before, treading off the path just slightly, enough to get her lost. Eventually she would find her way back onto the dirt that led her out of the darkness if she was patient and calm. This was different. Now the trees were uprooting and creeping around her, encasing her so she would never escape.

"Maxie...you've got to talk to me."

"I'm late. I'm sick. I'm not sure how to deal with this." Maxie answered honestly.

"Okay, well, let's do this the proper way," Sam said, keeping a cool attitude and opening a box, handing a white stick to Maxie. "You don't need to put yourself through any more torture. Go find out."

Maxie shuddered a little on the inside as her stomach did summersaults. Grabbing a few more boxes, Maxie headed into Sam's bathroom.

----

Number of positive pregnancy tests-- four. After four, Maxie didn't see the point in trying any of the others. She was pregnant. Sitting on the floor of Sam's bathroom, leaning her frame against the door, Maxie sat frozen, staring at her two hundred dollar red heels. She could hear breathing behind the door. Sam tapped on the door gently.

"What's the verdict?"

"Baby," Maxie replied, her voice raspy.

Sam gasped. "Oh, Maxie...When are you going to tell Coop?'

"Why would I tell Coop?" That would be stupid.

"He's the father, right?" Oh. Sam didn't get it.

"Oh. No...he's not."

"Wait...then...not Spinelli."

"Uh huh."Maxie nodded, realizing it was mostly to clarify the truth for her own mind.

"Maxie! Didn't you use any protection?"

She groaned. Why did people always ask stupid questions like that? Maxie stopped herself, knowing Sam meant no harm.

"Ninety-nine point nine percent effective, Sam."

"Well now I understand why you are so upset about this."

Maxie grabbed a roll of toilet paper and blew her nose on the tissue. She then tossed the roll across the bathroom and over the shower curtain, watching it unravel. She could teepee the entire bathroom if she wanted to.

"It's not him…well…It is him…But it's more the fact that I'm a conniving bitch, Sam. How am I supposed to raise a baby?"

"Maxie you are so much more than that and you know it." Maxie ignored Sam and banged her head on the door behind her out of frustration.

"This is going to be really bad...I faked that pregnancy last year...No one is going to believe me."

"It doesn't matter if they don't believe you the most important thing is your baby and keeping yourself healthy for it," reassured Sam.

"Spinelli...Oh god, He flipped out tonight when he thought I was pregnant."

"What?"

"I told him I've been having these fainting spells and he's the one who thought I was pregnant. He was so scared." Maxie felt guilty all of a sudden at the thought of Spinelli having to spend the rest of the night speculating.

"Well, of course he was scared, Maxie, he thinks he's going to be a father. He's, what, twenty?"

"After he, uh, flipped out I fell again and he helped me onto the couch and...I don't know...when he spoke to me...No one's ever spoken to me like that." When there was no reply from Sam, Maxie was worried.

"Sam?" She called out loudly

"Yeah, I'm still here." Her footsteps were growing closer. Maxie realized how ridiculous it was to be carrying on a conversation with someone through a door, but she couldn't find the spirit to move.

"Where did you go?"

"Your cell phone went off. It was Spinelli." Sam explained.

Maxie took the pregnancy test boxes and started stacking them into a little triangular house with a roof. With a flick of her hand she knocked them over. Just another mess.

"I lived with Spinelli for a while, as you know," began Sam quietly. "And I know he's weird and socially awkward but he's a lot like you."

"How?"

"He's so much more than everyone assumes."

"You were in the vault during the Metrocourt hostage crisis so you didn't really see how he acted when he Craig threatened to kill Lulu if he couldn't open the vault."

"Lulu is a bitch."

Sam laughed. "The point being that he was braver than I think he ever expected with a loaded gun in his face. If he can handle that, I think he can handle a baby."

"I have to tell him," Maxie said standing suddenly. She began picking up all the empty boxes and tossing them in the trash, then pulled down her pathetic toilet paper teepee job. With a hand on the doorknob, Maxie caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. It shocked her how similar she looked when compared to the face she'd had that morning. Shouldn't she be different?

Swinging the door open, Sam instantly hugged her.

"I don't want you going anywhere. You said you've fallen twice, right?"

"Yeah." Maxie looked at the ground. She hoped that she hadn't hurt the baby already.

Sam shrugged. "So just stay here tonight and tell Spinelli in the morning. Get a good night's sleep."

"Yeah...yeah okay." Sam was right. It was probably best for her to just stay put.

They talked for a few more hours. Later that night, when Sam had left her to go to sleep, Maxie curled up on the couch. She snuggled into the pillows, pulling the blanket she'd been given up to her chin. Sam had offered to take the couch but Maxie refused.

Number of thoughts that raced through her mind--a million.

Number of people who would call her a liar when they found out she was pregnant for real--at least five.

Number of people who's opinion actually mattered--One. And he'd said he wouldn't leave her.

----

A/N: Is that plot enough for you:) Don't worry kids. I hope that I have given you guys enough reason with this fic and my other one to have a little faith in me.

Concerns? Questions? Comments? Desperate need for spoilers? Then please review, loves!

Rest in peace, Heath...you impressed me.

Next Chapter: Two words---Lulu Spencer.