The Luckiest

Chapter 12: Stop and Stare

"Morgan, I do believe this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship."

Spinelli lounged back on the Carly's couch, little Morgan propped up next to him. The pair were watching Spongebob. He was a little shocked at how easy this whole babysitting routine was going for him. Michael sat in an arm chair working on his homework while Spinelli and Morgan enjoyed the television. Carly and Jax had gone out for dinner, but Spinelli expected them to be back within two hours. Morgan looked up at Spinelli and smiled. He was a really shy child. Spinelli wondered how he was the son of Carly and Sonny, two of the most outspoken people he'd ever met.

"Need any help, Mikey?" Spinelli asked. He need better names for these kids. He couldn't exactly call them "Godprinces" to their faces. Michael shrugged, keeping to his work. Spinelli stood up and went to read over Michael's shoulder. Pre-algebra homework. That sounded brutal. It looked as if the education system was beating the students with the hard stuff earlier and earlier these days.

"You forgot to square this root," Spinelli informed Michael, pointing to a problem that he'd messed up on. Michael paused, cocking his head to the side.

"Oh. Wow. Thanks. I couldn't figure out why I kept getting negative 48."

Spinelli grinned. This was fun. School had never been one of his favorite things, always preferring to learn things on his own, away from the people who judged him and spent their time worrying about idle gossip. Helping Michael with homework, though, seemed right. So did sitting here watching cartoons, in a house, with kids, just enjoying the day. Maybe this will one day be mine, Spinelli thought to himself, picturing a cooing baby bouncing on his knee, Maxie curled up next to him on the couch, resting her head on his shoulder. Wait. Scratch that last part. Spinelli sighed, trying to repress all romantic thoughts about Maxie for the hundredth time that day.

Sighing, Spinelli headed back over to the couch. Sinking down into the cushions, glanced over at Morgan. The kid was sound asleep. Spinelli laughed. He wished he could fall asleep so easily. The sun was just making its way down the sky for the evening, and here Morgan was, out like a light. Standing, Spinelli scooped up Morgan in his arms. He didn't even act as though he were about to wake. Spinelli carried him upstairs to his room, leaving the closet light on just in case Morgan woke up in the dark.

As he traipsed lightly back down the stairs, Spinelli could hear the monotone mumblings of a television show that was definitely not Spongebob or some other cartoon. Coming into view of the living room, Spinelli saw that Michael was no longer working on his homework, instead sitting on the arm of the couch, watching the news intently.

"Ah. The Evening News," Spinelli began, slowly walking back over to the couch, watching Michael's face intently. There was something creepy about a kid watching the news. "…Where we all sit back and take in the dark and misfortunate evils of the world in between commercial breaks."

Michael waved for him to be quiet. "Shh."

"Mikey…may I ask what a young lad such as yourself would need to be watching the news for?" Spinelli sat down heavily, trying not to act too overbearing. It wasn't so much that Michael was watching the news, it was the intense way he was doing it. Spinelli noted one of his fists were clenched, his facial expression extremely thoughtful.

Michael didn't take his eyes away from the screen. "I want to hear if they've found anything about the Text Message Killer."

Spinelli's heart sank. That was horrible. The murderer had stolen this child's innocence. It was clear as day. He'd sucked the life out of Leticia, Emily, and Georgie. He'd terrified Carly, Maxie, and Alexis. However, the most disgusting crime the Text Message Killer had committed so far was the look of hatred in that child's eyes. Spinelli had no idea what to say to him to Michael to take the power away from the killer.

"Michael…" he spoke gently, scooting closer to him. "Hey, dude, seriously, you don't need to be worrying about that kind of stuff. There are protectors of the night out there constantly searching for him, not to mention your most intimidating parental figure and of course Stone Cold, er….Jason…They're all concerning themselves with that stuff so that you don't have to."

"So far they've done a lousy job and the guy that killed Leticia and Emily and tried to kill my mom is still out there," Michael spat, cracking his knuckles.

"Listen, I understand your frustration. He killed my most loyal and amazing friend, Georgie Jones." Spinelli tried to explain, but Michael wasn't buying what he was selling.

His young eyes flashed darkly. "And you don't want to stop him?"

"Of course I want to stop him…" Spinelli replied, unable to break the dark glare of the child. "If I had the chance I would. But that still doesn't mean that you should be worrying about it."

Michael looked down at his hands, his ears flushing red. He slid down from the arm of the couch onto the cushions. Grabbing the remote, Michael started flipping through the channels to find something else to watch. Spinelli hoped that he had perhaps taken some of his words to heart and prayed Michael wasn't just switching the channel to change the subject.

Stopping on some sort of documentary about Africa, Michael kicked back. It was strange to see the shift in his attitude. He seemed to be relaxing at the sight of majestic nature scene. The pair sat there and watched the show in silence for a long time before Michael spoke up again.

"So," Michael cleared his throat. "My mom said you're going to be a dad. Aren't you a little young?"

Spinelli let out a barking laugh. He shuffled a little, bringing his legs up into the seat, tucking them under his chin. "Well…uh…you know. Kind of surprised Maxie and me both."

"Is Maxie you're wife? You're a little young to be married too."

"Hah. My wife? No. Not my wife." Though…maybe…never mind.

"Oh," Michael said lightly. "So she's you're girlfriend."

"Uh…Yeah, she's my…my girlfriend." Spinelli didn't know how to explain 'one night stand' to a 6th grader. Well, when two people don't love each other at all and hardly know anything about the other person…Spinelli liked the way the word girlfriend stumbled off his tongue. He wished he was able to say it for real, and not just as a sad explanation to a kid. It felt right.

"Cool," Michael replied, going back to his program. Spinelli turned to the window by the door, watching the last orange streaks of the day slowly succumbing to the night's power. Maxie was probably getting off of work right at that moment. He wondered how her day had been, questioned if whether or not she'd thought of him at all.

----

Her head was pounding, her stomach was growling, and she had to close the boutique by herself. It had been a terrible day. Maxie stormed down the stairs to the docks, hoping to take the shortcut to Kelly's diner. She desperately needed some food. Longing for some peach pie, a few donuts, and a hamburger, Maxie scoffed at the realization that she was having the dreaded pregnancy cravings. Hell, at that moment anything would be good. She'd been a fool and thought it would be okay to skip lunch that day, a very stupid decision. Now she was practically shaking from low blood sugar.

And her day just got worse. Lulu Spencer was sitting on a bench overlooking the water. Maxie wondered if it would be possible to just sneak right by her but her boots smacking against the ground proved that thought wrong. Lulu looked over her shoulder, her eyes growing big at the sight of Maxie. She was probably looking at Maxie's stomach jutting out from beneath her blouse. On such a small frame, Maxie had to admit that the baby bump looked a little weird. Lulu stood up, snatching up her purse, walking around the bench towards her.

"Maxie. Hi."

"Lulu," Maxie began, sighing. "I've got a headache radiating down to my teeth and all I've eaten today is a stupid banana. I just want to go to Kelly's and get some food before I pass out. I don't have time to fight with you." She started to go around Lulu, but her nemesis held out a hand to stop her. If she had the fight in her at the moment Maxie was sure she would have just pushed Lulu to the ground.

"I'll make it quick then. Spinelli showed me the sonogram a few weeks ago. I get it…this is real." Lulu looked at her shoes, a little rose color rising in her cheeks. It was almost as if she was apologizing. It pissed Maxie off that she didn't have the time to force Lulu to eat her overconfident words.

"Okay… Didn't ever need your approval of the subject, but whatever. Now, I'm going to get some food." Maxie went around Lulu, almost making it to the stairs before she felt a hand clasp her elbow. Spinning back around, Maxie groaned with frustration.

"What do you want?" She demanded, throwing her arms in the air out of aggravation.

Lulu cleared her throat, crossing her arms in front of her. "Spinelli is happy. Really, really happy. You break his heart, I'll break your face."

"Oooh," Maxie scoffed, waving her fingers in front of Lulu like an evil witch. "I'm shaking in my two hundred dollar boots." Lulu took a step forward, only a foot away from Maxie's face. The Bad Blonde One was whispering in her ear. Clenching a fist, Maxie prepared herself to knock Lulu silly. Calm down, crazy lady, you're pregnant.

"Don't laugh me off, Maxie," Lulu said dangerously. "You, somehow, have gotten Spinelli's loyalty. Consider yourself lucky."

"Don't preach to me about how I should treat Spinelli."

Lulu opened her mouth to reply but the quiet night was interrupted by the strange robotic jingle of a cell phone chirping. Scrambling through her purse, Lulu pulled out her phone. Her face paled as she read the screen. Looking up at Maxie, bug-eyed, Lulu spun the phone around so that Maxie could see what was making her so upset. It was a text message from an unknown number.

U or the little mother 1st

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. The Text Message killer had been quiet for weeks. Her hands clasped her stomach instinctively, her heart racing. The sick monster was watching them, knew exactly who they were, was close enough to not only see two women standing alone together on the docks but also see that she was pregnant. Maxie's chirping phone drug her out of her troubled thoughts. With a shaking hand she quickly searched around in her own bag for her phone, spotting the screen glowing from underneath her wallet and a packet of gum. Ripping it out of the bag, Maxie saw the terrifying letters glowing on the screen. ONE NEW TEXT MESSAGE.

2 for the price of 1.

"What does yours say?" Lulu asked, snatching Maxie's phone away from her weak grasp. She swallowed hard, trying to figure out something to do. Looking around, Maxie hoped that she could spot the dark eyes that were bound to be watching her and Lulu at that very moment, getting off on his twisted game.

"That son of a bitch is watching us."

"We need to call the cops." Lulu whispered, backing up towards the water's edge. Maxie inched towards the stairway that led to the alleyway. Gripping the railing of the stairs, she tried to focus into the darkness for any sign of movement or perhaps the glow of a phone. He was so close, she could feel it.

"Where are you, you sick bastard?" Maxie screamed. "You think you can just threaten me and my kid and get away with it?"

"Maxie, stop it." Lulu pulled Maxie away from the stairs, but just as she was being tugged away Maxie was positive she saw movement from the alley. Diving into her purse, she felt around for the pocket knife she'd taken to carrying ever since her attack months ago. Her head was pounding, but she was resolved to take the blade and shove it into the chest of the man who'd ripped her sister from the world, looking into his eyes as he pathetically realized he'd been caught. Maxie fought to get Lulu's grip off of her, but Lulu was now holding her tight by both arms.

"Maxie! Stop it; this is stupid, think of your baby!"

"HE KILLED MY SISTER!"

Maxie could feel the world start to spin around her, but adrenaline was controlling her now. She broke free of Lulu's grip with one swift shake. Darting for the stairs, Maxie started feeling heavy and sort of crooked. Placing her foot down on the top stair, her knee quivered beneath her. The color world started to fade to black, her grip on the railing slipping through her hand. A quick dance with consciousness and Maxie felt herself falling, unaware of what the starlit sky was doing flying over her head before she hit the ground.

Lulu screamed as she watched Maxie crumple and tumble backwards down the stairs. Rushing to her side, Lulu felt for a pulse. Maxie's heart was racing in her chest. Her face was pale and she lay crooked like a broken flower on the steps, one of her legs contorted awkwardly, her head dangling over the edge of the bottom step. Lulu didn't know what to do. The Text Message Killer was probably still watching them, laughing at the state they found themselves in.

Spotting the pocket knife that had fallen out of Maxie's grip, Lulu snatched it up. With her free arm Lulu tried to pull Maxie gently backwards off the stairs, praying that she wouldn't make her worse by moving her. Dragging Maxie smoothly across the weatherworn wooden docks, Lulu lay her down close to the water's edge, trying to keep the best view of either entrance down onto their level in plain view. It was the only thing she could think of to do.

Lulu scrambled for her cell phone to call 911. As the phone rang, Lulu shuddered in the night. She might hate Maxie Jones for all she'd done to her, but the little bump on her small frame was the child of her best friend. She wasn't ready to have to tell him that all of his happiness was over.

"Please," Lulu cried out to no one, to someone who couldn't hear her. "Please be okay."

----

Spinelli opened the fridge and stared into the yellow glow of light, his eyes running over the shelves of food trying to find something to eat. It was almost seven o'clock and he had a hankering for some barbeque chips, but Carly's cabinets were devoid of such greatness. Michael stood next to him, peaking into the fridge as well. Spinelli drummed his fingers on the door handle, trying to think creatively.

"Mikey, what looks tasty?"

Micheal looked at him skeptically. "Do you cook?"

"Hah!" Spinelli started grabbing a few ingredients from the fridge. "Did Bill Shakespeare write sonnets? I'm the Jackal, of course I cook." He brought the bounty over to the counter. Spinelli started opening drawers and cabinets looking for some mixing bowls and a measuring cup. Michael laughed from behind him.

"Why do you call yourself the jackal?"

"Because…" Spinelli paused, thinking for a moment for a proper response. "I'm the assassin of cyberspace." Shrugging, Spinelli went back to his new project. Michael stepped over to the counter.

"I have no idea what that means."

"Few truly do."

Michael watched him, amused. Spinelli darted back to the fridge for a carton of milk, sliding it across the counter. He scanned through a few more drawers, pulling out a couple of aprons. Spinelli spun Michael about, looping a bright pink apron around him, much to Michael's disapproval. Laughing at the look of horror on the kid's face, Spinelli tied a much manlier black apron around his own waist, bouncing back over to the counter to begin working his food magic.

"What are you making?" Michael asked, leaning against the counter, spinning a few eggs around and around.

"WE, my young friend, are making the miracle known to man as pancakes."

Michael sputtered. "Breakfast for dinner?"

Spinelli pinched a little flour from its container, blowing it in Michael's face. "Rattles the brain doesn't it?"

"Hey!" Michael exclaimed, dusting the powder off of his face, grinning. Spinelli laughed, tossed an egg to Michael, waving for him to crack it. The pair spent the next thirty minutes preparing and cooking their breakfast feast, getting creative with a few of the pancakes, adding a lot of random fruits to them out of curiosity. Spinelli was thrilled he'd taken Carly up on her offer. This was a very therapeutic experience.

Once they were done, Spinelli had Michael set the table while he went upstairs to rouse Morgan from his nap. Spinelli crouched down beside the reposing little form, poking him on the nose. Morgan's eyes fluttered open.

" Young Moe, I have made pancakes."

Morgan grinned, sitting up. "Pancakes?"

Spinelli nodded, excitedly. He snatched Morgan up, flipping him upside down. Morgan squealed, his arms dangling towards the ground, thrashing about. Spinelli faked him out, pretending to lose his grip. Morgan laughed, and the pair traipsed back down the stairs just like, Spinelli careful to keep a tight grip. He plopped Morgan into one of the dining room chairs, the child red faced from laughing. Spinelli headed to the front of the table.

"Okay, Gentlemen. Tonight, we dine like kings." He served Michael and Morgan a few of the pancakes before sitting down himself, taking in the fun aura of the day. Spinelli realized he didn't have any memories of a childhood experience like this. Just playing and being silly. It wouldn't be that way for his kid, that was certain. The slamming of the front door brought him out of his thoughts. Carly and Jax made their way into the kitchen, smiling at the scene before them.

"Hey, you guys!" Carly began, walking over to Morgan, kissing him on top of his head. "You look like you're having fun." She winked at Spinelli.

"Mr. Jackal made us pancakes!" Morgan declared, taking a huge bite out of one of his.

"I can see that," Carly laughed.

Spinelli waved for the two to sit. "Would you or Mr. Valkylrie like to join us?"

"I think I could split a pancake." Carly smiled, pulling out a chair. She snatched the fork out of Michael's hand, stealing a chunk of one of his blueberry creations. Jax pulled out a chair next to Spinelli, sitting down lightly. Spinelli leaned over slightly, speaking quietly.

"How am I doing?"

" Looks like you did a good job, Spinelli." Jax clapped him on the shoulder and Spinelli felt a rush of excitement. Everything had gone well. Was that confidence brewing in his heart? He felt a little blush rising into his cheeks, but he smiled nonetheless.

"Warmest thanks, Jax." Spinelli felt his phone quiver in his pocket. He answered it quickly without even looking to see who it was, standing to leave the room.

"The Jackal Babysitting Service, how may I help you?" He leaned against the doorframe lightly.

"Spinelli…it's Lulu."

"Blonde One. What's up?"

"Spinelli..." Her voice said it all. Something was wrong. Spinelli felt himself slipping off the high he'd been having all afternoon.

"What is it?"

"Maxie is in the hospital," Lulu explained, exhaling heavily. He registered what she said, but didn't understand.

"What? What happened?" He felt his hands become clammy as they grasped the phone. Maxie was supposed to be relaxing from a long day at work. That's what she did. She went to work, she came home safely.

Lulu's voice quivered but she spoke quickly. "We were talking on the docks and then we both got text messages from the killer and Maxie got all rattled and tried to find him but she fainted and fell down the stairs." The scene played out in his head. Pressing his eyes with his free hand, Spinelli tried to push the horrible image from his mind of Maxie scared for her life.

"Is…is she okay?"

"She's conscious now. They just kicked me out of her room to do an exam and make sure the baby is okay. I wish I could tell you more."

He spun around on the doorframe, gripping it tightly so that he didn't fall down. This was it, this was the phone call. It was time for the whole thing to come crumbling down on him. It was all too good to be true, he'd known that from the start. Things never went his way.

"Spinelli? Are you there?"

"Yeah," Spinelli replied, empty. "I'm coming to the hospital."

Carly had been watching him. She stood and laid a hand on his shoulder gently. He tried to look her in the eye but found it impossible to really see her.

"What's wrong?"

"Everything." Spinelli pushed himself off the doorframe, bustling for the door, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

----

Laying on her side, Maxie sobbed into the pillow of the hospital bed. What had she been thinking? How could she have been such a fool? Some mother she was, throwing her life haphazardly into the tangles of a dangerous and threatening situation just to get some revenge. Maxie wrapped her arms around herself tightly, feeling so drained and vacant.

The squeak of sliding sneakers sounded in front of her doorway. Maxie turned and saw Spinelli standing there, out of breath, clinging to doorframe. He paused, just looking at her for a moment. Maxie's lip quivered at the sight of him. Spinelli bounded quickly over to her bedside, gently sitting down on the edge of her bed. She sat up properly and ran a hand down his arm. He was shaking a little.

"I'm sorry," Maxie pleaded with him, gazing at him for some understanding. "Spinelli, I'm so sorry." She felt a few more tears slipping down her cheeks. He reached out a trembling hand and wiped the tears away. Maxie leaned into his touch, needing his comfort at the moment. His hand fell heavily back into his lap, swiveling her tears on his fingertips. Spinelli's gaze fell from hers.

"I don't understand…"

Maxie pat the bump in her stomach, smoothing the hospital gown over it. "The Text Message Killer threatened us and I just lost it, Spinelli…I can't believe I tried to go after him…it was terrifying." She shuddered at the memory of the evening, positive she'd seen movement in the alleyway, the twisted evil staring out at her and Lulu.

Spinelli went pale, watching her touch her stomach. "The baby's okay?"

"Dr. Lee said everything is fine," Maxie sniffled. "but that I had a really close call. My blood sugar is low, that's why I fainted on the stairs. I didn't eat properly, and it's just been a stressful day. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Maxie was taken aback when Spinelli wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her to him as close as he could. Their noses grazed against each other as he pressed their foreheads together. Spinelli cupped her face, closing his eyes.

"You can't do this to stuff, Maxie," he whispered to her. "You have to take better care of yourself and not try to be a superhero all the time."

Maxie closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him. "I know, I'm sorry…"

He shuddered. "This is every dark and devious thought that I have each night when I close my eyes playing out right before me. Don't you understand? Do you not get it? I can't go back to being alone, Maxie, I can't."

Spinelli pulled away from her face, looking her in the eyes. Someone else was gazing out at her, and it definitely wasn't the Jackal or the assassin of cyberspace. She'd seen him look at her like this only once before. His eyes had flashed that hidden part of himself for a few moments the night they'd slept together.

Maxie remembered the moment vividly because it was so jarring. Back on that late January night, she'd pressed him into the cushions of Jason's couch, kissing him fiercely. When Maxie broke away from him to catch her breath, there was that stare looking back at her. He'd been bewildered, but wasn't refusing her either. In fact, Spinelli was the one who'd caught her in their next kiss, the one that had led to everything else. That look…Was it starvation?

Ever since their trip to the hospital to get the sonogram a few weeks back, the day that Robin had insinuated that Spinelli had more than friendship on his mind, Maxie had been watching her friend more and more closely for some sort of sign that something like that was possible. Maxie ran a hand through his hair.

"Spinelli, is there something you want to tell me?"

His eyes darted around, a pink flush rising on his cheeks. He rested his forehead on her shoulder, not answering her. There it was. That was her confirmation. Spinelli didn't need to say a word, she knew it was true. For some reason he couldn't speak the words, but to be honest, Maxie didn't know what she would say to him if he had. Things had suddenly become much more complicated than she'd anticipated.

Maxie spotted Lulu over Spinelli's shoulder standing in the doorway. Lulu watched them silently, a strange expression on her face. Once Lulu realized that Maxie was looking at her, she kind of sheepishly bowed her head. It was strange to think her worst enemy had been the one who'd saved her life. Maxie mouthed a silent 'thank you' to Lulu. Nodding curtly, Lulu gave a small wave and headed back out the doorway silently.

----

A/N: I'm on a Spixie buzz…this has been a great week. Thank you all for the overwhelming show of encouragement regarding my fears that I might have been losing people because of the speed of the story. I adore you all.

I would love hearing your thoughts on this chapter…A little fun mixed with a little dark and a lot of tension between Maxie and Spin. Comments? Questions? Need for spoilers? Review :D

Next Chapter: Seven moments lead to one realization, seven moments that made all the difference.