The Luckiest
Chapter 12: Seven Moments (that made her fall)
Author's note: These moments take place over the course of a month.
ONE
Maxie lounged on her couch, reading a magazine. All of the summer clothes featured in the articles looked so cute, but she wouldn't be able to wear any of them. By the time they were in style she would be as big as a whale, wearing some sort of spandex creation. What a horrible thought. Glancing down at the t-shirt and pajama bottoms that she was sporting at the moment, Maxie realized that she was just about ready to bust them both at the seams. When had that happened? She was almost four months along, but did babies just kind of balloon out like that suddenly?
"You better be adorable," Maxie muttered, petting the bump. "Because Mom is about to run out of clothes."
"Who are you talking to?" Mac entered the living room, startling her out of her peaceful moment.
"Maxelli," Maxie replied without hesitation, smiling at him. He plopped down in the lounge chair next to her, pulling out a newspaper. Mac stopped and registered what she said, eyebrows raised.
"What?"
"That's what Spinelli calls the baby. Maxelli."
Mac grimaced. "Are you ever going to explain to me how the two of you…never mind. I don't want to know."
"You leave him alone, Mac. Spinelli has been great about this whole thing. He's always there for me." Mac gave her a doubtful look but didn't pry any further, reading his newspaper. She wasn't going to beg him to understand.
Maxie went back to her magazine, flipping through to the makeup section. No matter how big she got her makeup wouldn't be affected. The doorbell rang suddenly, drawing her out of her rouge and lip gloss fantasy. Mac stood to answer the door. Craning her neck to see who it was, Maxie was first able to spot a striped grey and black beanie atop the head of a wickedly grinning Spinelli, a smile that slipped quickly off of his face when he saw who answered the door.
"Police Commissioner. Sir." He sputtered, shuffling. Mac sighed heavily, opening the door for him. Spinelli squeezed through, a blush rising to his cheeks. As soon as he spotted Maxie he looked relieved. It took him only a few quick bounds to cross the room, plopping down heavily on the couch beside her. That was his nervous/excited walk. Maxie was slowly decoding the odd ways by which he moved, whether it was the bouncing hops or odd shuffles, or some random combination. Mac grumbled a little and left the room.
"Hey Spin," Maxie greeted him, but he was ignoring her, pouring out a brown paper bag that he'd been clutching onto her coffee table. Out fell a few bags of chips, two sub sandwiches, a package of cookies and some drinks.
"The hunter has brought home the bounty," Spinelli said, waving his hand over the pile of food. Laughing, Maxie dove for the bag of barbeque chips, ripping them open. His face fell as she took a chip and put it close to her mouth, ready to be devoured.
"Those..were…for me…but…"
Maxie teased him, moving the chip closer to her teeth. Spinelli narrowed his eyes. His hand reached out slowly for the bag of cookies on the table, her favorite chocolate chip. Maxie gasped, pretending to be shocked at his daring. The cookies within his grasp, Spinelli held out his other hand to Maxie.
"This is a hostage crisis, Militant Maxie. The chips…for the cookies." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. She pouted, placing the chip back in its bag. As she began to place the bag in his hand, Spinelli's eyes gleamed, and he quickly pulled the cookies and the chips to his chest, cackling.
"Not fair!" She squealed, scooting over to him. He brought his knees up to his chest, protectively guarding the goods. Maxie turned on the charm, puckering her lips and batting her eyelashes. "Puh-lez, Spinelli…just one chocolate chip?"
He sighed, handing over the cookies. "The Jackal is not strong enough to fight off such charisma."
Maxie smiled at him. "Why are you so good to me?"
Spinelli looked honestly perplexed. "I have a hard time imagining a world in which someone would not be good to my Sassy Maxie."
She scoffed, counting off in her head all of the people that hated her. Liz, Lucky, Coop, Logan, Lulu…who else..Who else. Maxie knew there were more. Each with their own favorite derogative term for her.
"Well, we live in a world where I'm a total bitch. So…a lot of people don't want anything but bad things for me." She looked down at her hands, picturing a few rather unpleasant scenarios that had she'd been involved in throughout her life. Reaching out a hand, Spinelli place it on her shoulder, grabbing her attention.
Spinelli was shaking his head furiously. "Don't you ever call yourself that."
Maxie felt her heart flutter in her chest. How did he always manage to see the best in her?
TWO
Maxie watched the bag of popcorn spin around in the microwave, slowly growing bigger, looking more inflated each second that went by. It was like a rapid pregnancy in delicious snack form. The scent of the butter started to flitter out into the air, making her mouth begin to water. She was suddenly struck with one of her weird cravings. What would chocolate and popcorn be like together?
She could hear Spinelli cursing at the television in the living room. Jason was out for the evening and Spinelli had illegally downloaded a few movies off the internet. Maxie had offered to keep him company and, as she suspected, he didn't hesitate at all to take her up on that. Spinelli hated being alone in that penthouse. That was something they had in common. Neither of them liked being in a large house all on their own. The walls started to watch you and the air was never completely silent.
"Having trouble, Spinelli?" She yelled, unable to suppress a chuckle at the fact that even his cursing seemed slightly technical and dignified. Maxie jumped when she felt a hand on either hip. Suddenly she was tugged backwards, completely confused as to what is going on.
"You shouldn't stand in front of the microwave," Spinelli muttered gently in her ear, his breath on her neck sending goose bumps down her arms. He relinquished his grip on her hips, stepping in front of her to grab the popcorn from the microwave. Gingerly opening the bag, the popcorn steam hit him in the face, making him wince.
"I always forget that it does that."
He might forget to watch out for his own good, but he never forgot to look out for her.
THREE
At four months along, Maxie was scheduled for another ultrasound. Every appointment with Dr. Lee so far had brought some sort of drama or distraction, so she hoped that this one would be different. Spinelli gripped her hand tightly, always twice as nervous as she ever considered being. She could feel his hand shaking. Dr. Lee fired up the screen and Maxie held her breath as the grainy image started taking shape.
"There you go, folks. There's the big show." The doctor pointed out the head and the body, all sharper and more defined than they had been a month ago. It made her smile to see the little form that she talked to in her quiet time, the one she and Spinelli called Maxelli. People had always said that when you hold your child for the first time you will feel a love like nothing that you've ever experienced…Maxie thought they were nuts. She didn't need to hold anything to feel that love. It was radiating through her at that very moment. Her souvenir…
"Everything looks okay?" Spinelli asked, fixated on the screen. Maxie noted the hesitation in his voice. It always seemed as though he were ready for the world to come crashing down on him. She could see herself, however strangely, holding their baby in 5 months. However, for Spinelli, he acted like he couldn't let himself dream that far ahead. He wasn't always stressed, and in fact at times quite excited…but apprehension always took over. Why he always assumed that things might not turn out well, she didn't know. The answer could probably be found in the things he couldn't say.
Dr. Lee started grinning. "Yes, Spinelli." He blushed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. A quick smile flashed in his eyes as the image became in better focus. Dr. Lee started messing with another tool that she hadn't used before.
"Ready for the finale?" she asked.
"What?" Maxie asked. Before Dr. Lee got a chance to answer her, a strange rhythmic swishing noise sounded in the room. The pattern was fast but not steady or erratic. It dawned on Maxie what the noise was, but her voice caught in her throat. Spinelli was looking around from her to Dr. Lee, confused.
"Is that…"
"The heartbeat," Maxie finished, choking on her words, pressing her eyes with her free hand. This was another one of B. J.'s gifts to her. First her heart, a second chance at living, the idea to never take life for granted, and now this. All of her life she'd wondered why she'd been the lucky one who got to live, was given so many second chances…somehow it all made sense. Spinelli was petting her hair…he must have been telepathic. At that moment it seemed he knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Max…listen to that…" he murmured, his voice as cadenced as the heartbeat.
"I hear it, Spinelli…I hear it." She peaked out of her fingertips to look at him, spotting his green-blue stare looking down at her, eyes that always understood. She'd been given three hearts in her lifetime, B. J.'s, her baby's, and his. Spinelli's was the only one she'd been taking for granted.
FOUR
She found it hard to dial his number through her tears. Maxie couldn't even see the keypad on her phone; she had no idea if she was even calling the right number. It rang a few times before he answered.
"The Jackal, how may I help you?"
Maxie couldn't even form the words for a reply. She sputtered out a pathetic noise, leaning against the wall outside the boutique, trying to regain her composure. Sliding down the wall, Maxie crouched on the ground, sobbing into one of her hands.
"Maxie? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Spinelli asked urgently. Wiping her eyes on the back of her hand, Maxie took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She wasn't supposed to get upset like this, but it was impossible to contain her hurt at the moment.
"I just needed to talk to someone…"
"Maxie…"
"I'm at work, okay, and these witches that I work with were talking about me in the storage room…"
"I suppose they weren't saying what a wonderfully beautiful person you were?" Spinelli asked, lightness to his voice. Maxie jerked a little from a quick sob, astounded at how much his words meant to her.
"Oh, they were just saying that with my reputation I probably didn't even know who the father was, and that I was just one more dumb slut bringing another bastard into the world."
"What?" Spinelli snarled, angrier than she'd ever heard him. Maxie tried to quickly explain before his head exploded.
"They are these pretentious rich spoiled brats that don't really need this job, and they think they can judge me or my baby? How could anyone be so hateful, Spinelli? I mean, our baby is so totally innocent and yet people are already passing judgment."
Spinelli was breathing hard on the other side of the phone. "I'm sorry Maxie…this is my fault…"
"What are you talking about Spinelli? You are the only person who doesn't judge me!"
"I could've just asked to you marry me a long time ago and no one would be able to say things like that about you." He replied very quickly, almost stuttering over the words. Maxie's hand flew to her mouth, shocked that he'd actually said such a thing. She sat in silence for a moment, wondering how he'd managed to twist her embarrassment into one of his shortcomings.
"Oh my god, Spin…" Maxie sighed. "No, I didn't mean it like that…I don't give a damn that we're not married…too many people rush into that sort of thing because of babies…it ends up ruining them…"
There was a pause. "I would…you know…marry you. If you wanted to. For the baby."
"Spin…" She began, trying to think of something to say to that. Glancing down at her ring finger, Maxie tried to imagine a wedding band there. They were best friends, having a child together, and he certainly loved her…and she was…pretty fond of him too. It might have worked better than most marriages, neither having some sort of magical expectations about the arrangement.
"Thank you for letting me rant to you. I've got to back to work." Hanging up the phone quickly, Maxie closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall, letting some sunlight fall on her face. He was wearing her down. To a guy like Spinelli, a marriage would mean forever. No one had ever offered her that.
FIVE
They didn't bring up the idea of getting married again, both silently conceding that it was an extremely frightful idea. Ever since he'd said the words, though, she'd felt different when they were together. He was more than her friend now, that was certain. What he was, she didn't know, and Maxie wasn't quick to put a label on it. There might not be any category to describe the two of them.
All she knew was that she was beginning to like leaning her head on his shoulder, like she was now, watching him click away on his laptop. The pair sat on his bed in silence as he tried to defeat some sort of video game villain. Spinelli stared intently at the screen, a type of concentration she wasn't used to. It made her laugh to see how seriously he took his game. Maxie scanned the room, trying to find something that might distract him. A digital camera lay on his desk. She got an idea.
Peeling herself away from him so as not to sidetrack him just yet, Maxie slunk over to the desk causally, snatching up the camera. Turning the power on, Maxie zoomed the lens in close to his face, the camera flash popping and startling him enough so that he jumped.
"Hey!" Spinelli declared, putting his hand up in front of his face. "You'll steal my spirit if you take my picture!" Maxie laughed, crawling back onto the bed, the camera still focused on him.
"I just realized I'm having your baby but I don't even have a picture of you," she explained, taking another snapshot. He was blushing now from all the attention, pulling his beanie down over his face. Maxie yanked it off his head and took a third picture, this one freezing his static prone hair standing on end.
"Maxie…" Spinelli grumbled, pouting a little.
"Come on, Spin. One good picture."
Spinelli sighed, closing both of his eyes and sticking out his tongue. She took the picture out of stubbornness. While his eyes were still closed, Maxie scooted close to him. She wrapped an arm around him, holding the camera in front of the both of them. Spinelli quickly reacted to their closeness, first glancing at the camera and then at her, just as the flash went off. Maxie spun the camera back around to see the screen. The picture she'd managed to take quickly took her breath away, but she hoped Spinelli didn't notice. In the camera's screen were two people she didn't know, some sort of loving couple, a pretty blonde with a glowing smile and smart looking man looking at her adoringly. Maxie wondered if they always looked like that.
"See, there you go." Spinelli muttered, looking over her shoulder at the image. "That's a good picture."
Maxie had the picture framed a few days later, putting it on her bedside table. That way, she was able to ponder about what it meant every night when she went to sleep.
SIX
Her life started to be invaded by sticky notes. Green, pink, and soft yellow pieces of paper followed her throughout her day. She found them in her purse, attached to the window of her car, even stuck to the inside of her jacket.
"Ignore the witches at work; I'm hacking into their bank records."
"Call me if you're bored."
"Smile."
"I missed seeing you yesterday."
"Did you remember your vitamins?"
Those were just a few examples of the things that were written on the notes. Maxie started looking forward to stumbling upon the notes in their strange hiding places. It was like treasure hunting every day, some priceless little thought from her strange partner in crime finding its way into her mind for the day. Sometimes it was the highlight of her day, especially if Maxie didn't get a chance to see Spinelli at all.
Today's note was wrapped around a daisy looped around the door handle to her car. Her heart fluttered at the sight of it, surprised that something as cheesy as a flower was melting her. Something was changing in her, she couldn't ignore it. Unwrapping the pink sticky note from the stem of the flower, Maxie wondered what Spinelli's wise words of the day would be.
"Ten days to go!" The scratchy handwriting exclaimed back at her. For a moment Maxie was confused, unable to figure out what that meant. Then it dawned on her. Time had flown by; it was almost time for her next ultrasound, the one that would tell them if they were having a Maxelli or a Spixie. Chuckling, Maxie opened her car and flopped into the front seat. She gently placed the daisy on the dash of her car, keeping it in her view during her drive to work.
SEVEN
"Hello?" Spinelli groggily answered her call. Maxie looked around in the dark of her room for her clock, not realizing that it was almost midnight.
"I'm sorry…you were asleep weren't you?"
"Mmmhmm…"
"I didn't mean to wake you…I was just too excited and I wanted to tell you--"
"Tell me what?" Spinelli interrupted, suddenly sounding more awake. Maxie smiled at the eagerness in his voice.
"Spin…It moved." She paused, waiting for him to register what she said.
"What?"
"The baby. I felt it…like…flutter." There was a silence on the other end of the phone. For a second Maxie thought that Spinelli might have fallen back to sleep.
"It…it moved?"
"Yeah, for just a moment…I wish you could have felt it…it was so strange."
"The Jackal missed out." There was a sort of sadness to his voice. That hadn't been her intention at all, she just wanted to make him happy.
"Well, you'll get a chance to feel it, I promise." She assured him, rubbing the round bump under her nightgown. "You hear that, Maxelli? You have to show your new trick to Spin."
Maxie heard Spinelli laugh on the other end of the line, sending shivers down her back. Why was he making her feel like that? She glanced over at the bedside table at the picture of her and Spinelli. Next to it was an empty orange soda bottle that he'd left at her house one of the days he'd brought her lunch. It was filled with water now, the daisy he'd left her floating in it. All of the illegally downloaded movies he'd burned for her were stacked up on the table too. Her collection of notes was growing taller, her favorite about how Spinelli would be hacking into the bank accounts of the horrible women she worked with taped to her lampshade. Her latest ultrasound leaned against the makeshift vase, her souvenir looking back at her in the night.
Spinelli had begun to crowd her bedside table with trinkets and memories, each one representing a moment that she wouldn't trade for anything, even the ones that had caused her tears. Maxie didn't know what to think about the sudden flip-flop of her stomach. He told her to not hate herself and always tried to keep her safe. Spinelli might not have said it yet, but he was freely giving her his heart, even offering her every tomorrow he had. His adoration could be seen in a photo, a note, in the simple innocence that could be found in his every word to her.
Why was she not acting on this?
"Maxie? You still there?"
"Yeah, Spin. I'm here. Let's hang out tomorrow after I go to work, okay?"
"Okay, see you then, Sassy Max."
"Goodnight, Spin."
Once she saw him, she would know.
----
A/N: Enjoy the fluff while it lasts…there will be only one more chapter of happy good times until I drop the next plot twist.
GUYS…Are you SICK of Spinelli getting put on the backburner in relationships? Tired of seeing abusive men (coughCrabbyCommandocough) get the girl? Love the potential of Spinmax? Any or all of the above?
THEN PLEASE, BEFORE WE LOSE THIS CHANCE, GET IN CONTACT WITH GENERAL HOSPITAL EVERYDAY SPINELLI OR MAXIE ARE ON AND TELL THE POWERS THAT BE HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEIR CHEMISTRY.
GH Comment Line 323-671-4583 ( You have 30 seconds to speak, BE POSITIVE. Bradford and Kristen are begging us to support this pairing.)
DONT FORGET TO WRITE!!
Jill Ferren Phelps/Brian Frons/Robert Guza (pick one, pick all, write them!)
General Hospital
c/o ABC - TV4151 Prospect Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90027
I don't want to see another great thing slip through our hands. Join the Spinelli GH livejournal or Opposite Attraction message board for more information on how you can help save such insanity from happening. We can't be complacent. We must be loud.
NEXT CHAPTER: Maxie gets all the confirmation she needs…but will it be too late?