Georgie sat up in bed, disoriented. At first, she couldn't remember where she was, but then she realized that she was—in Maxie's house. Wiping her eyes, she scanned the room. Earlier she'd been so tired that she hadn't taken the time to see what kind of room she was calling her own for a while.

The room was painted a pale blue with lace curtains and a bedspread that was covered in green and pink flowers. All of the furniture was a simple, old fashioned white. The whole room, it seemed to Georgie, was not the Maxie that she remembered. But, as Maxie had so put it earlier, there was not a single piece of lace to be found throughout the rest of the house.

Throwing back the light blanker covering, she swung her feet over the side and met the floor. She stood up and smoothed her hair as she walked across the room into the attached bathroom. Eyeing her reflection, she reached for her makeup bag and dabbed on some powder to hide the slowly diminishing bruises. After all, she didn't want to scare her new nieces.

When she was satisfied with her appearance, she walked back to the room and changed out of the lounge pants and sweatshirt she'd worn home from the hospital and into a pair of jeans and a pale pink sweater. Slipping her feet into a pair of slippers, she opened the bedroom door and began to wind her way down the stairs.

As she descended the stairs, she could hear voices—children's voices—which could only mean that Fiona and Julia were home.

"Girls, keep the noise down. Aunt Georgie was very tired when she came home from the hospital and she is still taking a nap," Maxie said. She was standing at the sink, rinsing a bowl. On the counter beside her stood an uncooked cake ready to be put in the oven.

"But Mom, she's been sleeping for hours," Julia whispered, as her sister kicked her underneath the table. "Hey!"

Fiona pulled back and turned her attention to her homework. "I didn't do anything," she replied blithely.

"Yes you did! You kicked me!" Julia said indignantly. "Mom!"

Maxie turned around from the sink. "Girls!" she moved to the stove and slipped the cake pan in the over. "Honestly, can't you act like you're civilized?"

"Brings back a lot of memories, doesn't it?" Georgie commented from the bottom step. All three people turned in surprise.

"Oh Georgie, I didn't realize that you were awake," Maxie said quickly, glaring at her daughters. "Don't mind my children. Occasionally they act like human beings."

Georgie grinned and walked slowly over to the kitchen table. She dropped into a chair next to Fiona and stuck out her hand. "Hi, I'm Georgie. You must be Fiona."

Fiona shook the offered hand, slightly dazed over meeting her aunt. "H-hi. Yes, I'm Fiona."

Georgie nodded and leaned over to study the papers Fiona had spread out in front of her. "Ooh, geometry. What a pain. Do you like math?"

Fiona shrugged. "It's okay. It's kind of boring though. I already know this stuff." She picked up her pencil and held it over the paper.

"This is my daughter, the genius. Like I said, she's the picture of you at sixteen," Maxie interjected over her daughter's head.

"I am not a genius Mother," Fiona muttered, standing up and gathering her papers. "I'll do it in the other room." She escaped the kitchen and ran into the living room.

Georgie stared after her. "What'd I do?" she asked Maxie, who shook her head.

"Fiona's been a little moody lately."

Julia scooted over into her sister's vacated seat. "Hi! I'm Julia. I'm in fourth grade!"

Georgie smiled. "Well hello. I'm very pleased to meet you." She held out a hand to the little girl, who shook it with the strength of a ten year old.

"I'm really glad that you came home. Mommy's really happy now," Julia replied, with the frank innocent that only a child could muster.

Georgie was taken aback for a moment, but recovered quickly. "Well I'm really glad to be home too." Julia flashed her newfound aunt a wide grin and raced out of the room after her sister.

Georgie looked up at Maxie, who was wiping the tears from her eyes. "I am glad to be home."

"I know." Maxie turned away for a moment to check her cake. She then stood in front of the sink, looking out over the pristine back yard.

Georgie sighed and came to stand behind her sister. "You're really lucky, you know? Perfect husband, great kids, spectacular house and a wonderful, fulfilling career. Hold onto that; because you'll never know how lucky you are until it's gone."

Maxie turned around but Georgie was already walked toward the living room. She could hear her sister laughing with her daughter over something on the television. As much as that sound was so wonderful, something about Georgie's last comment made her worry. Just how much did she know her sister? After all, thirty years was a long time—an entire lifetime. What kind of turns had Georgie's life taken? Maxie felt that she needed to find out what had gone on in the years between Georgie's 'death' and return.

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Lila's head shot up from her desk as the phone rang in her ear. Slightly fuzzy, she fumbled for the phone. "Hello?"

"Lila? Are you okay?"

Alexis' voice cleared Lila's brain very quickly. "Oh, yes. Sorry, I-I was…reading my emails. You know, it's pretty monotonous," she managed, using her free hand to push her hair out of her face. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, but I would rather do it face to face. Are you free this afternoon?"

Lila glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Sure, what time?"

"Two-thirty would work for me."

"Okay. Two-thirty. That will work. Bye Alexis," Lila replied, replacing the phone. As she did, her stomach rumbled. Obviously the banana she'd eaten for breakfast after her incident hadn't lasted. Well, the clock did say ten to noon. Why not start lunch a little early? And right now, potato soup from Kelly's sounded really great.

Lila stood up and walked to her coat rack. She shrugged her wool jacket over her arms and grabbed her purse. Moments later, she was walking out of her door and toward the elevator.

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Molly rounded the corner and leaned against the building wall in defeat. She was exhausted. After her phone call with Matthew which had resulted in a screaming match, she was so, so tired. Sighing, she pulled herself together and focused on making her way to Kelly's.

At least she was hungry, she thought as she pulled open the door and dragged herself inside.

But when she saw one of her best friends, a certain red-headed spitfire of a lawyer, sitting in the corner table, her mood perked up instantly. Grinning, she strode over to Lila's table.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Lila looked up, dazed. "W-what? Oh sure." She waved her hand in an answer.

Molly dropped into the appointed chair and frowned. "Lila? Are you alright?"

Lila didn't answer. She stared at her bowl of beef vegetable soup as if expecting it to grow legs and walk across the table. She lifted the spoon and watched the broth drip off it aimlessly.

"Lila?" Molly reached out and took the spoon from Lila's hand and moved it and the bowl to the other end of the table. "Lila, snap out of it!"

Lila jumped and lifted her face up to Molly's. "Sorry," she replied sheepishly.

Molly shook her head. "No, no. Don't tell me sorry. Tell me what's wrong. You are quite possibly the sharpest tack in the box called Port Charles."

Lila shrugged and took a sip of the water she'd ordered. "I don't know. I've felt weird all day today."

"Weird?" Molly pressed. "Weird how?" She looked up as Lulu came toward their table.

"Hi Molly, how are you today?" Lulu asked, her pen poised over the little notepad reserved for taking orders.

Molly smiled brightly. "I'm fine, you?" As she spoke, she eyed Lila's face, which had become withdrawn again.

"I'm good. What can I get you?"

Molly looked back to Lulu's smiling face. "I'll have a half a turkey sandwich, light mayo, wheat bread. And a cup of your daily soup—oh—and an iced tea."

"Coming right up," Lulu replied, before turning away toward the kitchen.

Molly turned her attention back to her friend. "Okay, now you have to tell me what's wrong?"

Lila shook her head. "I honestly don't know. When I woke up this morning I barely made it to the bathroom before I was violently sick. Molly, you know me. I'm never sick. I can't remember the last time I was sick. And then, the smell of coffee made me nauseous."

Molly raised an eyebrow. She had her suspicions. But she couldn't remember a time when Lila had been so dense. "Lila? Really? You don't have any suspicions?"

Lila frowned and shook her head. "No…what did you have in mind?" She took another sip of her water.

"Are you late?" It was said so bluntly that Lila didn't have time to react.

"Late? No…I don't have to be back at work until two o'clock. I have a meeting with Alexis," Lila replied flatly, reaching for her soup bowl.

Molly cocked her head. Seriously? Was Lila really this dense? She clearly needed a wake up. "No. Late, as in late-late."

"L-late?" her voice faltered as her eyes widened. "Oh-oh. You mean late late. OH MY GOD." She jumped up and grabbed her coat and purse. "Oh—I have to go!" without waiting for an answer, she burst out of the restaurant in a full blown sprint.

Molly stared after her for a brief second, debating on what to do. Sighing, she reached for her coat and bag before calling to Lulu. "Lulu, can you make mine a to-go. I'll be back to get it in a little while."

Lulu appeared behind the cash register. "Oh—okay. Where's Lila?"

Molly shook her head. "I don't know, but rest assured, I will find out." She turned and hurried out after her friend.

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Disregarding her brand new heather blue cashmere coat and the hardened snow-covered ground, Kate sank down in front of the bright marbled headstone. She ran her gloved fingers over the engraved words.

Michael Corinthos Junior

As much as she'd loved him, she had despised him. No, she corrected herself, not him, but his chosen profession. She had loved him…once upon a time. She'd loved the man he'd been in Bensonhurst. But when he'd left, he'd changed and he was a totally different man when she'd met him again.

No matter what he'd given her—and taken away, she'd loved him. But even now, she mourned his fateful death. Kate sighed and leaned back to study the single stone which commemorated Sonny's memory.

"I don't know why I come here. Every year, I come and think the very same things. But I can't cry over you. I couldn't when you left me in Bensonhurst and I couldn't when you died."

Shaking her head, she got to her feet. "No matter what my head reasons, my heart still does. It's ridiculous and a waste of time. But, no matter how much I reason, I still do."

With a war waging in her head and her heart, she walked away from the one man she'd truly loved—even if it had been only for a short time in the distant past. Kate didn't know how to react to feelings as foreign to her as the idea of loving a mobster.

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Mattie walked up to the Maxie's front door. She had been nearly finished with her shift when her cousin had called asking her to come over and discuss wedding plans. She had almost told her that today wasn't a good day, but truth be told, she'd wanted to see Georgie again.

So here she was, under the pretense of wedding plans, but intending to grill her newly found aunt on the past thirty years. Mattie sighed and rang the doorbell. She didn't really want to plan a wedding. It wasn't that she didn't want to get married, because she did, very much so. But she'd almost made the suggestion that they elope to Vegas.

Though she was smart enough to keep that thought from Maxie's hearing range. If Maxie knew that Mattie had even considered eloping, she'd have her head.

Mattie was knocked out of her musings when the door opened. Julia stood in the doorway, grinning.

"Hi Aunt Mattie!" she said, opening the door wider so Mattie could enter.

"Hi sweet pea! how was school?"

Julia wrinkled her nose, telling her aunt wordlessly exactly what she thought of spending six hours, five days a week closeted in a classroom.

Mattie laughed and ruffled the little girl's blond hair. "It'll get better my friend." Sliding past her niece, she walked down the hallway toward the kitchen where she heard her aunt's trilling laughter.

"Well it looks as though this is the place to be," she called, announcing herself to the two women seated at the kitchen table, each nursing a glass of wine. Maxie jumped up and enveloped Mattie in a hug, before drawing her to one of the empty chairs.

"I'm glad you're here," she said, kissing Mattie's cheek. "How 'bout some wine? It's red—your favorite?"

Mattie sighed and dropped into the chair. She ran a hand through her hair and shrugged her shoulders. "What the hell? It was a hectic day. I had a little boy brought in with an unexplainable fever. He'd seen two specialists and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I ran some tests and found out that he has allergies. Thank you," she said to Maxie who handed her a glass of wine.

"But he's okay now?" Maxie asked, taking a seat next to Georgie.

She nodded and took a small sip of the wine, letting the flavor meld in her mouth. "But I got him on antibiotics and he should be fine in a week or two. But it was touch and go for a while."

"Your job sounds very interesting," Georgie said quietly, as if unsure as whether she could contribute to the conversation.

Mattie turned and faced her aunt. "Oh yes, it has its moments. But mine is trivial compared yours…it would seem."

Georgie paused as if deciding what to say to the previous statement. "Yes, my job in very exciting, but it can be a rat race sometimes. I'm currently on vacation. It's the first one in more than fifteen years."

"Wow, I can't imagine not taking a vacation," Maxie said, then turned her attention to Mattie. "So, have you set a date yet?"

Mattie shrugged. "I think so. We are thinking January 5th."

Maxie's eyes widened. "What! This January fifth? As if one week after New Years?"

Mattie nodded. "Sure, we don't want a big wedding or anything. Just our family and friends at Queen of Angels and then a reception at the Metrocourt." She took a sip of her wine and shot a bland look at Georgie over the rim of her glass.

"See what I have to put up with? Maxie is a little much. Was she this obsessive when the two of you were young?"

Before Georgie could answer, Maxie cut her off. "Don't answer that," she ordered, glaring at her sister.

Mattie laughed while Maxie brushed past the comment. "Anyway, we really need to talk about this wedding. Surely you don't want to wait until the spring—or the summer. A June wedding would be so nice. You'd look very pretty in pastels."

Mattie gave her aunt a look that feigned being violently sick. "I think not. Besides, I don't want an extended engagement. I already do that I love him—after all I've loved him since I was a little girl. So why wait? I want to be married now."

"Pardon me, but I've been out of the loop for a really long time. Who exactly are you engaged to?" Georgie asked. She'd been pretty quiet for the main part of the conversation.

Mattie turned and smiled. "I'm marrying Morgan Corinthos-Jax."

"Really? Carly and Sonny's son?"

"That's what I said," Maxie murmured. She took a sip of wine and studied her niece. For the first time in a very long time—since Robin's death—Mattie looked happy. Really and truly happy.

"That's very nice that you've found someone special," Georgie smiled and replied quietly.

"What about you, Georgie?" Mattie asked quietly, which had Maxie's attention. Georgie glanced at her questioningly.

"What?"
"Did you ever have someone special?" Mattie pressed further.

Georgie stood up and walked to the window, partially to buy herself time and partially to figure out how to answer.

Finally she looked back. "I-I did love once. But I made a mistake and it cost me that love." She closed her mouth and turned back toward the window. Mattie and Maxie looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Clearly, Georgie didn't want to talk.

Mattie sighed and got to her feet. "Okay, I should be going. I have a long list of chores to do at home. It's my turn to do the laundry. Thanks for the wine and the conversation," she directed toward Maxie. "Enjoy planning my wedding and let me know if you actually need my help."

Maxie waved her hand. "No, no. I'm good. I will give you the best wedding on the fifth of January. All you have to do is show up. But I will call you about dress fittings." She came up and hugged Mattie to her. "I'll see you later."

"Thanks Aunt Maxie. Bye Georgie." With a wave, she slipped on her coat and scarf and walked out the front door.

As she walked toward her car, she went back over Georgie's answer. She knew that Georgie and Dillon Quartermaine had been an item back in the day, so maybe Georgie's mistake had been losing Dillon. But what if it wasn't? She wondered how much Maxie knew. Something told her that Georgie had a lot of explaining to do. But she did know that any explanation would take time—a long, long time.

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