Chapter Thirty Seven

(What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive


I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time) ( Lifehouse)

Cooper always wanted to visit New York City, wanted to sit at outdoor café like he was now, with a girl as pretty as Maxie Jones smiling back at him. But it was hard to enjoy when all he could do was worry about leaving her behind soon.

Cooper called Brenda and left her a phone message. "Hey, I need a day to get something done...I'll be out of touch...don't send your ex or any of his thugs looking for me...I won't get in any trouble, I promise. You got to trust me. When I am done with this I will come home to London with you, okay? Love you..."

He hung up and then passed Maxie the phone. They had driven her car into New York City to the Bensonhurst neighborhood where Brooklyn lived.

"You sure you want to do this, Coop? Remember, I can be your family, baby. You don't have to try and fit in with the Quatermaine's if you don't want to..." Maxie started. She took a sip of her coffee, letting the sentence hang there, as she gave him a chance to back out of meeting his sister.

"I don't give much of a damn about the Quatermaine's at this point. My mother thought AJ was dangerous and Ned was selfish. Is that even true, though? I don't know. Maybe I never will. But what I am sure of is Brooklyn deserves to know I exist and I can't be sure Ned ever told her or ever will...I have to do this. I have to look in my sister's eyes and tell her I take family serious and I'll come if she ever calls me...if she needs a brother...I have to offer her that even if she might turn me down."

XXXXXXX

Maxie nodded. He was a better man than she ever imagined might love her. She always thought she would get a guy like Frisco- wild, into danger and pushing the limits, riding the edge, like she did, and a guy who would eventually let that lifestyle lead him away from her.

She tried to date cops to avoid that type- cops were stable and safe, like Mac. But Maxie always ended up back with the bad boy, back chasing trouble and thrills, back with a man who didn't know how to love her right. She would call Kyle Radcliffe- time after time, in the past- and end up in his bed for a few hours, being who she knew how to be best.

All that was behind her now. All she wanted was to stand by Cooper and be someone he could love.

She dialed her phone. "Brooklyn, hi. It's Maxie Jones. I'm in the city for the day and I was hoping you could meet me for lunch...well, no, we aren't that great of friends...okay, we aren't friends at all but, listen, you are the only person I know in the city and I was hoping you would want to...what? No this isn't a scam. Why would I ...okay, fine, fine, yes, you got me, the truth is I am working the Twelve Steps and you are one of the people I need to apologize to...yes, thanks, it will be nice to make amends, yeah, sure...okay, 8 o'clock...great."

She sighed as she clicked off the call. "Your sister doesn't think much of me. Guess I was a little bitchy to her when she lived in Port Charles." She shrugged.

"That's the past. I'm sure she will let it go."

Maxie knew not everyone had the big heart Cooper did."Maybe you should meet with her alone."

"I need you with me, Maxie." He reached out and took her hand.

There wasn't many more days left till he would board a plane and leave this country behind, maybe for good. She wasn't sure she could survive watching him do that.

Maxie felt a sudden urge rise up in her, and she was never any good at ignoring those when that happened.

"You got me, Coop." She squeezed his hand. "What do you think about...keeping me? Wanna get hitched?"

His blue eyes flashed with shock, then amazement, then joy. His head shook back and forth, he murmured "Always rushing, Jones."

"I hate to wait for anything I want. And I want you...I want you, forever. Marry me." She flashed him a sexy smile, and did her best to not show how bad she was shaking. He was all she wanted for her future, and if she couldn't have him she was afraid she would fall fully into the darkness that she drifted in out of before. "What do you say, Coop? Wanna be my hubby?"

(Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose


And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you)

XXXXXXXXX

Georgie was still by Logan's bedside when her phone rang. She looked at it and frowned. Why would he be calling me after months of not saying a word?

"You okay, angel?" asked Logan

"It's my ex-husband," she said, holding up the phone. "You aren't supposed to use cells in the hospital so I'm going to have to go outside to call him back. Sorry."

"I don't think anyone follows that rule," Logan started.

She smiled. "But I do."

His face broke into a smile at the way she took the rule so seriously and acting like breaking it was the same as treason. She was adorable and he didn't understand why there weren't a hundred guys in love with her already.

(There's something about you now
I can't quite figure out


Everything she does is beautiful
Everything she does is right) ( Lifehouse)

"Okay, then," he said "You talk to your ex a lot?"

"I used to twenty times a day till we broke up...in this very hospital...and then it was like we were old acquaintances...he says hi to me at Kelly's and that's it. When he said it was over, it was over."

"He sounds like a jackass."

"Not at all."

"You still...into him?"

"No, not anymore. Not like I used to be."

Logan smiled and Georgie gave him a little wave and added"I'll be back as quick as I can. You...don't cause any havoc while I am gone. You try to get out of bed again and you might open your stitches. Epiphany was not joking around about strapping you to the bed, believe me."

"Would you let her do that to me?"

"Yes." She winked at him. "For your own good."

"You're tough."

"Only when I care," Georgie said. Their eyes locked on each other and cause butterflies to flutter through her. She hurried from the room before she went and tried to kiss a recently wounded man.

XXXXXXXX

They walked into the Italian restaurant hand-in hand. Lucky was wearing a suit and Sam had on a black dress that exposed her whole back.

As soon as they sat down, she fixed him with a smile and said "You talked me into this...but don't think I don't know you are trying to break the rules. We aren't supposed to be dating."

"We aren't dating, per se."

"Per se." Sam chuckled.

"We are eating...in a nice surrounding...come on, McCall...live a little. I know you want to..."

He flashed her a grin and she felt her heart flip over. Damn, I will never stop loving this man, she thought, It more than just his looks, his jokes, his eyes, his songs, his laugh, his dreams, his loyalty to me and our future, it's the fact that he makes me feel like his friend first...like someone to have fun with...like we are both equal...he treats me right.

She couldn't believe it took her so long to finally get what she was looking for all along. A best friend to love.

"All right," Sam said "but this is not a date."

"Absolutely not," he said, shaking his head slightly. "It's just food on a plate on a table with some candles...and you and me."

"You and me. I love that..." she couldn't stop smiling as the waiter poured them wine. But then a thought hit her out of nowhere and she froze.

Lucky reached for her hand, seeing the worried expression that came over her face. "Hmm?"

"What if..." Sam studied his eyes "it's only ever you and me?"

"That sounds fine to me."

She marveled at how sure he was about them.

"But what if..." pain shot through her whole being as she started to think about never sharing a child with him. The intensity of her ache at the thought was visceral, it sunk into her bones and squeezed the very breath out of her.

Sam tried to focus and said "I promise you we will get you visitation rights to see Cameron, cause he needs that as much as you do but what if...well, you already know, I can't have any kids and...it's just not fair to you." She took her hand away from his.

Sam leaned back in her chair. "I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. Having a baby was on my mind every day for the last two years...every second of everyday...and especially when I found out Jason had a daughter...but in the last few weeks you made me forget, somehow, for just a little bit...I don't know how that happened. I ...want you to have all your dreams come true, Lucky. You deserve that. I don't want you compromising anything for me..."

"Sam," he said softly as he opened his hand, that lay on the table, and urged her to take hold of it again.

Once she did, he went on "I love being with you. I've loved every minute of knowing you so far. I hope you never change your mind about me and always want our life...not yours, not mine, ours. We can take this all slow but...I'm already sure about the future I want...and it is with you. It has been since the moment you got in that cab and left town cause I realized a huge part of me was going with you...I didn't think I could offer you my heart then but I can now. My future is with you...in whatever way you want...and if you want a baby in that life, another child we can love...I swear on all I am, Sam, I will make it happen for us."

Tears flooded her eyes. "It's such a hard battle, infertility, you don't know what you are agreeing to..."

"Hey, now, I don't care how hard it is. I'll have my best friend right there for when it gets tough. I'll have you..." he gave her a smile. "I'm not worried a bit."

"I love you, Lucky." She had wanted to hold off on saying that but she did love him. She had never loved any other man more, and never would.

He stood up and pulled her to her feet. There in the middle of the restaurant, he kissed her and then looked right in her eyes, with his hands cupping her cheek, "Whenever I think about the word love from now on...I'm gonna be thinking about your eyes...about how you've shown me true unconditional love... and about how I will never stop loving you, Samantha."

When his lips touched hers again, the other diners exploded into applause.

(Cause it's you and me and all of the people

with nothing to do
Nothing to lose


And it's you and me and all of the people


And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of youand me and all of the people with

nothing to do
Nothing to prove


And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you)

XXXXXXXX

Georgie called Dillon.

He asked her, "Do you know why your sister is in New York City visiting Brooklyn?"

"No clue. What could Maxie be up to this time?"

"No good as usual, I bet. Brooklyn called me hoping I knew what Maxie might want."

"Well, I'll check it out," Georgie said "Thanks for the heads up...how are you doing these days?"

"Fine."

She immediately knew that was a lie. But answered "Great. Me, too." For her it was the truth, now that Logan was on the road to recovery. Just thinking of his smile was enough to bring on to her face.

Dillon said, "I might leave town...and go to film school, finally. Ned is bugging me to go for my dream and not let the family pigeonhole me into being the next corporate clone."

"You would never become that, Dillon. Never. Just follow your heart."

"What if my heart leads me back to you?"

Softly she said, "It won't."

"Why not?"

"Because..." she swallowed "you don't belong with me. You know that, deep down. You know you wanted her more than me and if you could have her we wouldn't be having this conversation. I will always want the best for you but I can't pretend just to make you feel better...I'm sorry I don't mean to be rude. I care so much for you but.."

"It's okay. You aren't being rude, just honest. I guess that why I avoid talking to you. I knew you'd tell me the things I didn't want to hear. That I can't have you back...that Lulu isn't going to be mine either...that I need to move on and stop trying to go back in time. But I don't want to ..."

"You have to, Dil...okay?"

After a long pause, his single word teary response said it all. "Okay."

Ready or not, Dillon Quatermaine was moving on.

But, before he could, there was one person he had to say a proper good bye to. He just wasn't sure how he would get through it.

(What day is it?
And in what month?


This clock never seemed so alive)

Coming up: Sexis, 3M, Jarly, Spinlu friendship