Okay, so I have a few minor details to bring you up to speed.
First of all, in the beginning of this story, Maxie had two daughters named Fiona and Julia. Then I realized that I named Starr and Cole's daughter Julia as well. So, I changed Maxie's daughter's name to Jamie.
Also, this chapter is gearing toward the end of the entire story. I already have an epilogue planned out. It will provide happy endings for all characters. I doubt that I will ever do another story using the same characterizations from this one, but I've had a lot of fun.
I thank all of my loyal readers and reviews. Someone once reviewed saying that this could be a spin-off of General Hospital. For that, I am very thankful. I am honored to hear that my writing is good enough for the actual show.
Please let me know if you have any ideas for the last remaining chapters. I really enjoy reading the reviews. Thanks again and enjoy!
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Georgie shifted as the sun streamed in through the window. She opened her eyes and stretched. For the first time in the weeks that she'd been back in Port Charles, she actually awoke rested.
She thought back to last night when she'd told her sister everything. Georgie was so grateful that Maxie had taken the news well and she was even more grateful that everything was out in the open.
Pushing back the covers, she put her feet on the floor and rose to make the bed. Life was a funny thing, she mused. Once upon a time, she'd been little Georgie Jones, the-girl-next-door from Port Charles, NY. Then after a series of unfortunate events, she was an agent for the WSB and had to watch her family be murdered. Then there was now. Now she was back where she began, not quite certain what role she was supposed to be playing.
She hoped that her role involved Dillon Quartermaine, because she'd realized that she couldn't live without him. She also hoped that it involved her sister and her uncle because she now realized just how much of a fool she'd been for thinking that she could live her life letting them think that she was dead.
Smiling widely now, Georgie walked into the bathroom and raced through her shower. Twenty minutes later, she was walking out of the bedroom, down the stairs and into bedlam.
"I can't find my pink shoes!" Jamie wailed, walking into the kitchen just ahead of Georgie. "Someone must have stolen them and I have to wear them today!"
Maxie turned around from the stove where she'd been stirring oatmeal. "Did you check your closet?"
"YES! And they're not in there, or under the bed, or in the hall closet!"
"Daddy probably threw them away," Fiona muttered darkly without looking up from her cereal.
"Fiona," Maxie answered warningly. She gave the oatmeal another quick stir before reaching into a cabinet for a bowl. She dished up the oats and dropped the bowl onto the table. "Here you go, Jamie. Eat up or you'll be late."
"I need to find my shoes. I have a geography test today and they're my lucky charm," Jamie said, but sat down and picked up her spoon.
Maxie turned again and spied Georgie. "Good morning! Welcome to chaos! What some oatmeal?"
Georgie laughed. "Sure." She took a seat next to Jamie. "After you eat, I'll help you find your shoes. I'm really good at finding things."
Jamie looked up at her aunt with a watery smile. "Really?" At Georgie's nod, she smiled wider. "Thanks."
"I'll also help you with you test. What sort of geography are we studying?"
"The test is on state capitols." Satisfied now that she would find her shoes, Jamie took a bite of the cereal.
"Ah, that can be hard. But it can still be fun," Georgie commented, accepting the cup of steaming coffee Maxie offered. "Thanks."
Maxie took a seat across the table. "It's nice having your aunt Georgie back home, isn't it, girls?"
Jamie nodded emphatically while her big sister said nothing. Georgie turned her attention back to the little girl. "What's the capitol of Georgia?"
Jamie frowned, thinking. "Umm…Atlanta! And the capitol of Maine in Augusta!"
"Good. And the capitol of New York?"
"Aunt Georgie, that's an easy one. Its Albany," Jamie answered in a tone that said she wasn't stupid.
"I was just checking. How about Washington and Oregon?"
"The capitol of Washington's Olympia and the Oregon is…" she scrunched up her nose, trying to remember.
"It's Portland, you idiot," Fiona muttered, jumping up, her spoon clattering into her empty bowl. She raced out of the room and could be heard pounding up the stairs. Maxie and Georgie stared after her and then turned to eye each other.
Maxie stood and took her daughter's bowl to the sink. Georgie turned to Jamie, who was playing in her cereal bowl absentmindedly. "Don't mind your sister, sweetie pie. She'll be okay. Let's go upstairs and look for your shoes, okay?" She rose, nodding at Maxie and smiling at the child.
Jamie managed to match her aunt's smile and followed Georgie out of the room and up the stairs. Together they went through the closet, and under the bed. Digging through a toy chest, Georgie drew out a pair of pink tennis shoes. Holding them up, she motioned for the little girl. "Jamie, are these the shoes in question?"
A mile-wide smile exploded on Jamie's face. "You found them!" She jumped up and threw herself into Georgie. "Thank you, thank you! You're the best!" She grabbed the shoes and ran out of the room, calling for her mother. "Mom! Aunt Georgie found my shoes! I can ace my test today!"
Maxie came out of the kitchen, "That's great. All hail Aunt Georgie. You saved the day, once again!"
"Alert the newspapers," Fiona mumbled coming down the stairs behind Georgie. She reached into the hall closet and grabbed her coat and mittens.
"Be nice, Fiona," Maxie said sharply. "I'm getting very tired of these sarcastic comments and attitude from you."
"Whatever." Without waiting for a reply, she stalked out the front door just as the bus pulled up in front of the house.
Jamie threw her arms around her mother and then her aunt. "I'm really glad that you are home, Aunt Georgie. Bye!" she said, waving and following her sister out the door.
Maxie shut the door behind the girls and watched from the window as they both boarded the big yellow bus. She then turned back to her sister was still standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Thanks for covering today. I don't know what Fiona's problem is. Spinelli and I are at our wits end these days. And Jamie is so sweet and innocent that she takes whatever her sister says to heart. It hurts her."
Georgie shrugged. "I don't know. I'll talk to her for you, if you want." She reached into the hall closet and drew out her own coat.
"Maybe she'll listen to you," Maxie replied, walking back to the kitchen and finishing the dishes. A glance at the clock told her that she was supposed to be walking into Crimson's offices in exactly eighteen minutes. It would take her at least fifteen minutes to gather her belongings, get into the car and drive into town. She would only have three minutes to spare. Sighing, she laughed internally. Being late seemed to be the story of her life.
Georgie had walked into the kitchen and was pouring a second up of coffee. "I'll finish the dishes for you."
"Thanks." Then her eyes widened. "Oh my god! I forgot to tell you that Mac is having a family dinner tonight. He wants to welcome you back and to celebrate Mattie's engagement," Maxie said, picking up her briefcase.
"Oh. Okay. I guess. Are you sure that I should be there?"
"Yes, Mac wants you. Is that a problem?"
"No, no. I'll be there. What time?"
"Umm, 6:30," Maxie answered, walking out of the door. "I'll call you later. Have a good day!"
Georgie lifted a hand in response and watched as her sister pulled out of the driveway and peeled down the road. She told herself to focus on the good things in her life. And not to worry about a simple family dinner.
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Mattie stood at the nurses' station filling out a patient's chart when a hand snaked up around her. She smiled brightly and turned around.
"Hey Lover Boy."
Morgan said nothing, but leaned down, pulling her into a kiss. When he finally let her go, she raised her eyebrows. "That's some welcome."
"Well, a pretty girl like you deserves a special welcome," Morgan answered. He picked up a coffee cup from the counter. "Here's your daily latte. Lulu said that you hadn't yet stopped by this morning."
"I was running late today. And I had an early surgery," Mattie answered, taking the coffee gratefully. "Thanks. What would I do without you?"
"Let's not find out," Morgan said, kissing her again. "I saw your uncle today. He invited me to a family dinner tonight."
"Oh! I completely forgot to call you. He called me at work and we were a zoo right after or I would have called. Can you come?"
"Sure. Do you want me to pick you up?" Morgan asked. He took a sip of his own coffee.
"That'd be nice. Pick me up at my apartment at six-fifteen. I'm off at four today. I have to make a lemon cream pie. Its Uncle Mac's favorite. Then I need to run a few more errands that I never seem to get done any other day of the week," Mattie replied. She glanced at the clock.
Morgan watched her eye the clock. "I'm holding you up. I'm sorry. I have to get back to work anyway. I'll see you tonight." He pulled her closer and kissed her again, releasing her after a moment. "One of these days, we need to spend some time together." He waved and stepped into the elevator.
Mattie's Aunt Dr. Kelly Lee Hunter chose that moment to walk around the corner. "Wow. That was a pretty steamy conversation."
Mattie turned and grinned. "As if I haven't heard stories about you and steamy conversations."
"True. So you're coming to dinner tonight at Mac's?" Kelly handed several charts to Mattie. "These are your new patients."
"Thanks." She accepted the charts. "Yes, I'll be there. It should be interesting, what with Georgie back from the dead."
Kelly laughed. "Yeah, that'll fun." She glanced up as the elevator doors open again. "Oh, oh. Here we go again." She hurried over as the paramedics wheeled a gurney in and began calling out. The room was swarmed with doctors and nurses trying to save a life.
And Mattie put everything else out of her mind in order to focus being part of the act of saving.
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Lila Rae Alcazar hated weakness. She hated it with a passion. Weakness meant dependence and dependence meant leaning on another person. And leaning on another person was the part that made her fight the most.
She clutched the sides of the wall at the PCPD for support, willing the wave of vertigo to pass. And as she waited, she hoped to God that no one was around to see her. She was planning to attack Cameron for not calling her after he'd checked out the lead from the day before. He'd told her to go back to her office and let him do the footwork; she'd gone only because she was so tired of arguing.
Because God knew hated giving in to demands.
She closed her eyes and forced herself to breath slowly. This pregnancy was taking things out of her that she didn't know she had. It was making her want to depend on others and the fact that the person she wanted to depend on was Cameron scared her the most.
"Lila?"
Her eyes shot open, praying that Cameron wasn't standing in front of her. When her vision steadied, she was glad to see that it was not Cameron, but Sarah Lansing.
"Hello," she said weakly.
Sarah narrowed her eyes worriedly as she studied the tough-as-nails prosecutor who was currently gripping the wall like a lifeline. "Are you all right?"
Lila took a deep breath, hoping that her breakfast would slide back down toward her stomach. "Yes, I think so."
"Because you look very far from okay. Can I help you? Get you something? Maybe crackers or wat—" She was cut off when Lila raced frantically for the ladies room at the other end of the hallway. She sighed and hurried into the bathroom.
When she opened the door, she could hear sounds of retching coming from the far stall. "Lila?" she called softly.
There was no answer as Lila continued to upchuck into the toilet. After a few moments, there was silence and Sarah saw Lila lean weakly against the bathroom wall. Knowing that Lila needed a moment to get her bearings before being questioned, Sarah stepped back into the hallway and walked to the vending machine. Digging out a dollar from her pocket, she purchased a bottled water and made her way back into the restroom.
Lila had managed to pull herself up from the floor and had poured herself into the plastic chair that sat in the corner. Saying nothing, Sarah walked into the room and handed the red-head the water.
Lila nodded thanks and took an experimental sip. When it stayed down, she took another sip, this time standing and spitting into the sink. When she'd managed to wash away the disgusting taste of puke, she sat back down weakly.
"Not to pry into your personal life, but are you okay? That was pretty bad in there," Sarah said finally.
"It's okay. It would come out eventually," she sighed and lifted her gaze to look at Sarah's face. "I'm pregnant," she explained.
To her credit, Sarah didn't look overtly surprised. "Congratulations. I assume that it's a good thing, right?"
Lila sucked in a breath. "I'm trying to see the positives. Let's just say that it was unexpected." She laughed nervously. "I haven't been hit with sickness this bad in a public place before. Thanks for helping me and not asking too many questions."
Sarah smiled. "No problem, just doing my public duty. I won't tell anyone what happened or why it happened." She walked to the door and began to pull it open. "Are you sure that you're going to be okay?"
"Yes, yes. I'm fine. I will be fine. Thanks again," Lila answered before Sarah exited the room.
Lila took another deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. When she was sure that she wouldn't keel over, she pushed to her feet and gathered the purse and briefcase she'd tossed on the ground in her haste. Smoothing her hair and crushing down on a mint, she stepped out of the bathroom.
She managed to pull herself together as she walked down the hall and into the bullpen. Taking another deep breath, Lila crossed the room to Cameron's desk.
"Detective Spencer," she called crisply.
Cameron looked up from the report he'd been working on. He fought back a smile as Lila dropped into adjoining chair. "Yes, Counselor?"
"I believe we had an agreement. I let you do your interview of Erosa alone and you were to call me as soon as you'd finished."
"I made the decision that the new could wait. You'd already had a stressful day by the time we'd finished interviewing Jason Morgan," Cameron answered coolly. He knew her tactics and could outmaneuver her any day. But she was too much a professional to bring their personal lives into play.
"That was not your decision. As the victim's council, I reserve the legal right to be kept apprised of any developments," she spoke slowly, bitingly. And he knew that she was pissed off at his actions.
"And you will be. This morning. I wasn't ready to give you the report as of the end of yesterday," he answered.
She thinned her lips and he could almost see the process of consideration occurring inside her head. "All right. I will give it to you. What is your report?"
"I went to the brownstone and identified myself. I was let in and met the one and only Mikhail Erosa. I questioned why he was in the country and where he'd been on the night of the shooting. He had no viable alibi," Cameron began.
Lila's eyes widened. "And you let him go!"
He rolled his eyes. "Oh ye of little faith. No, I called in a warrant and arrested him—albeit his protests and threats." He hooked a thumb to the holding cell where said man was glowering. "He kept calling out for his lawyer so we put him in the back."
"Does he have a lawyer?"
"Yes, a call was put in. He should be here very soon," Cameron replied. He handed her a copy of his arrest report.
"I want in on the interrogation." She calmly filed away the paperwork in her briefcase.
"No." It was said so firmly that she practically balked.
"Why? And you better not blame our personal problem," she questioned warningly. He stood to match his stance.
"There's that and that little fact that you are representing the victim."
She sighed, knowing was right on both accounts. "I'm not an invalid. I will not be overexerting myself. I will wait outside then."
Cameron nodded, knowing that it was as much a compromise that Lila would agree to. "Fine."
"Good. Let me know when you are ready to proceed. I have some work back at my office. And on a personal note, why don't you stop by later," she said for his ears alone before calmly walking toward the door.
Cameron stared after her and wondered what he was getting himself into.
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