From the Ashes
Authors Note: This fic includes Character Death. I just thought I'd give everyone a heads up. Also, if you aren't a fan of the main pairing in this fic, please don't leave bad feedback just because you don't like the pairing. This fic takes place about a year after the GH fire. **Also, it contains some spoilers about the fire**, do if you don't want to be spoiled you can read it after the fire airs on GH (
The main couple/pairing is...Zander and Maxie
Some of the other couple/triangles besides the main couple are this fic. These include: Jason/Courtney/Jax (possibly Carly), Nikolas/Emily, Georgie/Dillon, Luke/Skye. These couples may change through out the fic and I may put these characters with different people if I want to go that route in the future.
Also the minor characters in this may only appear once or twice, or they will only be mentioned. And some minor characters may become main characters through out the story.
Some of the flashbacks in this chapter are actual scenes from GH. And I also have to warn you, that none of my italics, bold writing or anything fancy showed up when I put it here on fanfiction.net. So this is as good as its going to get :D
And finally...don't forget to review! I love reading reviews and it encourages me to write more and more often than if I didn't get any lol
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Prologue: The wind blew against Maxie Jones's cold reddened face as she made her way through the Port Charles Park. She walked along the new fresh snow covering the main path towards her house after her shift at Kelly's that she had started after her classes for the day. She put one foot in front of the other as she walked towards her house homebound. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maxie Jones opened her bedroom door and closed it behind her once she was inside. She had another dull day....same as the rest of her days lately. She was now a college student at the Port Charles Community College and living at home. Ever since Mac got hurt in the fire at the Port Charles Hotel, their family had been tight on money. Maxie's mother Felicia came home for about 4 months after Mac got hurt to help nurse him back to health. Maxie didn't give her mother a warm hearted welcome like she knew her mother expected. Felicia had been gone for so long, that Maxie wasn't as thrilled to have her home for the little time that she was home as her younger sister Georgie was.
Speaking of Georgie, she was happier than she had been in months. Georgie and Dillon Quartermaine had recently reunited and were very much in love. As for their obstacles Sage Alcazar and "Tom" aka Travis....they were no longer obstacles. Sage had left town supposedly heartbroken after Dillon and Georgie got back together once she finally told him about "Tom". As for Mr. "Tom"...well Travis was happy to be called by his real name and continued through high school with the best grades of his life thanks to Georgie. The last time Maxie heard about Travis, he was going to Ohio State to play Basketball for their team. As for Georgie and Dillon, they were in their senior year in high school.
Maxie was currently in her 1st year in college. Since Mac got hurt, she worked at Kelly's to help pay for her college tuition and books. She still volunteered at the hospital with what other free time she got. Volunteering at General Hospital let her get the opportunity to get to know a lost soul...Zander Smith....which was a time she would never forget.
Maxie flopped down onto her bed and stretched out and then closed her eyes. Her mind drifting to the very little memories that she had of him....she still remembered his face, his voice... everything about him that he had told her. From the young romantic that tried to take Emily Quartermaine to the prom to the heartbroken man who got mixed up in the mob after loosing Emily to someone else. Zander had trusted her with his life, and she desperately wished that things had turned out differently for him. Once the fire was put out, the firefighters found no sign of Zander where had been hiding out. According to Nikolas Cassadine, Zander and Nikolas were fighting and Nikolas locked him in there not knowing that their fight had started the blaze. It didn't take long to put it together that Zander couldn't have possibly made it out alive. Maxie could still remember when she returned to the Port Charles Hotel and learned about the fire and about Zander's doomed fate.....
**Flashback**
Maxie Jones walked back into the Port Charles Hotel to see a bunch of fireman and paramedics there and saw the smoke in the air. She noticed someone on a stretched being led out of the hotel and realized that it was Mac.
"Oh, my god! Oh, my god, that's my dad! That's my dad! Maxie exclaimed fear running through her entire body
Paramedic: "Hold on, hold on -- i'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"What happened? " she asked
Paramedic: "The fire started in the basement. He went down there and got caught in the back draft."
"The basement? There's somebody else in the basement! She exclaimed realizing that Zander was still down there.
Paramedic: "I'm sorry, ma'am, we have got to get him to the hospital right away!"
"If he wakes up, ok, tell him that I'm fine! My name is Maxie, ok?" she said as Mac got led out of the hotel. She went up to a fireman. "Excuse me! I need your help! I need your help! There's somebody in the basement right now."
Fireman: You sure?
"I'm positive! Can you please get him out?
Fireman: "Well, we'll do the best we can, but that room was reported to have been fully engulfed. No one in there could've possibly survived."
**End of Flashback**
Zander wasn't the only one lost that day.... Brian Beck died after being shot in the burning PC hotel and Zander's father, Cameron Lewis, was lost in the blaze....but Zander's death impacted her the most. She didn't handle the service very well at all and Maxie remembered crying herself to sleep the night after Zander's memorial service that Alexis held for him along with Cameron. She knew nobody else understood why she was so upset over a man that she hardly knew at all....
**Flashback**
"Oh god...Zander. I'm so sorry that you are gone. I should have gotten back to the hotel sooner...I may have been able to stop everything and you would be alive." Maxie whispered to herself dug her face into her pillow and tried to sob silently.
The sound of her bedroom door opening, made Maxie go completely silent. She knew it had to be Georgie. She held her breath hoping her sister would go back to her room and leave her alone. After a minute, she heard her room door close again and listened as Georgie's footsteps grew faint and then she was left in silence again.
**End of Flashback**
Maxie rolled over and glanced at her clock. It was 7:30 and Maxie was already exhausted. She decided to get ready for bed and watch some TV in her bed until she fell asleep. It was a Friday Night and Mac was still at work and Georgie was on a date with Dillon so she had the house to herself for a while. She got off of her bed and went into the bathroom to change. She threw on her blue fuzzy pajamas and fuzzy slippers and walked over to her closet to lie out her uniform for her shift at General Hospital the following morning. She quickly found her uniform but noticed that dress hanging in the back of her closet...it was the dress that she had purchased a year ago for the winter informal that year. She never ended up going to the dance; instead she was busy hiding Zander Smith in her room. But Maxie was glad that she didn't go to the prom because Zander tried to give her her own special dance. It was so much better than going to school dance. She caressed the dress with her fingers feeling the fabric between her fingers. She still had memories of that night......
**Flashback**
Maxie walked into her room wearing her winter formal dress per Zander's request. The first thing she noticed as the room was dark and lit with candles and the music was playing.
"Welcome to the winter informal." Zander said lighting the last of the candles and then looked over at her.
"You really did not need to do this." Maxie said in awe
"Do what? Zander asked still looking at her
"Try to make me not feel like a pathetic loser." Maxie replied somewhat softly.
"Actually, I'm trying to make myself not feel like a pathetic loser. You know, I never thought my life would turn out this way. As a matter of fact, there was a time when I thought it'd be quite different. You know, I took a girl to the prom once." Zander says as his mind drifts to Emily.
"Emily? she guessed figuring that had to be who it was.
"It was a disaster. I didn't fit in, I couldn't do the talk about, you know, who was dating who and where biff was going to college. You know, I couldn't even pretend to. It was just –" he paused.
"Was she angry? Maxie asked him.
"She was -- she tried not to be disappointed, but she was. I felt like a jerk. And then on the way home, I stopped the car and I took her hand and we danced underneath the streetlight." he said.
"Sounds romantic." she said softly.
"It was more than that. It was real. So, it would be my honor if you would dance with me now. It would help me to remember that guy and that girl. Maxie, I''m not trying to hit on you here." he says
"I know. But that guy? He was probably wearing a boutonniere. Here you go." she said with a giggle going and getting a flower and putting it on him.
The music began playing and the two started to dance.
**End of Flashback**
Snapping out of her thoughts and memories, Maxie flipped on the TV and started to surf the channels. She settled on some movie with Tom Hanks in it and closed her eyes. Before she realized it, she was fast asleep.
Maxie didn't know how long she was asleep for but she was woken up by footsteps ascending up the stairs and heading towards her room. *Its got to be Georgie* she thought to herself as she sighed out loud. Sure enough, her door soon swung open and Georgie peered inside most likely to see if her sister was awake or not.
"Maxie? Are you awake?" Georgie asked slightly above a whisper.
"Does this answer your question Georgie."? Maxie asked not waiting for a response before switching on her lamp on her nightstand,
Gerogie smiled slightly. "Well I just wanted to let you know that I am home from my date with Dillon." She said beaming.
Maxie could already tell by the twinkle of her sister's eyes and the tone of her voice, that she had a good time. "Okay, spill Georgie...I can tell you want to share your evening with someone and I'm awake now, so you might as well tell me." She said with a slight smile as she sat up in the sitting position in her bed.
Georgie flopped down on the foot of the bed and began to fill her sister in on her latest date with Dillon...every single little detail. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nikolas Cassadine walked into the Windermere study to see his wife, Emily Quartermaine-Cassadine, seated on the sofa studying for a medical test. Nikolas and Emily had married about 4 months ago and Nikolas loved every moment being married to the strong willed Emily Quartermaine. The two wed in a lavish wedding ceremony at the Port Charles Church with the money that they got from the treasure. Nikolas and Emily recaptured the treasure and did exactly what they planned with it....they divided it between their two families. The Quartermaines weren't exactly thrilled with it, but they settled for whatever they got. As for Nikolas's family, which consisted of Alexis, Lucky and Lulu and even Luke some days... they didn't mind as much, they were glad for some extra income.
"Hey, how is the studying going?" Nikolas asked with a warm smile as he took a seat next to Emily. He had made a cup of coffee for her since he figured she would be staying up for a while and then put his arm around her. He decided to stay out of Emily's hair for the day since he knew she had a paper and a test coming up in the next few days.
Emily looked up from her books and yawned. "Its coming along." She replied with a soft smile as she took the coffee cup from him. She was grateful for the energy booster. Anything to keep herself awake for a little bit longer. "I thought of a personal experience to put in my essay....I'm going to write about my injury during the Port Charles Fire when the chandelier fell on me. I got to see doctors work for weeks on my injuries....they helped me so much with their medicine and...." She paused and then took a sip of her coffee.
Nikolas smiled slightly and looked into her eyes. "I thank God that you recovered everyday since then. I still feel it was my fault that you got hurt...I shouldn't have gone into that basement...then I wouldn't have run into Zander...and then the fire wouldn't have started." Nikolas said with a sigh.
Emily set her books down and looked into his eyes. "Don't blame yourself Nikolas...it wasn't your fault. The electrical systems were the cause of that fire. And about Zander, I know you didn't lock him in there knowing that he was going to die in there." She said her voice trailing off as thoughts of Zander Smith came into her mind. *I wish you would have gotten to Canada Zander...I wish you wouldn't have died* she thought to herself. Even though it had been almost a year to the date since that fire, the memories and events of it didn't fade away like some people in Port Charles thought they would.
Nikolas nodded. "I know...but I can't help it. That fire has been on my mind lately...especially since the one year anniversary is tomorrow." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then decided not to say anything else.
Emily decided to change the subject. "Lets not talk about that fire anymore tonight?" she suggests. "I shouldn't have brought it up. I'll write my essay tomorrow." Emily said setting the coffee cup down and rising to her feet. She watched Nikolas rise as well. Emily took a hold of his hand and glanced at the clock. It was just 11:30 exactly. "Come on, lets get to bed." She said softly looking into his eyes and then led him out of the study and towards their bedroom. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
:Morning:
Courtney Matthews sat down at her desk in her apartment. Now that the dust settled from the fire and from Sonny and Carly's custody battle, Courtney was starting to have a normal life. She divorced Jason and vowed to stay out of the mob...even though her love for Jason never died. She had to get out before she lost all of her innocence....but she wasn't the same person that she was before. Shooting Brian was a real wake up call for her and because of her chickening out in confessing to the shooting caused Zander Smith his life in the end. She remembered signing the divorce papers and finally being free of the mob...
**Flashback**
Courtney Morgan looked at the divorce papers and picked up a nearby pen. The tears kept flowing down her cheeks, as her shaky hands scribbled her signature on the papers. She turned around and looked at Jason who was behind her and handed him the pen so he could sign next. "This is it Jason....the last time I will be Courtney Morgan. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that I wasn't cut out to be your wife because I will always love you. I'm no Carly...I probably will never be able to be as strong as she was being in Sonny's life while they were together."
Jason put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Courtney, I never expected you to be like Carly. I wish things could have worked out for us, but I don't regret falling in love with you and I never will." He watched as she stepped away so he could sign the papers. Jason took a deep breath and signed his name on the papers, setting the pen down once he did. "I'll give these to Justus as soon as I can get over and see him." He said softly going to the door of Courtney's brand new apartment.
He opened the door and went to exit but stopped. He turned around and locked eyes with Courtney. "Courtney, I just want you to know my love for you isn't going to go away even though our marriage didn't work. I want you to be happy and find someone with a lifestyle that you can live happily in." he then turned back around and left her apartment shutting the door behind him.
Courtney broke down crying once the door had clicked shut.
**End of Flashback**
Courtney closed her eyes letting the tears that had formed in her eyes fall down her cheeks. Courtney's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock at the door. Courtney slowly got up from her chair and opened the door to see Carly Roberts formally known as Carly Corinthos.
"Hey Carly." Courtney said with a sad smile.
Carly noticed the pain in her friend's eyes and voice and stepped inside. "You are thinking about the Port Charles Fire aren't you? It's going to be the one-year anniversary tomorrow and I can't blame you...a lot of people died. Some innocent civilians and some people that we knew." She said
Courtney closed the door behind her. "Yes, I'm thinking about it Carly...who isn't in this town? My actions of shooting Brian helped seal the fate of Zander."
Carly shook her head. "Come on Courtney, you aren't responsible for anything that happened. You were protecting your husband at the time, you aren't some cold-blooded monster...as for Zander, he was self-destructing. He would have gotten in trouble some other way."
Courtney sighed. "Carly...I wish I could believe you....but I can't. Zander was innocent and I didn't do a damn thing to stop that manhunt that the cops had on him! Its going to be the one year anniversary of the event tomorrow...one year and counting, my actions have cost him."
Carly spun around and looked at Courtney. She fell silent. Carly didn't know what to say to make things better, she knew that as the years passed things would try and go back to normal...but the next 24 hours were going to be tough for everyone...especially Courtney since the pain, the hurt, and the memories were still fresh after all this time. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Luke Spencer tapped his foot against the ground while glancing at his watch. He was waiting on Skye and hoped the redhead would show up soon. He looked off into the distance and noticed her figure approaching him. "Hey Red!" he called out and went over to her.
Skye looked tired and Luke figured she had just gotten up recently. "Okay Luke...why did you wake me up to meet you at-...-" she paused and glanced at her watch. "At 7:30 AM?" she asked finishing her question.
Luke flashed her one of his smiles. "I thought we would do something..." he paused trying to choose the right word. "fun today." He said.
Skye cut him off right there. "We do something 'fun' almost everyday Luke." Skye pointed out and tried not to let the excitement show in her voice. She wondered what Luke was up to this time. Ever since she had gotten involved with the man, her life had never been the same and she wasn't complaining.
Luke held up his hand. "Yeah, I know that...but today we are going to go... ice skating." He simply said.
Skye's eyes got wide. "You mean you woke me up at god knows what hour to tell me that we are going ice skating?!" she exclaimed.
Luke nodded. "Yep, but the rest of the gang is going to be there too. Lulu has been begging me to take her ice-skating for a while now so I finally caved in. And I need your help in planning the day today. I really don't want to mess this up....I have took what Dr. Qua...Cameron told me before he died to heart and this is what Lulu wants since I didn't get a chance to take her ice skating last year with everything that went on and I want you to be there too. So...with your beauty and brains behind this, I'm sure we can make a whole day out of everything." He said.
Skye nodded. "Okay, count me in. I'm sure we can think of a whole itinerary for the day...over coffee." She said and paused. "Which you are providing." She added with a smile.
Luke puts his arm around her as they headed towards his house together. "You got yourself a deal Blaze."
Tracy Quartermaine and her new partner Helena Cassadine watched the two from off in the distance. Helena smiled wickedly and turned to her partner. "I have an idea to get some revenge." She said.
Tracy nodded. "Okay, so go on old hag." She said.
Helena raised a brow. "I am going to take something away from dear old Luke." She snickered. "Its time I get my revenge on him."
"And what would that be?" Tracy asked sighing annoyed by Helena's little games.
"I'm going to get rid of little miss Skye." Helena simply said.
Tracy was now very interested. "I like where this is going, anything to get even with little miss heiress. Ever since my brain-less father Edward named her heir to the Quartermaine name, I have wanted revenge. That should be my title...she isn't even an actual Quartermaine!" she hissed through clenched teeth.
"Patience Tracy, we have to plan this right...." Helena said waving her hand to stop further talking from Tracy. "Now this is what we are going to do.....- "~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maxie woke up to the cool breeze on her skin. It was like someone opened the window. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked towards her window. She saw it was still closed and figured her mind was playing tricks on her or someone turned the heat down in the house. She quickly went into the bathroom and showered and dressed. Once she had done that, Maxie was busy towel-drying her hair when she noticed a note on her table. "I bet my dad or Georgie put this in here when I was in the shower." She said to herself as she opened the note. Her eyes scanned over it and she was instantly confused.
The note read: Maxie,
Look into the past, for someone is not lost in it.
The note wasn't signed or anything, which baffled Maxie. The writing looked somewhat like Mac's so Maxie figured it must have been him playing some sort of game with her. "I'll have to ask him later about this." She said softly and set the note back down and returned into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
Authors Note: This fic includes Character Death. I just thought I'd give everyone a heads up. Also, if you aren't a fan of the main pairing in this fic, please don't leave bad feedback just because you don't like the pairing. This fic takes place about a year after the GH fire. **Also, it contains some spoilers about the fire**, do if you don't want to be spoiled you can read it after the fire airs on GH (
The main couple/pairing is...Zander and Maxie
Some of the other couple/triangles besides the main couple are this fic. These include: Jason/Courtney/Jax (possibly Carly), Nikolas/Emily, Georgie/Dillon, Luke/Skye. These couples may change through out the fic and I may put these characters with different people if I want to go that route in the future.
Also the minor characters in this may only appear once or twice, or they will only be mentioned. And some minor characters may become main characters through out the story.
Some of the flashbacks in this chapter are actual scenes from GH. And I also have to warn you, that none of my italics, bold writing or anything fancy showed up when I put it here on fanfiction.net. So this is as good as its going to get :D
And finally...don't forget to review! I love reading reviews and it encourages me to write more and more often than if I didn't get any lol
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Prologue: The wind blew against Maxie Jones's cold reddened face as she made her way through the Port Charles Park. She walked along the new fresh snow covering the main path towards her house after her shift at Kelly's that she had started after her classes for the day. She put one foot in front of the other as she walked towards her house homebound. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maxie Jones opened her bedroom door and closed it behind her once she was inside. She had another dull day....same as the rest of her days lately. She was now a college student at the Port Charles Community College and living at home. Ever since Mac got hurt in the fire at the Port Charles Hotel, their family had been tight on money. Maxie's mother Felicia came home for about 4 months after Mac got hurt to help nurse him back to health. Maxie didn't give her mother a warm hearted welcome like she knew her mother expected. Felicia had been gone for so long, that Maxie wasn't as thrilled to have her home for the little time that she was home as her younger sister Georgie was.
Speaking of Georgie, she was happier than she had been in months. Georgie and Dillon Quartermaine had recently reunited and were very much in love. As for their obstacles Sage Alcazar and "Tom" aka Travis....they were no longer obstacles. Sage had left town supposedly heartbroken after Dillon and Georgie got back together once she finally told him about "Tom". As for Mr. "Tom"...well Travis was happy to be called by his real name and continued through high school with the best grades of his life thanks to Georgie. The last time Maxie heard about Travis, he was going to Ohio State to play Basketball for their team. As for Georgie and Dillon, they were in their senior year in high school.
Maxie was currently in her 1st year in college. Since Mac got hurt, she worked at Kelly's to help pay for her college tuition and books. She still volunteered at the hospital with what other free time she got. Volunteering at General Hospital let her get the opportunity to get to know a lost soul...Zander Smith....which was a time she would never forget.
Maxie flopped down onto her bed and stretched out and then closed her eyes. Her mind drifting to the very little memories that she had of him....she still remembered his face, his voice... everything about him that he had told her. From the young romantic that tried to take Emily Quartermaine to the prom to the heartbroken man who got mixed up in the mob after loosing Emily to someone else. Zander had trusted her with his life, and she desperately wished that things had turned out differently for him. Once the fire was put out, the firefighters found no sign of Zander where had been hiding out. According to Nikolas Cassadine, Zander and Nikolas were fighting and Nikolas locked him in there not knowing that their fight had started the blaze. It didn't take long to put it together that Zander couldn't have possibly made it out alive. Maxie could still remember when she returned to the Port Charles Hotel and learned about the fire and about Zander's doomed fate.....
**Flashback**
Maxie Jones walked back into the Port Charles Hotel to see a bunch of fireman and paramedics there and saw the smoke in the air. She noticed someone on a stretched being led out of the hotel and realized that it was Mac.
"Oh, my god! Oh, my god, that's my dad! That's my dad! Maxie exclaimed fear running through her entire body
Paramedic: "Hold on, hold on -- i'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"What happened? " she asked
Paramedic: "The fire started in the basement. He went down there and got caught in the back draft."
"The basement? There's somebody else in the basement! She exclaimed realizing that Zander was still down there.
Paramedic: "I'm sorry, ma'am, we have got to get him to the hospital right away!"
"If he wakes up, ok, tell him that I'm fine! My name is Maxie, ok?" she said as Mac got led out of the hotel. She went up to a fireman. "Excuse me! I need your help! I need your help! There's somebody in the basement right now."
Fireman: You sure?
"I'm positive! Can you please get him out?
Fireman: "Well, we'll do the best we can, but that room was reported to have been fully engulfed. No one in there could've possibly survived."
**End of Flashback**
Zander wasn't the only one lost that day.... Brian Beck died after being shot in the burning PC hotel and Zander's father, Cameron Lewis, was lost in the blaze....but Zander's death impacted her the most. She didn't handle the service very well at all and Maxie remembered crying herself to sleep the night after Zander's memorial service that Alexis held for him along with Cameron. She knew nobody else understood why she was so upset over a man that she hardly knew at all....
**Flashback**
"Oh god...Zander. I'm so sorry that you are gone. I should have gotten back to the hotel sooner...I may have been able to stop everything and you would be alive." Maxie whispered to herself dug her face into her pillow and tried to sob silently.
The sound of her bedroom door opening, made Maxie go completely silent. She knew it had to be Georgie. She held her breath hoping her sister would go back to her room and leave her alone. After a minute, she heard her room door close again and listened as Georgie's footsteps grew faint and then she was left in silence again.
**End of Flashback**
Maxie rolled over and glanced at her clock. It was 7:30 and Maxie was already exhausted. She decided to get ready for bed and watch some TV in her bed until she fell asleep. It was a Friday Night and Mac was still at work and Georgie was on a date with Dillon so she had the house to herself for a while. She got off of her bed and went into the bathroom to change. She threw on her blue fuzzy pajamas and fuzzy slippers and walked over to her closet to lie out her uniform for her shift at General Hospital the following morning. She quickly found her uniform but noticed that dress hanging in the back of her closet...it was the dress that she had purchased a year ago for the winter informal that year. She never ended up going to the dance; instead she was busy hiding Zander Smith in her room. But Maxie was glad that she didn't go to the prom because Zander tried to give her her own special dance. It was so much better than going to school dance. She caressed the dress with her fingers feeling the fabric between her fingers. She still had memories of that night......
**Flashback**
Maxie walked into her room wearing her winter formal dress per Zander's request. The first thing she noticed as the room was dark and lit with candles and the music was playing.
"Welcome to the winter informal." Zander said lighting the last of the candles and then looked over at her.
"You really did not need to do this." Maxie said in awe
"Do what? Zander asked still looking at her
"Try to make me not feel like a pathetic loser." Maxie replied somewhat softly.
"Actually, I'm trying to make myself not feel like a pathetic loser. You know, I never thought my life would turn out this way. As a matter of fact, there was a time when I thought it'd be quite different. You know, I took a girl to the prom once." Zander says as his mind drifts to Emily.
"Emily? she guessed figuring that had to be who it was.
"It was a disaster. I didn't fit in, I couldn't do the talk about, you know, who was dating who and where biff was going to college. You know, I couldn't even pretend to. It was just –" he paused.
"Was she angry? Maxie asked him.
"She was -- she tried not to be disappointed, but she was. I felt like a jerk. And then on the way home, I stopped the car and I took her hand and we danced underneath the streetlight." he said.
"Sounds romantic." she said softly.
"It was more than that. It was real. So, it would be my honor if you would dance with me now. It would help me to remember that guy and that girl. Maxie, I''m not trying to hit on you here." he says
"I know. But that guy? He was probably wearing a boutonniere. Here you go." she said with a giggle going and getting a flower and putting it on him.
The music began playing and the two started to dance.
**End of Flashback**
Snapping out of her thoughts and memories, Maxie flipped on the TV and started to surf the channels. She settled on some movie with Tom Hanks in it and closed her eyes. Before she realized it, she was fast asleep.
Maxie didn't know how long she was asleep for but she was woken up by footsteps ascending up the stairs and heading towards her room. *Its got to be Georgie* she thought to herself as she sighed out loud. Sure enough, her door soon swung open and Georgie peered inside most likely to see if her sister was awake or not.
"Maxie? Are you awake?" Georgie asked slightly above a whisper.
"Does this answer your question Georgie."? Maxie asked not waiting for a response before switching on her lamp on her nightstand,
Gerogie smiled slightly. "Well I just wanted to let you know that I am home from my date with Dillon." She said beaming.
Maxie could already tell by the twinkle of her sister's eyes and the tone of her voice, that she had a good time. "Okay, spill Georgie...I can tell you want to share your evening with someone and I'm awake now, so you might as well tell me." She said with a slight smile as she sat up in the sitting position in her bed.
Georgie flopped down on the foot of the bed and began to fill her sister in on her latest date with Dillon...every single little detail. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nikolas Cassadine walked into the Windermere study to see his wife, Emily Quartermaine-Cassadine, seated on the sofa studying for a medical test. Nikolas and Emily had married about 4 months ago and Nikolas loved every moment being married to the strong willed Emily Quartermaine. The two wed in a lavish wedding ceremony at the Port Charles Church with the money that they got from the treasure. Nikolas and Emily recaptured the treasure and did exactly what they planned with it....they divided it between their two families. The Quartermaines weren't exactly thrilled with it, but they settled for whatever they got. As for Nikolas's family, which consisted of Alexis, Lucky and Lulu and even Luke some days... they didn't mind as much, they were glad for some extra income.
"Hey, how is the studying going?" Nikolas asked with a warm smile as he took a seat next to Emily. He had made a cup of coffee for her since he figured she would be staying up for a while and then put his arm around her. He decided to stay out of Emily's hair for the day since he knew she had a paper and a test coming up in the next few days.
Emily looked up from her books and yawned. "Its coming along." She replied with a soft smile as she took the coffee cup from him. She was grateful for the energy booster. Anything to keep herself awake for a little bit longer. "I thought of a personal experience to put in my essay....I'm going to write about my injury during the Port Charles Fire when the chandelier fell on me. I got to see doctors work for weeks on my injuries....they helped me so much with their medicine and...." She paused and then took a sip of her coffee.
Nikolas smiled slightly and looked into her eyes. "I thank God that you recovered everyday since then. I still feel it was my fault that you got hurt...I shouldn't have gone into that basement...then I wouldn't have run into Zander...and then the fire wouldn't have started." Nikolas said with a sigh.
Emily set her books down and looked into his eyes. "Don't blame yourself Nikolas...it wasn't your fault. The electrical systems were the cause of that fire. And about Zander, I know you didn't lock him in there knowing that he was going to die in there." She said her voice trailing off as thoughts of Zander Smith came into her mind. *I wish you would have gotten to Canada Zander...I wish you wouldn't have died* she thought to herself. Even though it had been almost a year to the date since that fire, the memories and events of it didn't fade away like some people in Port Charles thought they would.
Nikolas nodded. "I know...but I can't help it. That fire has been on my mind lately...especially since the one year anniversary is tomorrow." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then decided not to say anything else.
Emily decided to change the subject. "Lets not talk about that fire anymore tonight?" she suggests. "I shouldn't have brought it up. I'll write my essay tomorrow." Emily said setting the coffee cup down and rising to her feet. She watched Nikolas rise as well. Emily took a hold of his hand and glanced at the clock. It was just 11:30 exactly. "Come on, lets get to bed." She said softly looking into his eyes and then led him out of the study and towards their bedroom. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
:Morning:
Courtney Matthews sat down at her desk in her apartment. Now that the dust settled from the fire and from Sonny and Carly's custody battle, Courtney was starting to have a normal life. She divorced Jason and vowed to stay out of the mob...even though her love for Jason never died. She had to get out before she lost all of her innocence....but she wasn't the same person that she was before. Shooting Brian was a real wake up call for her and because of her chickening out in confessing to the shooting caused Zander Smith his life in the end. She remembered signing the divorce papers and finally being free of the mob...
**Flashback**
Courtney Morgan looked at the divorce papers and picked up a nearby pen. The tears kept flowing down her cheeks, as her shaky hands scribbled her signature on the papers. She turned around and looked at Jason who was behind her and handed him the pen so he could sign next. "This is it Jason....the last time I will be Courtney Morgan. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that I wasn't cut out to be your wife because I will always love you. I'm no Carly...I probably will never be able to be as strong as she was being in Sonny's life while they were together."
Jason put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Courtney, I never expected you to be like Carly. I wish things could have worked out for us, but I don't regret falling in love with you and I never will." He watched as she stepped away so he could sign the papers. Jason took a deep breath and signed his name on the papers, setting the pen down once he did. "I'll give these to Justus as soon as I can get over and see him." He said softly going to the door of Courtney's brand new apartment.
He opened the door and went to exit but stopped. He turned around and locked eyes with Courtney. "Courtney, I just want you to know my love for you isn't going to go away even though our marriage didn't work. I want you to be happy and find someone with a lifestyle that you can live happily in." he then turned back around and left her apartment shutting the door behind him.
Courtney broke down crying once the door had clicked shut.
**End of Flashback**
Courtney closed her eyes letting the tears that had formed in her eyes fall down her cheeks. Courtney's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock at the door. Courtney slowly got up from her chair and opened the door to see Carly Roberts formally known as Carly Corinthos.
"Hey Carly." Courtney said with a sad smile.
Carly noticed the pain in her friend's eyes and voice and stepped inside. "You are thinking about the Port Charles Fire aren't you? It's going to be the one-year anniversary tomorrow and I can't blame you...a lot of people died. Some innocent civilians and some people that we knew." She said
Courtney closed the door behind her. "Yes, I'm thinking about it Carly...who isn't in this town? My actions of shooting Brian helped seal the fate of Zander."
Carly shook her head. "Come on Courtney, you aren't responsible for anything that happened. You were protecting your husband at the time, you aren't some cold-blooded monster...as for Zander, he was self-destructing. He would have gotten in trouble some other way."
Courtney sighed. "Carly...I wish I could believe you....but I can't. Zander was innocent and I didn't do a damn thing to stop that manhunt that the cops had on him! Its going to be the one year anniversary of the event tomorrow...one year and counting, my actions have cost him."
Carly spun around and looked at Courtney. She fell silent. Carly didn't know what to say to make things better, she knew that as the years passed things would try and go back to normal...but the next 24 hours were going to be tough for everyone...especially Courtney since the pain, the hurt, and the memories were still fresh after all this time. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Luke Spencer tapped his foot against the ground while glancing at his watch. He was waiting on Skye and hoped the redhead would show up soon. He looked off into the distance and noticed her figure approaching him. "Hey Red!" he called out and went over to her.
Skye looked tired and Luke figured she had just gotten up recently. "Okay Luke...why did you wake me up to meet you at-...-" she paused and glanced at her watch. "At 7:30 AM?" she asked finishing her question.
Luke flashed her one of his smiles. "I thought we would do something..." he paused trying to choose the right word. "fun today." He said.
Skye cut him off right there. "We do something 'fun' almost everyday Luke." Skye pointed out and tried not to let the excitement show in her voice. She wondered what Luke was up to this time. Ever since she had gotten involved with the man, her life had never been the same and she wasn't complaining.
Luke held up his hand. "Yeah, I know that...but today we are going to go... ice skating." He simply said.
Skye's eyes got wide. "You mean you woke me up at god knows what hour to tell me that we are going ice skating?!" she exclaimed.
Luke nodded. "Yep, but the rest of the gang is going to be there too. Lulu has been begging me to take her ice-skating for a while now so I finally caved in. And I need your help in planning the day today. I really don't want to mess this up....I have took what Dr. Qua...Cameron told me before he died to heart and this is what Lulu wants since I didn't get a chance to take her ice skating last year with everything that went on and I want you to be there too. So...with your beauty and brains behind this, I'm sure we can make a whole day out of everything." He said.
Skye nodded. "Okay, count me in. I'm sure we can think of a whole itinerary for the day...over coffee." She said and paused. "Which you are providing." She added with a smile.
Luke puts his arm around her as they headed towards his house together. "You got yourself a deal Blaze."
Tracy Quartermaine and her new partner Helena Cassadine watched the two from off in the distance. Helena smiled wickedly and turned to her partner. "I have an idea to get some revenge." She said.
Tracy nodded. "Okay, so go on old hag." She said.
Helena raised a brow. "I am going to take something away from dear old Luke." She snickered. "Its time I get my revenge on him."
"And what would that be?" Tracy asked sighing annoyed by Helena's little games.
"I'm going to get rid of little miss Skye." Helena simply said.
Tracy was now very interested. "I like where this is going, anything to get even with little miss heiress. Ever since my brain-less father Edward named her heir to the Quartermaine name, I have wanted revenge. That should be my title...she isn't even an actual Quartermaine!" she hissed through clenched teeth.
"Patience Tracy, we have to plan this right...." Helena said waving her hand to stop further talking from Tracy. "Now this is what we are going to do.....- "~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maxie woke up to the cool breeze on her skin. It was like someone opened the window. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked towards her window. She saw it was still closed and figured her mind was playing tricks on her or someone turned the heat down in the house. She quickly went into the bathroom and showered and dressed. Once she had done that, Maxie was busy towel-drying her hair when she noticed a note on her table. "I bet my dad or Georgie put this in here when I was in the shower." She said to herself as she opened the note. Her eyes scanned over it and she was instantly confused.
The note read: Maxie,
Look into the past, for someone is not lost in it.
The note wasn't signed or anything, which baffled Maxie. The writing looked somewhat like Mac's so Maxie figured it must have been him playing some sort of game with her. "I'll have to ask him later about this." She said softly and set the note back down and returned into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
