Note: Having watched yesterday's episode, I must comment that I am SO very thankful that I'm writing the GQ together, I miss them being a unit. Plus, Maxie's being all uber-bitch, which is totally understandable, but it made me go 'wow' when thinking of the differences between the story and the show itself. See how much an original character can stir things up? Plus, she mentioned Kyle, keep him away, or bring him back and kill the bastard. That is all.

Shamira- Yup, Zander and Faithy be the best to write, it helps me break away from the angst with a heavy dosage of dark humor. Heh, I don't very much like it when they get into fights, actually. I mean, it's entertaining (I was cheering when she and Skye got into it that one time), but overall, I like my Faith nice and not beat up, she just looks so much better, don't you agree? Besides, Courtney could kick her ass six ways to Sunday, being all Judo master Courtney and stuff. I, too, am in love with the way they're doing Jason at the moment. It gives him (gasp) emotion! When they were talking about how he stepped aside so that Sonny could be Michael's father. Such things crushed me. Now I see why he won best supporting actor last year. Also, you're correct, the best thing on the show is Jason/Carly aside from the really good Brian/Courtney 'you're a loser who has been using me!' stuff. I want Brian dead. Of course, I want lots of other people dead, too. As far as the phone went, I was wondering about that myself. I suppose he took Sonny's phone? And then put it in his pocket because he's stealing. Yes, I'm aware that won't work, but it's the best excuse I got at the moment. I'll use a variation of a line that you gave me: If Sonny and Carly didn't hit so many bumps in the road, it wouldn't be a soap, would it? I don't know if everything will turn out okay, though. I mean, look at the supreme super-couple. Laura's crazier than Carly and Luke can't be with her. Doesn't look all that happy to me.

Shadow- I can finally make Damian/Maxie a frontburner in my story where a large chunk of writing it involved getting them together. Isn't that great? Jason's reasons for not wanting to go to the hospital, I think, are understandable, but that little side-story isn't quite done yet. As always, thanks for the praise and the review.

Much like Damian before her earlier that day, Courtney found herself very bitter at the elevator and the fact that it decided to crawl up the stories to the place where Michael was at a pace that was akin to that of snow melting on the south pole. She was also alone, without Jason there to comfort her. Or, more precisely, without her there to comfort him. This would have likely been one of those rare situations where she was the stable one, assuming Jason let his guard down, even for a second. It was unlikely, but Courtney found that a part of her wanted it to happen. She knew of the warmth that existed within Jason's heart, but there were times when it seemed to evade even her. She paced the small elevator area impatiently and almost found herself screaming for it to hurry up when the device finally did reach its destination. The doors opened in their usual cold, lifeless, mechanical way. She shook her head and seriously gave thought to complaining about the elevator's lack of speed. The thought quickly faded from her mind, however, when she saw her nephew embracing someone a few feet away. At first she couldn't tell who it was, and the blond hair almost made her think that it might have been Carly, but that seemed as unlikely as anything did at the moment. When Damian did release his hold on the girl in question, Courtney saw that it was Maxie Jones. She smiled as she walked forward, "Damian?"

Damian turned towards her, "Courtney? I thought you were watching Morgan."

"Jason's filling in for me," Courtney responded with a tinge of sadness. "I wanted to spend some time with Michael." She moved her eyes towards Maxie, "Hello, Maxie."

"Hi, Courtney," Maxie responded. "I'm really sorry about Michael."

"I think everything will turn out fine with him," Courtney was full of hope, even though there was a small part of doubt welled in her soul.

"I feel that, too," Maxie agreed. She adjusted her things, "I should really get going. Mac's probably worried sick about me."

"You didn't tell him that you were staying at the hospital for a few extra hours?" Damian asked.

She shook her head, "It wasn't the important thing for me at the time." She knew that Damian got the implication. She waved at them both before heading towards the elevator.

"Watch it work just fine for her," Courtney muttered.

Damian grinned, "It was giving you issues as well?"

"I thought I was the only one."

"You're not," Damian stated. "I've had decades go past faster than the ride up here. Maybe I should have taken the stairs."

"What were you doing with Maxie?" Courtney asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you two hugging when I walked in."

"People hug, Courtney," Damian said defensively. "It's a fact of life."

"I thought it might have been something more."

"I care about Maxie a lot. And she cares for me, too. She stayed here even after her shift ended just because she wanted to be sure that I was fine with everything that's been happening."

"It's nothing more than that?" Courtney wondered, her voice very shallow.

"I don't know," Damian moved his head about uneasily. "I care about her more than I would a regular friend, I think." He eyed her, "Why does it matter to you, anyway?"

Courtney was taken back by the question, "Why would you ask that? We're family, and I thought we were friends. I just want to see you happy."

"Sorry," Damian replied instantly. "That just came out wrong."

"You know it won't be easy."

Damian sat back down again, "What won't be easy?"

"Having a relationship with Maxie Jones," Courtney didn't want to deter the relationship. But she couldn't let Damian go into it blind. "Her father is the police Commissioner."

"We've met," Damian said. "He didn't seem like he was a bad person. Actually, he was pretty grateful for the help I gave her."

"And he'll always be grateful for it, Damian. But the thing is you weren't dating one of his daughters at the time. Mac's very protective of both Maxie and Georgie."

"I can handle myself," Damian said.

"There's more," Courtney pointed out. "You're Sonny Corinthos's oldest son."

"Illegitimate son who's barley known the man for under a month!" Damian countered. But he realized where she was going with the point she was making. "You're trying to tell me that Sonny's life is going to hurt my relationship with Maxie, aren't you?" Courtney turned away. It was all the proof Damian needed, "I don't care what Mac thinks about my father, Courtney. I'm my own person and I will not allow myself to be judged based on his merits, or severe lack thereof. We're nothing alike."

Courtney laughed, she couldn't help it. It felt good to be amused by something at that moment, where everything else looked extremely grim. It was obvious that Damian would have no idea why she was laughing so hard. She took a breath and stopped. "Sorry, I was just giving what you said some thought. Believe me when I say that if you're expecting Mac Scorpio to not take into account the fact that Sonny is your father, you're going to be sorely disappointed. I know that you're nothing like Sonny. You know that you're nothing like Sonny. Maxie knows that you're nothing like Sonny. And, in the off chance that Mac himself knows the same fact, it still won't matter. When it comes to the girls Mac's prone to tossing out any and all logic that he's gained throughout his life. No one will ever be good enough for his daughters, not in his eyes."

"I'm not looking to impress Mac," Damian bluntly pointed out.

"Neither is Dillon, and Mac still doesn't like him being around Georgie."

"I'll deal with that when I come to it."

"You'll have to," Courtney said, rather cryptically. She started walking down the hall, leaving Damian alone again.