Notes: Tomorrow is the day where I shall be liberated from these horrid chains that keep me tied to the wretchedness known as my hometown. In other words, I'm doing the whole drive back to college town thing, so my update might be a little late in the afternoon tomorrow. It really depends on when I get back to my place and how tired I am, but I WILL update tomorrow, so don't worry very much.

No New Reviews-

Story-

General Hospital, Children's Wing-

Michael woke up as he heard the sound of the door opening. It took a moment for his vision to realign itself, but when he saw the familiar smiling face of his grandmother he was happy. Bobbie walked over and grabbed his hand, "Good morning, Michael." Michael hugged her. Bobbie patted him on the back, but she was sad that the night had given them no progress. She hoped that it would have. "Did you sleep well?" He nodded. "Good."

Damian stirred from his slumber and yawned, "Morning already?"

"You're surprised?" Bobbie asked.

"Just disappointed, I suppose."

"You didn't sleep well?"

Damian grinned, "No, I slept perfectly fine. There's that screaming feeling that my lower back is giving me, my feet are asleep, and my knees are in a little bit of pain. All in all a perfect way to spend the night in the hospital."

"You didn't have to stay."

"Yeah," Damian gazed over at Michael. "I did."

Bobbie looked at the card that had been placed on the dresser. "What's this?" She opened it and read the message inside. "Jason came to the hospital?"

Damian shook his head, "I didn't see him, and I never left."

Bobbie handed him the card, "Looks like he was here."

Damian put it down once he read, "Leave it to one of my father's men. Getting around in the night and not waking anyone up."

Bobbie looked on somberly as she showed Michael, "Look, sweetie, Uncle Jason was here to see you." Michael smiled at the thought, but it faded. Bobbie knew what he was thinking, it was obvious. "I'm sure he just saw you sleeping and didn't want to wake you up. He loves you, that's all that matters."

"She's right," Damian agreed.

"You hungry?" Bobbie asked Michael. He nodded once more. "Well, I've got a special surprise for you."

"Marginally edible hospital food?" Damian wondered. "Have they even invented that yet?"

"If they have, it hasn't reached Port Charles yet," Bobbie retorted smugly.

"I'm not going to allow them to shove down that sorry attempt at food down Michael's throat."

"Neither am I," Bobbie concurred. "Which is why I brought breakfast from Kelly's." Michael's face beamed. "I knew you'd like it."

"I'd like it, too." Damian said.

"Sorry, but only the patients get special treatment."

"I've got a rare tropical disease!" Damian noted, "It's, it's, invisible leprosy."

Bobbie cocked an eyebrow, "Invisible leprosy? You've exposed my grandson, your brother, to invisible leprosy?"

"Fine," Damian succumbed. "I don't have anything."

Bobbie laughed, "I can watch him if you want. You can get something to eat. Something that won't make you throw up."

"I'm fine," Damian said.

"Are you sure? You haven't left the hospital in 18 hours."

"Which isn't even close to my record," Damian countered. "I've spent days inside of hospitals. Days inside a single room. Days watching after someone I cared about."

"If you need anything at all that you need-"

"I know just who to ask," Damian grinned. "Bobbie, I can't thank you enough for everything."

"I haven't done anything."

"That's the point," Damian said. "You haven't tried to judge me or my motives. You haven't tried to push me away. I want to thank you for that."

"You don't need to."

"Can I ask you something?"

Bobbie nodded, "Sure."

"Why? Why aren't you acting like everyone else?"

Bobbie sighed, "I know what it's like to have someone come back into your life that you never knew about or thought you'd never see again. Carly's my daughter, but I never saw her grow up, I never talked to her about boys, or helped her do her hair. I gave her up and thought I would never have to see her and deal with the disappointment again. When she came back I felt a lot of things. Anger, Joy, Pain, Regret. But she was feeling a lot of things at the same time, and it would have helped her to have a friend on her side at that time. I can't erase the past, but I can help make sure that it doesn't happen again in the future. Everyone thought you were here to bring Sonny's life into a downward spiral, and they tried to make sure you never did. They didn't want to give you time to show yourself to them. I couldn't change their minds, I wasn't even going to try, but the least I could do was try and be there for you if you needed it."

"I guess Sonny and I are a lot like you and Carly."

Bobbie opened the blinds in the room, "Yeah, you are. Believe me, Damian. Things will turn out better somehow. In the mean time," She turned around, "You've got someone waiting in the lobby for you."

"Maxie?"

Bobbie winked, "She seems to have taken a liking to you."

"Why is she here so early?"

"So she could be here for you in case you needed it," Bobbie stated. "She cares about you."

"I know," Damian replied.

"Don't leave her outside," Bobbie ordered. "I'll watch Michael."

"If anything happens-"

Bobbie smirked, "I'll come get you."

Lobby-

Maxie paced around the lobby. It was odd, being at the hospital without having to work. But she was there for him, so she would cope. "Maxie."

Maxie smiled, "Morning."

"You didn't have to come so early, Maxie."

"I wanted to be here."

"Are you sure?" Damian asked. "You're giving up a lot for me."

"You're worth it. I can catch up on sleep when Michael's better."

"Maxie," Damian began uneasily, "What do you think love is?"

Maxie looked up at him, puzzled, "What?"

"Love," Damian repeated. "What do you think it is?"

Maxie searched her soul for the answer, "I think it's feeling something for someone. Something so strong that you know that you'd do anything for them, just to make them feel a little bit better. Something that makes you feel the pain that they're in, so much that you need to make sure that they get through it. Something that you can't really explain, but you just know."

"Something that you can't explain, but you just know," Damian repeated softly.

"Why are you asking me about love?"

"I don't know," Damian answered. "I've just been thinking a lot since last night. About my life, about what I've done, about who I care for. Maxie, when Bobbie told me that you were here I was surprised. I asked myself why you would be here at this hour. And then I wondered if I'd do the same for you if the situation were reversed. I didn't even need to think about the answer, I knew it right away. I would do it, Maxie. I'd stay by your side as long as you needed it, no matter what. I love you, Maxie." Damian hugged her tightly, "I love you so much."

Maxie wiped away a tear, "I love you, too." She pulled away, "I've been waiting my whole live for someone to tell me that and really mean it."

"I do."

She giggled, "I know you do, and I do, too." She looked at him curiously, "You going to pull away if I kiss you again?"

"That depends," Damian countered slyly. "How's your breath?"

"I'm not the one that slept in the hospital overnight!" Maxie laughed.

"You going to pull away from me because I'm a dedicated big brother?"

"Wouldn't think about it for a second," Maxie said.

"Then there's no reason why either of us would pull away, is there?" Damian asked as he pressed his lips on hers. Neither did pull away.