Corinthos Household-
The date had officially been over with for some time, but Damian hadn't returned home until that moment. He had spent most of the time between taking Maxie home and returning to his father's home just taking stock of his life. If someone would have told him a year prior, even a few months prior to his arrival in Port Charles everything that had already happened in the sleepy town, Damian would have scoffed and brushed it off. But he wasn't that person anymore. He thought he was better, less judgmental of people. He owed all the things that had happened to him to the various people in Port Charles that made them happen. It was amazing to him when he thought about how much he had changed.
He tried to be as quiet as possible when he closed the door. Michael and Morgan should have been asleep, and waking either of them up, or both of them, would do nobody any good.
It didn't matter how lightly Damian shut the door, someone was waiting for anyone to open it. "Daddy! Mommy!"
Michael's voice which was drastically different from the cheerful voice that Damian was accustomed to caught Damian's attention. Damian stopped and saw the boy darting down the stairs in his pajamas. "Michael, what is it?"
"I thought mommy and daddy were home," Michael said sadly.
"Where are they?" Damian asked.
"I don't know," Michael admitted. "They probably went to do something together."
Perhaps helping Damian plan a romantic evening for himself and Maxie had given Sonny ideas of his own. It was a thought, but until Damian knew for sure, that was all it would be. "What's wrong? Why are you up so late?"
"I had a bad dream..." Michael seemed ashamed of himself. "Mommy and daddy always make me feel better after I have a bad dream."
"Where's Leticia?" Damian would have thought that Michael would go to his nanny. They had a good relationship, and Leticia cared for both of the boys deeply. She could have helped Michael.
"Upstairs with Morgan."
"How come you didn't go to her for help with your bad dream, Michael?"
"She doesn't make the bad dreams go away!" Michael sat on the edge of the stairs. "Only mommy or daddy can do that!"
"Want me to give it a try?" Damian walked over to Michael. He wouldn't actually pry into his little brother's life if Michael didn't want it, but he would make the offer nonetheless.
"You're not mommy or daddy," Michael noted.
"I know, but I'm better than nothing, aren't I?"
"I can't talk to you about it..." Michael muttered.
"Why not?" Damian was actually quite hurt that his little brother didn't trust him enough to feel open about a problem he was having. He thought that they were closer than that.
"Because you'll make fun of me," Michael looked up at his brother. "You'll think I'm just a little kid."
Damian put his hand out, "Come here, let's sit on the couch." Damian led his brother over to the couch and sat him down. "I would never make fun of you, Michael. Never."
"You never have bad dreams," Michael stated. "You're not afraid of anything!"
Damian would have enjoyed the ego boost that Michael was attempting to give him, but he knew that it was all a lie. He gave Michael a soft smile, "I still have bad dreams, Michael. Everyone does. They're a part of life and you'll never get over them. Having a bad dream doesn't make you a little kid, and it doesn't make you any less brave than you already are."
Michael didn't entirely believe the information that had been fed to him. "Daddy and Uncle Jason never have bad dreams!"
"Are you sure?" Damian asked.
Michael couldn't give Damian an answer, because he didn't have one. To him, his daddy and Uncle Jason were the two strongest men in the world, they never let anything scare them or give them bad dreams! Michael wanted to be just like them. But he also wanted to be like Damian. He could sense something different about his older brother. Something that Sonny and Jason didn't have. He liked that feeling, even though he couldn't really understand what it was. "You really still have bad dreams?"
"Yes, I do."
"About what?"
"About a lot of things," Damian turned his head away. "About my mother and how I couldn't do anything for her. About Kyle before..." He stopped himself, he wasn't going to tell Michael the details about drug overdose, he wouldn't cross that line yet. He hoped he would never have to cross it. "I had a lot of nightmares about you, too."
"Why me?"
"Because I was afraid that you'd never get better when you lost your voice. I was afraid that I'd never get to hear your voice again. I was afraid that you were in that hospital because of me. I still have bad dreams about those days you were over there, Michael. When we fall asleep our minds don't stop thinking, and what they're telling is what we see in our dreams. Sometimes they can be good things, but they can be bad, too. You don't have to worry, though. It's only a dream. A dream can never hurt you."
"Never ever?" Michael inquired.
"Not as long as you don't let it hurt you. If you let it do something to you after you wake up it can, but if you realize that it was all just a bad thought that your mind had, everything will be okay."
"It was still really scary," Michael crossed his legs on the couch. "Daddy didn't believe the bad man when he said that you were in trouble and you got really hurt! No one believed the bad man, and no one saw that you were right there. I tried to tell them, but they wouldn't listen. When I tried to tell you I was sorry... you were gone."
"I'm right here, Michael," Damian was alarmed that the poor boy had received such a nightmare. Even more alarming was the fact that it was very much like the one that Maxie had. Why was it that everyone close to him was having these visions of his untimely demise?
"But you won't always be," Michael stated. "You might go away again, like the last time."
"You're really afraid that I'm going to leave you again, aren't you?"
Michael nodded, "I don't like it when you're gone. I know you have to go to school and you like to spend time with Maxie, but you at least came back home to be with me and Morgan and daddy." Michael was very wise to leave his mother out of that equation. He knew that they didn't get along. "When you stopped coming back, when you moved out... I was sad and scared."
"I made a mistake," Damian said. "I didn't think about everything like I should have and acted on my instinct. If I could go back and do it all over again I wouldn't have left the first time, but I'm here now, and I don't intend on going anywhere."
"Promise?"
Damian grinned. Something about that boy made him grin almost all the time, "Promise." Even if he were still mad at Sonny, he'd never stop being anything but the best person he could be around Michael. It was so hard to keep that innocence that Michael had inside of him, especially with all the things that happened around him that could take that innocence away. "You think you can go back to bed now?"
"If you read me a story."
"You drive a hard bargain, kid. But, I could go for a story myself."
"Nothing with kissing!"
"You do realize that you've just gotten rid of most of the stories that I could tell you, right?"
"I only got rid of the bad ones," Michael stated confidently. "The bad ones always have kissing."
Damian picked Michael up in his arms and walked up the stairs, "One day you're going to be in love and you're going to kiss some lucky girl."
"I don't like girls, they have cooties."
General Hospital-
Georgie had been working frantically for the better part of an hour. She only broke down and cried about her mother a scant few times. The others tried to convince her to leave, even Bobbie, but she wasn't going anywhere. She needed to spend as much time away from the situation as possible. It was the only way that she could possibly function. She didn't want to go back to the house when her shift ended, which was coming closer with every passing moment. But there was nowhere else for her to go. Mac wouldn't appreciate if she went to sleep at the Quatermaine mansion, and neither would any of Dillon's family. She didn't have enough money to rent a room at the hotel, and she wouldn't use the credit card. She was stuck dealing with a problem that she wanted nothing more than to just have it go away.
"Georgie?"
Georgie almost jumped when she heard her name called. She dropped the files that she was holding all over the ground. She knelt down and started to pick them up, "I'm so sorry, I should have been paying attention!"
Bobbie smiled softly as she helped Georgie gather the files. There was a time, a short time, when Bobbie was Georgie's aunt by marriage. Although that had long since dissolved, they still cared very much about one another, and Bobbie hated it when she or Maxie were hurt. Ever the protector, Bobbie would try and help Georgie and anyone else that needed it. "You really should go home. If you'd like, I could have someone escort you."
Georgie shook her head, "That's okay, Bobbie. Thank you, though."
"Felicia's strong, Georgie. It would take a whole lot more than a spill on a horse to take her out."
Georgie laughed, "Yeah, my mom's a fighter, that's for sure. Thanks again." Georgie's phone went off and she picked it up. It read home. Although she hated the idea of picking up the phone, she knew that she had to, "Daddy?"
"Georgie?" Mac said on the other side of the phone, "Is Maxie with you?"
"No, I haven't seen her for an hour," Georgie said. "I would have thought that she would have went home after she told me about mom."
"She hasn't been home, I've been watching the front door," Mac looked and saw that it was still closed. "I tried calling her phone to make sure that everything was okay, but she's not answering it."
"So you don't know where she is?" Georgie bit her nail.
"I was really hoping that she was still with you," Mac ran a hand through his hair. He hated it when he didn't know where his daughters were. The last time Maxie went missing she almost ended up dead. He wasn't going to have that again. "Are you sure she left the hospital?"
"I saw her leave through the elevator, dad! She's not here!"
"I'm going to start looking around for her. Please, Georgie, if you know anything at all, call me!"
"I don't know where she could be, dad."
"We don't need to worry yet, she's probably just blowing off some steam," Mac lied to himself. It was the only way he could function at that moment. "I'll stay in touch." He hung up his phone and headed out the door.
Corinthos Household-
Damian walked down the stairs once more. They had settled on an abridged version of Snow White, entirely devoid of kissing. It made the final scene a little bit out of character for the classic fairy tale, but Michael was actually asleep by that time so everything appeared to be fine. His phone rang and he picked it up, "Hello?"
"Damian? It's Georgie. Is Maxie with you?"
"No, I took her home and I haven't seen her since."
"We don't know where she is."
"Where are you?" Damian asked.
"The Hospital."
"Don't leave."
149
The date had officially been over with for some time, but Damian hadn't returned home until that moment. He had spent most of the time between taking Maxie home and returning to his father's home just taking stock of his life. If someone would have told him a year prior, even a few months prior to his arrival in Port Charles everything that had already happened in the sleepy town, Damian would have scoffed and brushed it off. But he wasn't that person anymore. He thought he was better, less judgmental of people. He owed all the things that had happened to him to the various people in Port Charles that made them happen. It was amazing to him when he thought about how much he had changed.
He tried to be as quiet as possible when he closed the door. Michael and Morgan should have been asleep, and waking either of them up, or both of them, would do nobody any good.
It didn't matter how lightly Damian shut the door, someone was waiting for anyone to open it. "Daddy! Mommy!"
Michael's voice which was drastically different from the cheerful voice that Damian was accustomed to caught Damian's attention. Damian stopped and saw the boy darting down the stairs in his pajamas. "Michael, what is it?"
"I thought mommy and daddy were home," Michael said sadly.
"Where are they?" Damian asked.
"I don't know," Michael admitted. "They probably went to do something together."
Perhaps helping Damian plan a romantic evening for himself and Maxie had given Sonny ideas of his own. It was a thought, but until Damian knew for sure, that was all it would be. "What's wrong? Why are you up so late?"
"I had a bad dream..." Michael seemed ashamed of himself. "Mommy and daddy always make me feel better after I have a bad dream."
"Where's Leticia?" Damian would have thought that Michael would go to his nanny. They had a good relationship, and Leticia cared for both of the boys deeply. She could have helped Michael.
"Upstairs with Morgan."
"How come you didn't go to her for help with your bad dream, Michael?"
"She doesn't make the bad dreams go away!" Michael sat on the edge of the stairs. "Only mommy or daddy can do that!"
"Want me to give it a try?" Damian walked over to Michael. He wouldn't actually pry into his little brother's life if Michael didn't want it, but he would make the offer nonetheless.
"You're not mommy or daddy," Michael noted.
"I know, but I'm better than nothing, aren't I?"
"I can't talk to you about it..." Michael muttered.
"Why not?" Damian was actually quite hurt that his little brother didn't trust him enough to feel open about a problem he was having. He thought that they were closer than that.
"Because you'll make fun of me," Michael looked up at his brother. "You'll think I'm just a little kid."
Damian put his hand out, "Come here, let's sit on the couch." Damian led his brother over to the couch and sat him down. "I would never make fun of you, Michael. Never."
"You never have bad dreams," Michael stated. "You're not afraid of anything!"
Damian would have enjoyed the ego boost that Michael was attempting to give him, but he knew that it was all a lie. He gave Michael a soft smile, "I still have bad dreams, Michael. Everyone does. They're a part of life and you'll never get over them. Having a bad dream doesn't make you a little kid, and it doesn't make you any less brave than you already are."
Michael didn't entirely believe the information that had been fed to him. "Daddy and Uncle Jason never have bad dreams!"
"Are you sure?" Damian asked.
Michael couldn't give Damian an answer, because he didn't have one. To him, his daddy and Uncle Jason were the two strongest men in the world, they never let anything scare them or give them bad dreams! Michael wanted to be just like them. But he also wanted to be like Damian. He could sense something different about his older brother. Something that Sonny and Jason didn't have. He liked that feeling, even though he couldn't really understand what it was. "You really still have bad dreams?"
"Yes, I do."
"About what?"
"About a lot of things," Damian turned his head away. "About my mother and how I couldn't do anything for her. About Kyle before..." He stopped himself, he wasn't going to tell Michael the details about drug overdose, he wouldn't cross that line yet. He hoped he would never have to cross it. "I had a lot of nightmares about you, too."
"Why me?"
"Because I was afraid that you'd never get better when you lost your voice. I was afraid that I'd never get to hear your voice again. I was afraid that you were in that hospital because of me. I still have bad dreams about those days you were over there, Michael. When we fall asleep our minds don't stop thinking, and what they're telling is what we see in our dreams. Sometimes they can be good things, but they can be bad, too. You don't have to worry, though. It's only a dream. A dream can never hurt you."
"Never ever?" Michael inquired.
"Not as long as you don't let it hurt you. If you let it do something to you after you wake up it can, but if you realize that it was all just a bad thought that your mind had, everything will be okay."
"It was still really scary," Michael crossed his legs on the couch. "Daddy didn't believe the bad man when he said that you were in trouble and you got really hurt! No one believed the bad man, and no one saw that you were right there. I tried to tell them, but they wouldn't listen. When I tried to tell you I was sorry... you were gone."
"I'm right here, Michael," Damian was alarmed that the poor boy had received such a nightmare. Even more alarming was the fact that it was very much like the one that Maxie had. Why was it that everyone close to him was having these visions of his untimely demise?
"But you won't always be," Michael stated. "You might go away again, like the last time."
"You're really afraid that I'm going to leave you again, aren't you?"
Michael nodded, "I don't like it when you're gone. I know you have to go to school and you like to spend time with Maxie, but you at least came back home to be with me and Morgan and daddy." Michael was very wise to leave his mother out of that equation. He knew that they didn't get along. "When you stopped coming back, when you moved out... I was sad and scared."
"I made a mistake," Damian said. "I didn't think about everything like I should have and acted on my instinct. If I could go back and do it all over again I wouldn't have left the first time, but I'm here now, and I don't intend on going anywhere."
"Promise?"
Damian grinned. Something about that boy made him grin almost all the time, "Promise." Even if he were still mad at Sonny, he'd never stop being anything but the best person he could be around Michael. It was so hard to keep that innocence that Michael had inside of him, especially with all the things that happened around him that could take that innocence away. "You think you can go back to bed now?"
"If you read me a story."
"You drive a hard bargain, kid. But, I could go for a story myself."
"Nothing with kissing!"
"You do realize that you've just gotten rid of most of the stories that I could tell you, right?"
"I only got rid of the bad ones," Michael stated confidently. "The bad ones always have kissing."
Damian picked Michael up in his arms and walked up the stairs, "One day you're going to be in love and you're going to kiss some lucky girl."
"I don't like girls, they have cooties."
General Hospital-
Georgie had been working frantically for the better part of an hour. She only broke down and cried about her mother a scant few times. The others tried to convince her to leave, even Bobbie, but she wasn't going anywhere. She needed to spend as much time away from the situation as possible. It was the only way that she could possibly function. She didn't want to go back to the house when her shift ended, which was coming closer with every passing moment. But there was nowhere else for her to go. Mac wouldn't appreciate if she went to sleep at the Quatermaine mansion, and neither would any of Dillon's family. She didn't have enough money to rent a room at the hotel, and she wouldn't use the credit card. She was stuck dealing with a problem that she wanted nothing more than to just have it go away.
"Georgie?"
Georgie almost jumped when she heard her name called. She dropped the files that she was holding all over the ground. She knelt down and started to pick them up, "I'm so sorry, I should have been paying attention!"
Bobbie smiled softly as she helped Georgie gather the files. There was a time, a short time, when Bobbie was Georgie's aunt by marriage. Although that had long since dissolved, they still cared very much about one another, and Bobbie hated it when she or Maxie were hurt. Ever the protector, Bobbie would try and help Georgie and anyone else that needed it. "You really should go home. If you'd like, I could have someone escort you."
Georgie shook her head, "That's okay, Bobbie. Thank you, though."
"Felicia's strong, Georgie. It would take a whole lot more than a spill on a horse to take her out."
Georgie laughed, "Yeah, my mom's a fighter, that's for sure. Thanks again." Georgie's phone went off and she picked it up. It read home. Although she hated the idea of picking up the phone, she knew that she had to, "Daddy?"
"Georgie?" Mac said on the other side of the phone, "Is Maxie with you?"
"No, I haven't seen her for an hour," Georgie said. "I would have thought that she would have went home after she told me about mom."
"She hasn't been home, I've been watching the front door," Mac looked and saw that it was still closed. "I tried calling her phone to make sure that everything was okay, but she's not answering it."
"So you don't know where she is?" Georgie bit her nail.
"I was really hoping that she was still with you," Mac ran a hand through his hair. He hated it when he didn't know where his daughters were. The last time Maxie went missing she almost ended up dead. He wasn't going to have that again. "Are you sure she left the hospital?"
"I saw her leave through the elevator, dad! She's not here!"
"I'm going to start looking around for her. Please, Georgie, if you know anything at all, call me!"
"I don't know where she could be, dad."
"We don't need to worry yet, she's probably just blowing off some steam," Mac lied to himself. It was the only way he could function at that moment. "I'll stay in touch." He hung up his phone and headed out the door.
Corinthos Household-
Damian walked down the stairs once more. They had settled on an abridged version of Snow White, entirely devoid of kissing. It made the final scene a little bit out of character for the classic fairy tale, but Michael was actually asleep by that time so everything appeared to be fine. His phone rang and he picked it up, "Hello?"
"Damian? It's Georgie. Is Maxie with you?"
"No, I took her home and I haven't seen her since."
"We don't know where she is."
"Where are you?" Damian asked.
"The Hospital."
"Don't leave."
149