Kayla- Yes, Dillon standing up to his mother was a rare and beautiful thing. Dillon getting a backbone, hooray. Well, I can't make any promises, but nothing will happen to Damian soon... I mean, outside of the usual stuff that happens when you've gotten hit by a truck, which is probably quite painful.

Joy- Yes, Damian could be a catalyst because that's what I've wanted him to be. A linking to everyone because so many people care about him, even people who think that they shouldn't. Your list listed everyone but Dillon and Elizabeth, pity. I don't think I'll have any campouts or the such, but they will all be lending support in their own ways. I'm sure you'll survive the chapters without him, really sure.

Yes, Dillon and Jason have always had that potential, and I intend on tapping into it as much as I can before the end of the story. As for the Dillon/Maxie thing, Dillon's Damian's best friend, Maxie would listen to him before anyone else, really. Not only that, she already likes Dillon and trusts him. He also stated long ago that he loved Maxie, not the same kind of love for Georgie, but a love nonetheless.

Story-

Outside General Hospital-

The cool October winds hit Maxie's face as she stood on a balcony. It was refreshing. There was so much raw emotion inside of the hospital that it was beginning to choke her, or at least give her the feeling that she was being choked. At least everyone was feeling the same thing. They were all worried about Damian. None of them wanted him to die. She took another look inside and saw the people that were inside. It was the only time she had saw, and would probably ever see, Ric Lansing and Courtney Morgan actually tolerating one another. It was a very uneasy alliance, she admitted that without a doubt, but they were making it. They were brought together by the common feeling of love for someone that they both cared about.

Maxie looked at the stars, possibly looking for inspiration, possibly not. In her minds eye she saw his face. The way his hair would fall down his face without any effort. All she would need to do was run her hand through it, feeling it like silk. It was beautiful, so was he. She'd never say that to him aloud, since she knew that guys did not enjoy being called beautiful, but there wasn't very many other ways that she could describe it. She could have used handsome, which he was as well... he was just hard to classify. The way he would make her laugh effortlessly. How he would fight just to keep her happy even when she was feeling her worst. She'd give anything to have those feelings again.

She remembered how horrible she felt when she was going through the motions of realizing that he was in jail. She remembered how tame it seemed when compared to the fact that he was fighting for his life in the hospital bed, without her. Monica had made it seem like he was stable, and he might have been, but Maxie knew that stability didn't mean that he was out of the water. He could lose his fight at any moment, for no reason. He could be gone from her forever. Did he know? Did he have a feeling that even if he did make it out of the jail cell, if he managed to avoid prison, that something would happen to him? Was that why he made Maxie promise that she wouldn't force herself to give up on love. The only one who knew for certain the answer to that question was Damian himself, and he was in no position to be talking about anything.

She also recalled her conversation with Michael. The poor boy. He had just gotten his big brother back, and now he could possibly lose him again. What was going through Michael's head at that moment? Why wasn't he with his family? Maxie realized that Michael was too young to be around a scene such as the one that they were in. It wouldn't be healthy for a young boy to be standing around and waiting to hear if his brother was going to live or not. Still, Maxie really wanted to know how Michael was handling it. They weren't close, but they were united in both an admiration and love for Damian. Besides, she did think that Michael was pretty cute for a little kid.

"You feeling any better?" Georgie came up. Her concern was always with her sister. If Maxie was going through anything at all, Georgie put everything on hold just so she could devote every moment of her time towards helping Maxie. Maxie would never do the same thing for Georgie, but that didn't mean that Maxie loved her sister any less. If anything, Maxie let Georgie deal with her own problems because Maxie knew that Georgie could deal with them. They only made Georgie a stronger and better person, whereas Maxie could never have that kind of fortitude. She wanted it, but it was something that would always be denied.

"I guess," Maxie said, not looking at her sister. "I've stopped crying. That's a good sign, right?"

"I'd think it would be," Georgie replied uneasily. "Maxie, you know I'm sorry that you're going through this, right?"

"Yeah," Maxie nodded. "But I also know that no amount of apologizing on your part is going to change what happened. It's okay, though. He'll make it through, wont' he?"

"I believe that he will, yeah," Georgie said, her voice filled with a comforting tone. "Like Dillon was saying, he loves you too much to leave you now."

"What do you think about me... as someone who has a boyfriend?" Maxie asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I got so angry at him for no reason at all, Georgie!" Maxie put her hands on the edge. "I wanted him to choose between me and his family, which is something that he would never make me do. He never asked me to pick between him and Mac when Mac didn't approve of our seeing one another. He never expected me to make any sort of sacrifices just for him, especially when it came to my relationship with you or dad."

"He would never want you to try and destroy any of your relationships, Maxie. He knew how important the two of us were to you..."

"I wish I could stop thinking about him in the past tense," Maxie cut Georgie off. "It makes me feel like I'm already admitting to myself that he's going to die, but I don't want to admit that to myself because I don't want it to happen."

"None of us do."

"I'm such a horrible person," Maxie fell to her knees, sliding down the side of the balcony. "I tried to do the one thing that he never did to me. I tried to force him into picking who meant more. His family, or me. Georgie, why do I do this to myself? Why do I constantly find a way to wreck every single good thing that comes into my life?"

"I wish I knew," Georgie got down next to her sister. "I wish I could tell you what you're doing wrong so that you would never do it again, but I know you too well, Maxie. I know that you're always going to be making the mistakes that you constantly make and that I'm always going to be the one that picks them up after you. I accept that fact, and I still love you so much."

"I don't want to be the one that everyone has to look out for, though," Maxie admitted. "I want to have something that's just mine. Something that I can depend on without a doubt. I thought I found that. It seems corny, but the minute he protected me from Kyle, the minute he stepped in to help someone that he didn't even know, I felt that there was something that would connect us."

"I was like that with Dillon," Georgie smiled. "When we kissed, even though he was a complete stranger, I could feel that we were going to be together someday. I don't think that it's strange that you felt something like that when you met him, Maxie. I mean, look around you. Look at everything that's happened because of the bond that the two of you share. I can't think of a couple that deserves each other better than both of you. You're being too hard on yourself for thinking that you destroyed the relationship just by asking him to pick between you and his family. I don't think you should have done that, but you can't change the past. He would have forgiven you, he probably already did."

"You're the best, you know that," Maxie hugged her sister.

"I have to be. After all, being your little sister is a full time job."

Maxie forced herself to laugh. The way her sister would just say something nonchalantly that would make her feel better. At least Maxie hadn't lost that, at least she hadn't yet had to deal with the realty that Georgie would leave her eventually. She had to realize that Georgie was going to be heading off to college soon. Maybe she would go to PCU, but Maxie wanted something better for her little sister. Georgie could have easily made it into the Ivy League schools, and she was smart enough to get so many scholarships without even trying. Plus, she could have gotten a grant from the hospital because of all the hours she put in. Georgie was the consummate professional in every walk of life. She couldn't do anything wrong. Maxie envied that. But, at that moment, she was just happy to have Georgie there with her, making her feel better. Inside-

Dillon had been watching Georgie and Maxie, but he kept his distance. He had done his part when it came to helping Maxie cope. Anything else would be almost solely dependant on Georgie. She could do it. If anyone could bring Maxie from the edge, it was Georgie. Damian was good at it, there was no denying that, but he had only been at it since he came to Port Charles. Georgie had years of past experiences under her belt, something that no one else could claim. Not Mac, not Frisco, not Felicia, nobody. Besides, Dillon didn't feel comfortable standing around with the people that were all there with him. The only one who he wasn't even remotely afraid of was Elizabeth. Carly was insane, but not really in a bad way. After all, she had caused the Quatermaine's so much trouble during the time that she was married to AJ. It made Dillon respect her more, knowing that they had a common ground in their animosity towards that family. Ric unnerved him, there was no question about it. Even though Ric never did anything to him specifically, he knew that Ric was capable of doing anything to get what he wanted. Dillon was in town when Carly was locked in the panic room. He remembered the fear that people were feeling, not knowing where Carly was. Ric was possibly as dangerous as Sonny, only because Ric was better at keeping his motives hidden than Sonny could ever hope to be. Sonny was the type of person that was a very short fuse when he was set off. As much as Dillon admired Sonny, he feared him even more. Courtney was a problem, too. She was the sweetest person that he had ever met this side of Lila, but she had Jason as her husband and protector. Jason wouldn't bat an eyelash at hurting anyone who did anything to Courtney except for maybe Sonny himself, and Dillon certainly knew that he didn't fall anywhere on Jason's list of favorite people.

When Sonny walked up from one of the other parts of the hospital, Dillon was awed. Sonny had always seemed so confident, so strong. But at that moment he didn't see that part of Sonny Corinthos. At that moment the only thing that he saw was a scared father, hoping that his child would make it through the night. Dillon didn't know if Sonny would want him there, but he wouldn't leave.

Sonny wanted some information, but he wasn't going to get it by asking. He had to wait until someone was willing and able to give him some information.

"Sonny," Courtney saw her brother wasn't feeling like he should. It wasn't like she could blame him. Everyone was so somber, so afraid. "Did you do what you needed?"

"Mike's on his way over."

"How do you know?"

"Because... I called him and told him what happened."

Courtney smiled. "You did the right thing, Sonny. Our father deserves to know that his grandson is in the hospital."

"I know, Courtney. I know."

Courtney hugged Sonny, "You know, I've never been more proud of you before in my life.You did it without anyone making you."

"That's not entirely true," Sonny said. "I had someone helping me. I knew he'd want Mike to know. I'm trying really hard to do everything the way I know my son would want it. He doesn't want anyone excluded from caring for him, so I won't be the one who betrays his belief." Sonny shot a quick glance to Ric, "Even when I'm not entirely sure that I like the way it's going."

"Let it go, Sonny," Carly tugged at his elbow. "For now, just accept that he's here for a reason that you can't deny. We're all watching him even closer than ever before, just in case he does try something."

"Dillon's here?" Sonny asked, seeing the teen with the distinguishable hairstyle.

"Everyone is," Courtney said. "Everyone except Jason and Michael."

"Courtney, if you want me to... I could order Jason to come..."

Courtney shook her head, "Just because he isn't here doesn't mean that he doesn't care, Sonny. I accept that."

Monica watched them from a few feet away. The way that they handled a crisis situation was very unique and unexpected. Maybe her son wasn't as bad off as she thought.

Sonny saw her, "Monica? Is there something wrong?"