Note: Ya'll went review crazy today! Not that I'm complaining, mind you.
Also, another note, I MAY end up extending this to three chapters a day, or
even four, once I finish writing it so it can be posted and over. Again,
not that I don't love doing this, but I do want it to be completed.
Joy- You caught the hints. I thought about it and figured it would be fun. Getting Dillon out of the Mansion, and putting Jason into the Mansion for a few chapters would have been great, so I did.
You know, in truth I don't really even pay much attention to the show when I'm doing this story. I love the show, even though it's been sub-par as of late, but I know where I want to take my characters, or the characters that are depicted in my story, and if they clash with what's going on, then so be it. My Courtney isn't stupid and hopeful to the point of being naïve, after all. I love her, she's my favorite, but at times she angers me. Other times, she makes me happy.
My heart goes out to Sonny, too. I love writing him as a shattered being as opposed to the strong rock that he is, for the most part on the show. I love showing the vulnerability of the 'rock' characters, like Sonny and Jason. It shows their humanity, which is often in question.
About the development with the Dillon thing... don't expect too much from it. I mean, that's not to say that it won't be touched upon, because it will, but I won't be devoting a section of the story to it. If I had started sooner I probably would have, but I'm kind of pressed for time as it is. Dillon will be instrumental towards the conclusion, but that's about it. I did write a Dillon and Carly part already, though. It was fun.
Since I don't end up touching on Damian's relationship to his family at home as much as I should, it's easy for people to forget that they're around, but they are. I knew that they would have to have a part in this section, since it's their boy who is hurt and they care about him more than Sonny probably does in some ways. They won't be coming around to PC, though. As for the final comment, yes, things are going to be interesting indeed.
Journeylove- Thank you for the kind comments, glad you've been continuing to enjoy.
Story-
Scorpio Household-
It was a rare occurrence in Mac's life, the time when he could sit around the house and relax, if even for a moment. It was early in the morning, both of his girls were still in their rooms sleeping. He got home before they did, but he trusted them to know that they shouldn't do anything that could place them in danger. He trusted Maxie a lot more now than he had ever really trusted her, even when she began to work at the hospital and he could tell that she was really enjoying the work that she was doing. It could have easily been attributed to the fact that she was finding herself constantly influenced by someone who he knew was a good person, driven by an innate sense of morality that just wouldn't be compromised for anyone. How he managed to get that with the father that he had was beyond Mac's comprehension. Mac just had to accept that Damian and Sonny were two extremely different people, and he didn't have a very hard time accepting it once he realized that it was true because he could at last see what Damian was doing to and for Maxie. She was becoming more confident in herself. She was becoming a woman in a way that could only come out with being in love. That woman would eventually break away from him, but he'd always remember the times when she was just a little girl to him.
At that moment, Mac heard the sounds of one of his girls coming down the stairs. He didn't know which it was, and he certainly wasn't the type of father who was so obsessed with his children that he could tell who it was by something as trivial as a footstep. Since he was in the kitchen, his view was obstructed. A second later, Georgie walked in. Mac smiled, Georgie was still his little girl. He couldn't believe that she was going to be leaving him for college. He remembered watching her grow up, it made him nostalgic for those times when she was in his lap or when he'd kiss her goodnight. Mac silently wondered to himself if Frisco would ever feel such things for his own daughters. Mac sincerely doubted it, but he kept his opinions to himself. He knew that while the girls both looked at him as their father in all the ways that mattered they still had some sort of respect for their birth father. Mac didn't know why they did, but he wouldn't try to force his own opinions on them, that wasn't the type of father that he wanted to be. Maybe that was why they had both rebelled against him when they had begun dating their respective boyfriends, because they had never done anything that he wanted them to do before, why should they have started at a time like that? For all the pain and agony that it caused Mac during the times when he would wonder if they were going to be okay, he knew that they had to make their choices on their own. He wished that he had realized it sooner, maybe with Robin.
Georgie seemed to be in a sort of haze. Something was bothering her. She didn't even acknowledge Mac as she came into the kitchen and raided the fridge for something to drink. Mac decided that he was going to get her attention, "Well, good morning to you, too." He tried to sound pained, but he was being as comedic as he could be. It wasn't something that he was extremely skilled at, but he could manage.
Georgie came to as she heard the voice of her father. It almost made her jump. She blushed slightly as she gained her bearings, "I'm sorry, dad..." She gave a small grin that quickly faded.
"Is everything okay?" Mac asked. "I know you can't be worrying about taking your SAT's or getting your entrance essays in, you've already done everything for the colleges that you're applying to next year."
"I'm not worried about school," Georgie replied meekly, pouring orange juice into a glass that she had just gotten out of the cupboard.
"Georgie," Mac began with a light pronunciation of her name, "I'd like to think that you wouldn't be afraid of talking to me about something that's bothering you."
"I'm not afraid," She placed her back to the counter, using it for support.
"So why aren't you talking to me then?" Mac asked.
"I don't know if I should be the one to tell you," Georgie answered simply. "It's not something that really involves me."
"Who does it involve then? Maxie?"
Georgie looked away. She did not feel comfortable telling Mac about the events that had transpired the night before. It wasn't her place. It was Maxie's, but would Maxie even want to tell him?
"Georgie..." Mac's voice was showing that his temper wasn't going to take the silent treatment. He tolerated a lot of secrets on the part of his children, but when their health or wellbeing was at stake, Mac tolerated nothing. "Please, tell me."
"Something happened last night," Georgie said cryptically.
"To Maxie?"
Georgie shook her head, "Not directly, no, although she was affected by it. We all were..."
"What are talking about?" Mac asked. "Please, Georgie, I don't have time for riddles right now."
Georgie sighed. Why was she always the one that had to do the dirty laundry for her sister? She understood that she was expected to do it, but that didn't mean she always had to like it. Sometimes she would gladly do it, but when she was talking to Mac she didn't always want to. She felt like she was compromising their relationship, and she didn't want Maxie to lose another father in the same way that they had both lost Frisco. She knew Mac well enough to know that he wouldn't back down, though. And he was basically pleading with her to be honest with him. She couldn't and wouldn't lie to her father when she knew that he wanted something that badly. "Daddy..."
Mac knew that both of his daughters only used the 'daddy' name when there was something that was wrong, or something that they wanted pretty badly. It was all 'daddy' when Maxie wanted a new car or Georgie wanted a new computer. But he also knew that Georgie never acted the way she was acting when there was something like that. No, there was something wrong. Mac got up, leaving the paper and the coffee mug that were in his hands on the table before he walked over. He hugged Georgie softly, "You can tell me, Georgie. No matter what it is, you don't have to be afraid of how I'm going to react."
"Damian's in the hospital, daddy," Georgie felt that there was a huge burden that was lifted from her when she said the truth. She still didn't feel that it was her place to say anything, but she couldn't keep it inside forever. "He was hit by a truck... saving Michael."
"Damian..." Mac didn't do anything exceptionally emotional, but he did feel bad for the young man that had quickly gained his trust. He knew how much Damian wanted to get out of the jail cell for that week he was inside, and then he was finally out and now he had landed himself in the hospital? The same night that he had finally managed to get out, too. Sometimes, Mac wondered why the people in Port Charles had the luck that they did. "Is he alive?"
Georgie nodded her head, but Mac could tell that it wasn't exactly a pleasant situation. "He was knocked unconscious right away. He still hasn't gotten it back, at least he hadn't when we left the hospital last night."
That would explain why they weren't back when Mac went to bed. They were busy worrying about a friend, or something more in Maxie's case. "How are his chances of survival?"
"Monica said that they weren't the worst that she's ever seen, but they weren't the best, either," Georgie finished her drink and put the glass in the sink. "Maxie spent so many hours just crying or worrying... I couldn't leave her."
"You did the right thing, watching over your sister like you always do." Mac kissed her on the forehead, "I'm proud of you, Georgie."
"I wish I felt that I had done something that you could be proud of, dad," Georgie admitted. "I couldn't make it go away. I know that's what she wanted, though. She wanted to forget what had happened, and I couldn't do that for her."
"You can't erase the past," Mac comforted his youngest daughter. He also thought about Felicia, maybe she should have been made aware of the fact that Maxie was going through a hard time. She didn't know that Damian was Maxie's boyfriend... Mac supposed that there was really no reason for her to know. Maxie would resent Felicia's informing anyway. "Do you know if Maxie managed to get any sleep last night?"
"I stayed with her until she actually got to sleep," Georgie said. "It took her almost an hour from the time that we got home, and I don't know if she managed to stay asleep."
"Maybe I should go check on her..."
"I think that's a good idea," Georgie said.
"But... how are you doing with this, Georgie?" Mac asked. "I know that when something bad happens around the two of you I almost always focus myself on Maxie, but that's only because we both know that she needs someone to be there for her, she's not as strong as you are. Still, I want to know what you're feeling. I know that you don't feel as strongly for Damian as your sister does, but you still care about him."
"Yeah, I do," Georgie felt her eyes begin to water as she thought about her friend in a hospital bed not even moving, barely breathing. "I don't know, dad. The staff at General Hospital are great, but they can't work miracles. I don't even want to think about what might happen to Maxie if he does die. She'll be destroyed. She might get back into doing drugs..."
"We'll just have to keep watching her to make sure that it doesn't happen."
"Maybe you should go see her," Georgie said. "I know that she probably needs you, even if she doesn't want to admit it to herself."
"As long as you're okay..."
"Compared to what Maxie's going through? Yeah, I know that I'm okay."
Upstairs-
How many holes were there in the tiles of her ceiling? That was what Maxie had been reduced to, counting the number of holes that were at the top of her room. Anything to keep her mind off of it... off of him, and especially off of the horrid sight that his face had been reduced to. She couldn't even remember all the dreams that she had over the night, but she knew that they would almost all have something to do with him. She recalled one where everything was okay, where nothing had happened. They were together in each other's arms, kissing. Damian told her how much he loved her and she felt that there was nothing that could hurt either of them. Yes, it was immature and it was not the reality of the situation, but with everything that was going on around her being the reality, she knew that she couldn't blame herself for wanting things to be more ideal.
Maxie wanted to get out of bed, but her legs refused to work like she wanted them to. It was like she was paralyzed. If she couldn't get out of bed, if she couldn't go to the hospital and get a progress on her boyfriend... then nothing would change, right? Nothing could change if she didn't ask if something had changed. He would still be hurt, she couldn't make that go away, but he couldn't die, not if she didn't get out of bed and ask if he had died. Eventually, though, she knew that she would have to get out of bed.
Mac came up the stairs as quietly as possible in order to ensure that Maxie wasn't going to be waken up in the off-chance that she was still asleep. Her door was cracked open. Georgie probably didn't keep it closed all the way just in case Maxie made a sound and she wanted to make sure that everything was okay. He poked his head in and saw that Maxie was indeed up, although if she was willing to talk was another matter entirely.
The door creaked open. Maxie's concentration was diverted to the door. She saw Mac put his head in the room. She watched her father try to smile. "You found out, didn't you?" Maxie asked.
Mac's fake smile dropped quickly, "Yeah, I did."
"Georgie tell you?"
"She didn't want to, but I forced her into it," Mac said, hopefully defending Georgie from incurring the wrath of her older sister. "Don't get upset with her."
"I'm not," Maxie propped herself up. "I'm actually kind of glad that Georgie told you, dad. I don't think that I could do it."
"Maxie... I'm so sorry."
"You worked so hard to try and get him out of jail," Maxie began, "you did everything that you could to prove that he was innocent because you knew that he was. When he got out... he didn't even get a day, daddy. We didn't even get to spend a day holding each other... we might not be able to ever spend a day like that."
"You can't think like that," Mac said. "You don't know how bad it is..."
"Yes I do," Maxie countered. "I saw him, daddy. It was like I wasn't looking at Damian. I was looking at some horrible figure that just happened to look like Damian. I didn't want to think that it was really him. I still don't want to think that it's him." Maxie turned her head to shield herself from Mac's gaze, "But there's nothing I can do to make me forget that it is him, that the man that I care for so much might not even recognize me anymore if he does wake up." Maxie broke down again. "It's not fair!"
Mac walked over before he put himself on the edge of the bed and hugged Maxie. He felt her tears litter into his shirt, dampening it. "I know it's not fair, Maxie. I know it's not fair..." He couldn't say anything to make her feel better, knowing that such a panacea would take something more than words, something that he didn't have. Instead, Mac just spent every moment that he could holding his daughter in her arms, letting Maxie know that he was going to be there for her then as he had always been in the past, where he would always be as long as time and Maxie permitted. She was just a little girl who needed her daddy again. Mac was all too happy to oblige.
Joy- You caught the hints. I thought about it and figured it would be fun. Getting Dillon out of the Mansion, and putting Jason into the Mansion for a few chapters would have been great, so I did.
You know, in truth I don't really even pay much attention to the show when I'm doing this story. I love the show, even though it's been sub-par as of late, but I know where I want to take my characters, or the characters that are depicted in my story, and if they clash with what's going on, then so be it. My Courtney isn't stupid and hopeful to the point of being naïve, after all. I love her, she's my favorite, but at times she angers me. Other times, she makes me happy.
My heart goes out to Sonny, too. I love writing him as a shattered being as opposed to the strong rock that he is, for the most part on the show. I love showing the vulnerability of the 'rock' characters, like Sonny and Jason. It shows their humanity, which is often in question.
About the development with the Dillon thing... don't expect too much from it. I mean, that's not to say that it won't be touched upon, because it will, but I won't be devoting a section of the story to it. If I had started sooner I probably would have, but I'm kind of pressed for time as it is. Dillon will be instrumental towards the conclusion, but that's about it. I did write a Dillon and Carly part already, though. It was fun.
Since I don't end up touching on Damian's relationship to his family at home as much as I should, it's easy for people to forget that they're around, but they are. I knew that they would have to have a part in this section, since it's their boy who is hurt and they care about him more than Sonny probably does in some ways. They won't be coming around to PC, though. As for the final comment, yes, things are going to be interesting indeed.
Journeylove- Thank you for the kind comments, glad you've been continuing to enjoy.
Story-
Scorpio Household-
It was a rare occurrence in Mac's life, the time when he could sit around the house and relax, if even for a moment. It was early in the morning, both of his girls were still in their rooms sleeping. He got home before they did, but he trusted them to know that they shouldn't do anything that could place them in danger. He trusted Maxie a lot more now than he had ever really trusted her, even when she began to work at the hospital and he could tell that she was really enjoying the work that she was doing. It could have easily been attributed to the fact that she was finding herself constantly influenced by someone who he knew was a good person, driven by an innate sense of morality that just wouldn't be compromised for anyone. How he managed to get that with the father that he had was beyond Mac's comprehension. Mac just had to accept that Damian and Sonny were two extremely different people, and he didn't have a very hard time accepting it once he realized that it was true because he could at last see what Damian was doing to and for Maxie. She was becoming more confident in herself. She was becoming a woman in a way that could only come out with being in love. That woman would eventually break away from him, but he'd always remember the times when she was just a little girl to him.
At that moment, Mac heard the sounds of one of his girls coming down the stairs. He didn't know which it was, and he certainly wasn't the type of father who was so obsessed with his children that he could tell who it was by something as trivial as a footstep. Since he was in the kitchen, his view was obstructed. A second later, Georgie walked in. Mac smiled, Georgie was still his little girl. He couldn't believe that she was going to be leaving him for college. He remembered watching her grow up, it made him nostalgic for those times when she was in his lap or when he'd kiss her goodnight. Mac silently wondered to himself if Frisco would ever feel such things for his own daughters. Mac sincerely doubted it, but he kept his opinions to himself. He knew that while the girls both looked at him as their father in all the ways that mattered they still had some sort of respect for their birth father. Mac didn't know why they did, but he wouldn't try to force his own opinions on them, that wasn't the type of father that he wanted to be. Maybe that was why they had both rebelled against him when they had begun dating their respective boyfriends, because they had never done anything that he wanted them to do before, why should they have started at a time like that? For all the pain and agony that it caused Mac during the times when he would wonder if they were going to be okay, he knew that they had to make their choices on their own. He wished that he had realized it sooner, maybe with Robin.
Georgie seemed to be in a sort of haze. Something was bothering her. She didn't even acknowledge Mac as she came into the kitchen and raided the fridge for something to drink. Mac decided that he was going to get her attention, "Well, good morning to you, too." He tried to sound pained, but he was being as comedic as he could be. It wasn't something that he was extremely skilled at, but he could manage.
Georgie came to as she heard the voice of her father. It almost made her jump. She blushed slightly as she gained her bearings, "I'm sorry, dad..." She gave a small grin that quickly faded.
"Is everything okay?" Mac asked. "I know you can't be worrying about taking your SAT's or getting your entrance essays in, you've already done everything for the colleges that you're applying to next year."
"I'm not worried about school," Georgie replied meekly, pouring orange juice into a glass that she had just gotten out of the cupboard.
"Georgie," Mac began with a light pronunciation of her name, "I'd like to think that you wouldn't be afraid of talking to me about something that's bothering you."
"I'm not afraid," She placed her back to the counter, using it for support.
"So why aren't you talking to me then?" Mac asked.
"I don't know if I should be the one to tell you," Georgie answered simply. "It's not something that really involves me."
"Who does it involve then? Maxie?"
Georgie looked away. She did not feel comfortable telling Mac about the events that had transpired the night before. It wasn't her place. It was Maxie's, but would Maxie even want to tell him?
"Georgie..." Mac's voice was showing that his temper wasn't going to take the silent treatment. He tolerated a lot of secrets on the part of his children, but when their health or wellbeing was at stake, Mac tolerated nothing. "Please, tell me."
"Something happened last night," Georgie said cryptically.
"To Maxie?"
Georgie shook her head, "Not directly, no, although she was affected by it. We all were..."
"What are talking about?" Mac asked. "Please, Georgie, I don't have time for riddles right now."
Georgie sighed. Why was she always the one that had to do the dirty laundry for her sister? She understood that she was expected to do it, but that didn't mean she always had to like it. Sometimes she would gladly do it, but when she was talking to Mac she didn't always want to. She felt like she was compromising their relationship, and she didn't want Maxie to lose another father in the same way that they had both lost Frisco. She knew Mac well enough to know that he wouldn't back down, though. And he was basically pleading with her to be honest with him. She couldn't and wouldn't lie to her father when she knew that he wanted something that badly. "Daddy..."
Mac knew that both of his daughters only used the 'daddy' name when there was something that was wrong, or something that they wanted pretty badly. It was all 'daddy' when Maxie wanted a new car or Georgie wanted a new computer. But he also knew that Georgie never acted the way she was acting when there was something like that. No, there was something wrong. Mac got up, leaving the paper and the coffee mug that were in his hands on the table before he walked over. He hugged Georgie softly, "You can tell me, Georgie. No matter what it is, you don't have to be afraid of how I'm going to react."
"Damian's in the hospital, daddy," Georgie felt that there was a huge burden that was lifted from her when she said the truth. She still didn't feel that it was her place to say anything, but she couldn't keep it inside forever. "He was hit by a truck... saving Michael."
"Damian..." Mac didn't do anything exceptionally emotional, but he did feel bad for the young man that had quickly gained his trust. He knew how much Damian wanted to get out of the jail cell for that week he was inside, and then he was finally out and now he had landed himself in the hospital? The same night that he had finally managed to get out, too. Sometimes, Mac wondered why the people in Port Charles had the luck that they did. "Is he alive?"
Georgie nodded her head, but Mac could tell that it wasn't exactly a pleasant situation. "He was knocked unconscious right away. He still hasn't gotten it back, at least he hadn't when we left the hospital last night."
That would explain why they weren't back when Mac went to bed. They were busy worrying about a friend, or something more in Maxie's case. "How are his chances of survival?"
"Monica said that they weren't the worst that she's ever seen, but they weren't the best, either," Georgie finished her drink and put the glass in the sink. "Maxie spent so many hours just crying or worrying... I couldn't leave her."
"You did the right thing, watching over your sister like you always do." Mac kissed her on the forehead, "I'm proud of you, Georgie."
"I wish I felt that I had done something that you could be proud of, dad," Georgie admitted. "I couldn't make it go away. I know that's what she wanted, though. She wanted to forget what had happened, and I couldn't do that for her."
"You can't erase the past," Mac comforted his youngest daughter. He also thought about Felicia, maybe she should have been made aware of the fact that Maxie was going through a hard time. She didn't know that Damian was Maxie's boyfriend... Mac supposed that there was really no reason for her to know. Maxie would resent Felicia's informing anyway. "Do you know if Maxie managed to get any sleep last night?"
"I stayed with her until she actually got to sleep," Georgie said. "It took her almost an hour from the time that we got home, and I don't know if she managed to stay asleep."
"Maybe I should go check on her..."
"I think that's a good idea," Georgie said.
"But... how are you doing with this, Georgie?" Mac asked. "I know that when something bad happens around the two of you I almost always focus myself on Maxie, but that's only because we both know that she needs someone to be there for her, she's not as strong as you are. Still, I want to know what you're feeling. I know that you don't feel as strongly for Damian as your sister does, but you still care about him."
"Yeah, I do," Georgie felt her eyes begin to water as she thought about her friend in a hospital bed not even moving, barely breathing. "I don't know, dad. The staff at General Hospital are great, but they can't work miracles. I don't even want to think about what might happen to Maxie if he does die. She'll be destroyed. She might get back into doing drugs..."
"We'll just have to keep watching her to make sure that it doesn't happen."
"Maybe you should go see her," Georgie said. "I know that she probably needs you, even if she doesn't want to admit it to herself."
"As long as you're okay..."
"Compared to what Maxie's going through? Yeah, I know that I'm okay."
Upstairs-
How many holes were there in the tiles of her ceiling? That was what Maxie had been reduced to, counting the number of holes that were at the top of her room. Anything to keep her mind off of it... off of him, and especially off of the horrid sight that his face had been reduced to. She couldn't even remember all the dreams that she had over the night, but she knew that they would almost all have something to do with him. She recalled one where everything was okay, where nothing had happened. They were together in each other's arms, kissing. Damian told her how much he loved her and she felt that there was nothing that could hurt either of them. Yes, it was immature and it was not the reality of the situation, but with everything that was going on around her being the reality, she knew that she couldn't blame herself for wanting things to be more ideal.
Maxie wanted to get out of bed, but her legs refused to work like she wanted them to. It was like she was paralyzed. If she couldn't get out of bed, if she couldn't go to the hospital and get a progress on her boyfriend... then nothing would change, right? Nothing could change if she didn't ask if something had changed. He would still be hurt, she couldn't make that go away, but he couldn't die, not if she didn't get out of bed and ask if he had died. Eventually, though, she knew that she would have to get out of bed.
Mac came up the stairs as quietly as possible in order to ensure that Maxie wasn't going to be waken up in the off-chance that she was still asleep. Her door was cracked open. Georgie probably didn't keep it closed all the way just in case Maxie made a sound and she wanted to make sure that everything was okay. He poked his head in and saw that Maxie was indeed up, although if she was willing to talk was another matter entirely.
The door creaked open. Maxie's concentration was diverted to the door. She saw Mac put his head in the room. She watched her father try to smile. "You found out, didn't you?" Maxie asked.
Mac's fake smile dropped quickly, "Yeah, I did."
"Georgie tell you?"
"She didn't want to, but I forced her into it," Mac said, hopefully defending Georgie from incurring the wrath of her older sister. "Don't get upset with her."
"I'm not," Maxie propped herself up. "I'm actually kind of glad that Georgie told you, dad. I don't think that I could do it."
"Maxie... I'm so sorry."
"You worked so hard to try and get him out of jail," Maxie began, "you did everything that you could to prove that he was innocent because you knew that he was. When he got out... he didn't even get a day, daddy. We didn't even get to spend a day holding each other... we might not be able to ever spend a day like that."
"You can't think like that," Mac said. "You don't know how bad it is..."
"Yes I do," Maxie countered. "I saw him, daddy. It was like I wasn't looking at Damian. I was looking at some horrible figure that just happened to look like Damian. I didn't want to think that it was really him. I still don't want to think that it's him." Maxie turned her head to shield herself from Mac's gaze, "But there's nothing I can do to make me forget that it is him, that the man that I care for so much might not even recognize me anymore if he does wake up." Maxie broke down again. "It's not fair!"
Mac walked over before he put himself on the edge of the bed and hugged Maxie. He felt her tears litter into his shirt, dampening it. "I know it's not fair, Maxie. I know it's not fair..." He couldn't say anything to make her feel better, knowing that such a panacea would take something more than words, something that he didn't have. Instead, Mac just spent every moment that he could holding his daughter in her arms, letting Maxie know that he was going to be there for her then as he had always been in the past, where he would always be as long as time and Maxie permitted. She was just a little girl who needed her daddy again. Mac was all too happy to oblige.