After the Fire

A General Hospital fan-fiction

Chapter Three: Moving On

The weeks passed quickly in the Scorpio house. Shortly after Mac's funeral, Maxie and Georgie resumed school just in time for mid-term finals.

It was a balmy Friday afternoon as Georgie entered the house with Dillon following behind. "Hello? Anyone home?" With no response, she turned to Dillon and smiled. "We have the whole house to ourselves."

"Cool, 'cause I have my Nickelback CD," Dillon said, walking past her and heading for the stereo. He opened the CD tray and the LED screen lit up. He fished his Walkman out of his backpack and took out his CD. Popping it in the CD player, he hit the fast-forward button until "Feelin' Way Too Damn Good" wafted out of the speakers.

"Listening to music isn't exactly what I had in mind, Dillon," Georgie told him as he bopped his head to the music.

Dillon paused. "Well, what did you want to do?"

Georgie did her best impression of a seductive smile. "Come here and find out," she told him.

They ended up on the couch making out until they heard someone coming down the stairs. "Who's home?" Robin called. She froze when she saw Georgie and Dillon on the couch. She had a flashback to a time when she had been caught in the same situation with Stone. She noticed Georgie's shirt was half-unbuttoned and her hair was mussed. "I thought I heard someone come in," she said.

Dillon sprang to his feet as fast as he could. "Uh, uh, I'm sorry, I'll leave now so you don't have to throw me out."

Robin stopped him. "Dillon, you don't have to go," she assured him. "Believe me, I know this is an awkward situation. It hasn't been that long since I was your age." She paused. She had news for Georgie, and Maxie as well, but wasn't sure how to tell them. "Is Maxie going to be home soon?"

"She went to the hospital," Georgie told her, "did you need her?"

Robin sat on the couch, with one leg tucked under. "I actually need to talk to both of you," she started. "I have some news."

Dillon sensed the urgency in her voice and turned to Georgie. "I'm going to let you guys talk," he said. He removed his CD from the player and slipped it back into his Walkman.

Georgie walked him to the door. He quickly kissed her goodbye as he left the house. She watched him walk away from the house before closing the door and rejoining Robin in the living room.

She flopped down onto the couch next to Robin. "So, what's going on?" she asked, "can you tell me now or do I have to wait until Maxie comes home."

Robin paused before answering. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you now. Maybe you can help me break the news to Maxie, she's going to take this hard."

Georgie's curiosity was definitely piqued. "What is it, Robin? This sounds serious."

"Felicia left today to go back to Texas," Robin told her, "she got a call this morning: Maria had a stroke."

Georgie's jaw dropped. "Oh, my God." Tears welling up, Georgie fought to keep them in. "Is she going to die?" she whispered.

Robin drew her arms around the girl and tried to comfort her. "I don't know, sweetie," she said, rubbing Georgie's back. "Felicia said she'd call as soon as she got word."

"Are we going to supposed to go with her?" Georgie wanted to know. She didn't want to leave Port Charles.

Robin pulled back. "That's the other news," she said. "Felicia and I talked. She thinks it's best that you and Maxie finish school so I'm going to stay in town with you."

"Don't you have to go back to Paris?"

Robin shook her head. "I called my advisor today. I was supposed to start my residency in a few weeks but I'm going to postpone it for now. Just until I know how long Felicia will be gone."

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Sonny walked into the penthouse. "Hello? Anyone home?" he called when he saw the living room empty.

Leticia walked out of the kitchen with Kristina on her hip. Kristina's head lay limply on Leticia's shoulder. "Hi, Mr. Corinthos, I'm glad you're home. Kristina's sick."

Sonny touched Kristina's forehead. It was warm. "What's wrong with her?" he asked, concerned.

"She's been crying and holding her ear," Leticia told him, as she handed the child to him. "I gave her some childrens' Motrin and called the doctor. He can see her tomorrow at 9:30 in the morning."

Sonny nodded. "Thanks, I appreciate it, Leticia." He soothed Kristina's hair as she cuddled close to him. "How you feeling, little girl?" he murmured. "Is your ear hurting you?"

As he sat down on the couch, he turned back to Leticia. "Where are Michael and Morgan?"

"Morgan is sleeping upstairs and Michael wanted to go to Bobbie's," Leticia informed him. "I figured you wouldn't mind as long as he took one of the bodyguards." She paused. "Was that okay?"

Sonny nodded. "Yeah, that's fine." Sonny knew that Michael had been having a hard time adjusting to life after Carly's death so Sonny was trying to accommodate him as best he could. He knew it was good for Michael to spend time with Bobbie. He figured it made the boy feel closer to his mother by spending time with his grandmother.

As Leticia went upstairs to check on Morgan, Sonny sat back on the couch and held Kristina close to his chest. He had relished the past few weeks since he found out he was her father. He was only sorry that it took Alexis' death to find out the truth.

Kristina whined against his chest but Sonny's constant soothing touch and gentle murmurs calmed her and soon she was asleep. He stood up as quietly as he could and carried her upstairs. After laying her down in her bed, he returned to the living room.

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Michael wandered through Bobbie's brownstone. He found his grandmother in the kitchen preparing dinner. "Hi, grandma, what are you making?"

"Lasagna," Bobbie answered. "Are you hungry?"

Michael nodded, even though he wasn't hungry at all. He had a lot of things on his eight-year-old mind and dinner was not one of them. Fingering an oven mitt that Bobbie laid on the counter, Michael was deep in thought. Bobbie noticed and asked him, "penny for your thoughts?"

"What?" Michael was confused.

Bobbie laughed. "That's an old saying for 'what's on your mind?'" she told him.

"Oh." He was still confused.

"Anyway, do you want to talk, Michael?" Bobbie continued, leading him out of the kitchen into the dining room.

Michael sat at the table and looked at his hands. "I miss my mom," he whispered.

Tears sprang to Bobbie's eyes. "Oh, Michael, I know you do. I miss your mom too." She reached over the table and wrapped her arms around him.

Michael's voice was small in her arms. "Do you think he knows?"

Bobbie pulled back slightly. "Do I think who knows what?"

"My dad…AJ…do you think he knows my mom is dead?"

Bobbie blinked. She had no idea Michael was thinking of AJ. "I don't know, sweetheart," she told him honestly, "AJ left town a few months ago. He may not know." She paused. "Why do you ask?"

Michael shrugged. "I just thought maybe I could see him."

Bobbie reacted. "Michael, have you talked your dad about this?" She knew that AJ was not one of Sonny's favorite subjects.

Michael shook his head. "He's been busy lately, with Morgan and Kristina."

"Honey, I'm sure if you let him, he'd talk to you about AJ."

"But Daddy hates AJ," Michael reminded her.

"He doesn't exactly hate him, Michael," Bobbie tried to clarify, "it's just that Sonny and AJ don't see eye-to-eye all the time, especially when it comes to you." She paused. "But you know that he's always told you that if you wanted to see AJ, he'd totally understand and be there for you."

Michael nodded. He stood up and kissed Bobbie on the cheek. "Thanks, grandma, I'm tired now. I don't want to eat anything. I just want to go upstairs to bed, okay?"

Bobbie nodded as he left the room. She stood up and walked to the fireplace. She traced a picture of Carly with her finger. "Oh, sweetheart, I wish you were here," she whispered. "Michael needs you so much…and so do I." Just then, the oven timer chimed. She went into the kitchen to retrieve her lasagna before it burned.

To be continued…

(A/N: OMG, I don't believe it. I was actually nice to Carly's memory! Wow, I didn't know I had it in me. LOL. But really, when you think about it, it's not Carly I was nice to, but her loved ones, Michael and Bobbie, so don't worry, I haven't gone soft. I still can't stand Carly and I'm very glad I "killed" her in this story. No offense to any Carly fan who may be reading.

As for Alexis, I didn't want to "kill" her but I wanted to make sure Sonny got custody of Kristina without any trouble and I knew I could only do that realistically if Alexis was out of the picture. Sorry to all the "Sexis" fans. Forgive me? Please?

Anyway, now that you've read this chapter, and enjoyed it too, please review!)