New York City, New York-

"Are you ready?"

"You make it seem like I haven't done this before… I've done it how many times today alone?"

"Maxie…"

"What?" She looked over at him as they stood by the stairs that would lead to yet another police building. Inside she would no doubt find people who were on the side of the law with her father, and the side of the law that people would think Sonny Corinthos to be on. Maxie wasn't an idiot. She wasn't blind to Sonny's flaws, but she knew that deep down Sonny was a decent person. She wanted him to do things that were a lot less illegal, everyone did, especially her boyfriend, but Sonny wasn't the type of person who would strike out at another man unless it was necessary, or provoked. He didn't go around killing people just for looking at him wrong. If he had, Damian would have been killed on the spot, before he even had a chance to say that he was Sonny's bastard child.

"If you don't feel safe doing this…"

"Why wouldn't I be safe?" Maxie did feel safe. She knew what Police Stations were for, they were to keep the people safe. "What about you?" She held his hand, feeling his fingers clasp around hers. "I know how you look at all the people who are inside the building, on the other side of the desk. Nobody is out to judge you."

"I wish I believed that."

"Why don't you?"

"Because they probably know who I am," he replied softly. "Justus asked me if I knew what I was getting into when I decided to publicly adopt my father's name into my own identity. Maybe Elias Zuniga doesn't have very much flack, especially on this side of the country, but Sonny Corinthos? He's in the papers almost every day, Maxie… and I know my name has been tossed around a few times."

"You don't do anything bad, you're not a criminal."

"They don't look at me as someone who hasn't done anything bad yet, Maxie. They look at me like I'm someone who is going to do something bad eventually… and I'm not completely sure they're wrong. I don't know what my limits are. I used to think that I could never do some of the things that I've done… I used to think that I could never turn a blind eye to the things that my dad does… I never thought…" he stalled, not wanting to say it.

Maxie could see the hesitation on his face and hear it in his voice. She knew what he was talking about. He didn't think that he would ever be able to take a life in cold blood, like he had done with Lorenzo Alcazar. But it was the only option. She would engrave that on her forehead if it helped get the point across. She knew it wasn't necessary. Damian needed to battle the demon that was haunting him on his own, and she could only promise to be there for him when he needed it.

"You see why I had to bring you?" Damian asked, finally stabilizing his mind after dealing with the trauma that came with the faintest remembrance of his actions. "They don't know me, but they think they do. Even if they know who you are they also know that you're the daughter of a police commissioner, that gives you plenty of brownie points."

"They also try and flirt with me… at least if they're in their twenties…"

"I noticed that."

"And you're not angry at them?"

"Why would I be angry at them?" Damian wondered, "They can want you all they want, but I know that I'm the one who has you… I'm the one who is lucky enough to merit your love."

"I wish things could be different. I wish we could be part of the crowd over in Times Square, celebrating the coming of a New Year…"

"It doesn't matter where we are, Maxie. We could be alone, we could be with a million people… all we need is each other."

She flashed a large smile as she wrapped her arm around his, "I couldn't agree more." Her happiness was smothered as a cold wind came. Shivering, she grabbed the collar of her jacket and moved it closer to her face. The snow was still coming down, and it seemed to be a lot more rapid than it was before. She didn't worry about it that much. It was New York, in December. It was going to snow.

He stood there for a moment before he gathered up the strength that it took to enter another building where he felt that all the eyes were on him. It didn't matter that they might not have been in actuality, all that mattered was the fact that he felt they were. If one person was actually looking at him and saying to himself 'That's Sonny Corinthos's son' then his worries were entirely justified. Justus should have told him more about the penalties of the name… but even if he knew about them, Damian knew that he would take the name in a heartbeat. It was his name, his father's name… a part of his identity.

The two young lovers walked inside the precinct building, not being noticed amid all the telephones ringing and the uniformed officers that were talking to each other, going over cases that still needed to be solved. It was New Years Eve in New York, probably one of the busier days of the year.

Maxie casually glanced over at her boyfriend. His eyes were closed. She knew that he didn't want to be there, and she didn't either. Words couldn't express how much she respected him for making the choice that he did. He was doing something that he didn't really want to do for a person that had never really liked him until only recently. He wasn't letting any bad blood that still existed between himself and Carly get in the way. It was a resolve that Maxie knew she could never have.

She stood on her tiptoes as she whispered into his ear, "Fifth time is the charm." They had been to four other police stations, none of them having any idea where John Durant was, none of them being helpful enough to try and find out where he could have been. New Yorkers had a stigma for being rude, and it was obvious why… they were.

Maxie left Damian a few feet behind her and headed toward the information desk. The phone had yet to stop ringing, it was starting to give her a headache, but she knew what she needed to do and she wouldn't fail in her mission. She stood in front of the desk, the woman behind it looking up at her with hazel eyes. Maxie smiled, which garnered no similar response from the woman, but she did put a finger up, signaling that she would be with Maxie in a moment.

The young girl tried not to listen in on the conversation that was being had by the woman at the desk and the person on the other end of the telephone, it was hard to hear what was going on, and even harder not to get a single viewpoint on the conversation. She used to do that with Mac when she was younger, listen in on the calls that he got when he was at home. It was a hard habit to break.

"Let me guess," the lady said as she put the phone back on the receiver, "somebody stole your car?"

"Excuse me?"

"Pretty girl like you must come from money. Did you leave your hot pink hummer unlocked and someone hotwired it?"

"No…"

"Then why are you here?"

"Look, lady, I know you're probably a little stressed out right now…"

"Well we can't all have a bunch of makeup on to hide our stress like you, doll."

"I'm looking for someone…"

"We haven't brought in anyone since yesterday afternoon. It's pretty empty."

"John Durant."

The name caught the woman's attention, as everyone knew it would. "Durant? What do you want Durant for?"

"I want to talk to him… is he here?"

"John Durant doesn't really like to spend a lot of his time in the station houses, girl. Classy man like him has better things to do."

"So… he's not here, then?"

"No, he isn't here…"

"Do you know where he is?"

"Why would I tell you something like that?"

Maxie knew that she did not like the older lady that she was speaking with. It wasn't Maxie's fault that she was getting older. She wasn't an ugly person, but maybe she just thought she was. "Because I'm asking?"

"Ruth, isn't it time for your lunch break?"

"I'm dealing with something right now, Dino."

"I'll finish it up, go enjoy your salad."

The woman, Ruth, groaned as she stood up from the chair, her motion sending the chair spinning around for a moment. She gave Maxie one more cold glare before she walked into a section of the station that Maxie couldn't see her in.

"Sorry about that," Dino took a seat, his smile apparent. "Ruth's got an unhealthy temper. I can assure you that her grudge wasn't personal. She just hates everyone."

"Dino… was it?"

"It's a nickname I've had since I was a kid. Loved the Flintstones…"

Maxie knew that he was trying to get on her good side. She didn't mind that he used a childish nickname, but she did mind that he was trying to hit on her. "My boyfriend and I are looking for John Durant."

The smile faded when he heard the taboo word. "What do you want with Durant?"

"Just to ask a few questions. Someone like him must be a big celebrity around places like this."

"Durant's a damned fine man… puts away a lot of horrible people because he's the only one who can finally get them at their own game." Dino's attentions were diverted over to the boy. He knew who Damian was, just as Damian had suspected, but he tried to play it cool. "he's not here, though. He has a lot of places that he needs to go, can't spend too much time at any one place."

"Do you know where he is?"

"At this very moment? No… but there is a place that he almost always likes to stop by every day… and since it's New Years Eve I can almost guarantee that he'll hit it up."

"Could you tell me where that is?"

"I don't think you're old enough to go in," Dino grinned. "You still look like you're a teenager…"

"I can wait for him outside," Maxie said coldly. She didn't want to be treated like a kid. She was better than that. "Please, Dino, just tell me."

"It's a bar… I'll give you the address. He usually stops in about four in the afternoon, no promises, though."

"It's better than nothing." Maxie looked over at the clock on the wall. If he was going to be there around four in the afternoon it gave her a little over an hour before they needed to make their way over. At least they could spend that hour doing something that didn't involve running around and looking for him.

"Here," Dino put the paper in front of her. "I don't know what you want him for, but I hope that you manage to get his attention. He's a busy man."

"I hope I can get his attention, too." She grabbed the paper. "Thank you, Dino… and stay away from Ruth."

"I make that my life mission."

Maxie turned around and walked towards Damian, who held the door open for her. "We have a little bit of time… I'm hungry. You think we can stop and get something to eat?"

"I think the information that you just got on John Durant is worth a meal. I'll even take you to a place where we don't have to order an extra value meal. But we can't go somewhere too busy…"

"I know."

Damian looked back at the closed door. He knew that Officer Dino was looking at him, but he wasn't sure if the nervous feeling he got was just because of his own anxiety, or if it was because Dino was planning something.