Note On Casting: In my head, the part of "Arielle Webber," is played by, perhaps, Eileen Davidson (I know her from Y&R, but she's also been on DAYS, I think). And though I never watched when "Jeff Webber" was on (I have seen clips, of course), I see no reason for him to be played by anyone other than Richard Dean Anderson, the original portrayer, in my head, though I've only seen him in pictures and clips.

As for "Sarah Webber," I didn't like the last one and barely remember the first one, so I've cast her in my mind as Ashley Jones (Bridget Forrester from B&B), who is probably a little too old to fit into the timeline of when Jeff left, but oh, well; she plays younger than this currently anyway. And I need Sarah to be at least mid-twenties for this story to work. And, then there's "Gina Cates," and I can't see Nikki Cox (the original) playing my version of the character here, and can't remember the name of the second girl who played her, so in my mind, she's Amelia Heinle (also from Y&R, plays "Victoria," and she was "Steffi" on Loving.)

You may imagine who you will in the roles, of course – that's just my brief toss out of ideas on the parts. Eileen Davidson seems a little too electric at first, for "Arielle," but I thought Arielle should have a sort of electric coldness, which I've always thought Davidson could do brilliantly. As for Ashley Jones, I just like her energy and think she'd be good for my version of Sarah (who was never that well defined on the show, IMO).

I also, despite thinking Sarah Brown is the real "Carly," imagine Tamara Braun as "Carly" here. Just because TB's "Carly" fits better into my story, IMO. And I most definitely imagine Kristina Wagner as "Felicia." As for "Maxie," while I preferred Robyn, I have to say Kristen Storms's version fits better here, with what I'm going to do with her (not that I like what they've done with "Maxie" and KS on the show).

Feel free to disregard all of this.

-Alison

Chapter One
Injuries – Inside and Out

---

"Inside every small problem is a large problem struggling to get out."
Second Law of Blissful Ignorance

---

Less than forty-eight hours later, the storm had passed and was already beginning to dissipate over southeastern Canada. But just like any other disaster in Port Charles, the wreckage was more than just ruined property, lost tree branches, and downed electric lines.

Bobbie stood outside the room where Felicia sat next to her unconscious daughter. Both women were remembering that night, what had happened after Maxie had been brought in to the E.R.

Bobbie quickly paged Dr. Meadows for Ric and Alexis before dialing the Scorpio-Jones residence. No answer. Just the machine.

"Felicia, this is Bobbie. You need to get down to the hospital as soon as you get this. I don't want to worry you, but it's about Maxie."

"What is?" Felicia asked from behind her. Mac was standing next to his wife.

"They just brought her in. I saw it," Bobbie answered. "Come on. They took her this way. It looked like she was still conscious when I saw her."

The three of them caught up with her as the doctors were prepping her for the O.R.

"What's wrong with her?" Felicia asked, frantically, as the doctors tried to motion for her to stay back.

"I'm fine, Mom," Maxie said faintly, not sounding very convincing from her place on the gurney. "Just my arm."

"Her shoulder," Gina Cates, the E.R. doctor added. She was older than when we'd last seen her and in her residency now at General Hospital."We do need to operate to remove the bullet, though. It would help speed that up if you could sign some forms. The sooner we start, the better for your daughter."

"I'll get the paperwork started," Bobbie offered, forgetting her shift ended five hours ago. She put her hand on Felicia's shoulder before she left, trying to comfort her friend.

The others wheeled Maxie into an area where she could be prepped for surgery while Mac, Felicia, and Gina spoke outside the room.

"Will she be able to handle a surgery? With her heart complications?" Mac asked. "You know her history, right? Shouldn't we get Monica Quartermaine, or someone, in here, to check that out, first?"

"We can try paging Dr. Quartermaine, but with the storm, I'm not sure we can get ahold of her. Of course, I've seen her chart, and a cardiologist will have to examine her first. We've paged someone already," Gina promised. "But this is a routine extraction."

"Routine. Then we have some time," Felicia started, half-asking, half-stating.

"Not exactly," Gina answered. "Postponement isn't really the best option here. There will always be risks, but leaving the bullet where it is will do permanent muscle damage and possibly cause infection –
and that puts her more at risk for heart complications. The best way to stave that off is to do the extraction as soon as possible."

"I don't know," Felicia said.

"Either way, we have to decide soon. Sew it up as is, or get the bullet out. Before she loses any more blood."

Bobbie had come back by then, with paperwork. "Bobbie?" Felicia asked.

Bobbie nodded. "Let them work. It's best for her."

Felicia sighed and signed the papers. "Can we see her before she goes in?"

"Yeah. A few minutes," Gina said. "And I'll get a cardiologist down here now."

"Thanks."

Now, Maxie was still alive but barely. No one was sure if she could recover. Or even wake up. As Mac and Felicia had feared, the surgery had been a shock to her body, to her weak heart. During the simple extraction, Maxie had crashed, and she still hadn't woken up. They hadn't said the word yet, but both Bobbie and Felicia were thinking the same thing: she'd fallen into a coma.

---

"Is your husband in his office?" Gina Cates asked Monica, only a few feet from the chief of staff office.

"No. I was just leaving a note for him," she answered the younger woman. She observed the papers in Gina's hands, and noted how upset the girl looked. "Something wrong?"

"I just wanted to tell him I was willing to hand in my resignation. I would understand… I mean, I've only been here a week, and… Well, it's here," she said, holding up the paper.

Monica sighed, knowing why Gina had come. "Dr. Cates, I'm sure no one's reprimanding you, or suspending you from anywhere. And there'll be no need for that paperwork," Monica told the distraught doctor in front of her. "It was the same call anyone would have made. The cardiologist on duty agreed. If I'd gotten my page in time, I would have agreed."

"The parents thought this might happen," Gina said, sinking into a chair. Monica sighed, understanding why Gina blamed herself for Maxie's condition. "And I told them it was routine."

"It was a routine surgery," Monica tried again to reassure her. "There's no saying whether she'd be better off if she hadn't gone in. There was a real risk of an infection, or even the same shock, if we just tied the wound up. Not to mention permanent damage."

"If she dies, that's permanent damage." Gina sighed.

"If Maxie dies, God forbid, it won't be your fault. You made the best call you could have. That's what doctors do."

Just then, Monica was paged over the intercom. "I have to go answer that," she said. "But put your resignation away, Dr. Cates. The hospital's extremely busy after the hurricane. I'm sure there's work to be done."

---

Mac approached Jesse's hospital room, to speak to the uniformed police officer standing guard. He couldn't help remembering what Maxie had said before she went into surgery.

"Listen, Mac..." Maxie started. "You have to help Jesse."

"Help Jesse. Maxie, you got shot because of him."

"It was Murphy. He's the bad cop. He's the one that shot me and framed Jesse. Find my cell phone. I taped it," she murmured. Mac made out most of the words, but tried to shush her. It was obviously draining her energy to speak.

"Don't worry about all that," Felicia added.

"Promise me," she asked as they started to wheel her towards the O.R. "Mac, promise me, you'll at least listen to Jesse's side."

"Maxie, you need to concentrate on yourself. Not Jesse."
"Promise me," she continued, not giving in. Louder, "Promise me."

He sighed. "I promise."

"Any word on when his doctor is releasing him into our custody?" Mac asked the officer.

"Tomorrow, sir, last I heard."

"Thanks," Mac said. "I'll prep internal affairs, get someone to question him then."

"He's been asking to see you, Commissioner," the officer suggested. "If you want to question him. But he'll only see you."

"Yeah. Durant told me." Mac sighed. "I think it's better he gets back to the station in one piece."

---

Elizabeth approached the Nurse's Desk with a chart. "File this under room 812, it's the chart for Mrs. Courtney Jacks. Thanks," she told the woman at the desk. She looked tired as she leaned against it, and it wasn't just her ten-hour shift wearing on her.

"Are you doing okay?" Her brother, Stephen, asked, coming up beside her.

She looked up and almost smiled. "Yeah. Just worried."

Stephen knew she was worried about Audrey – everyone in the family was, but he knew Elizabeth felt responsible. "She's doing much better. It's just a concussion. No broken bones or anything. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I just feel so bad. We shouldn't have left her with Cam in that storm..."

"Hey, you didn't know the storm was going to turn, or that the window was going to break," Stephen said. "Don't beat yourself up. A lot of people got injured in the hurricane worse than Audrey."

"Yeah. Like poor Courtney. I just came from her room. She's still really..." But Elizabeth couldn't find the words.

Just then, the elevator doors opened, and she saw three familiar faces she didn't expect. "Mom, Dad, Sarah," she said, with more shock than anything else, "what are the three of you doing here?"

---

Dr. Thomas was writing intently into a notepad inside a blue binder when he saw Alan Quartermaine standing in his door.

"I'll give you two million dollars to leave today," Alan offered from the doorway, looking steely, "and never come back to General Hospital."

"That didn't work out so well for you last time. Can't keep me away. I just love Port Charles," Asher Thomas said, flashing a half-smile at Alan, not looking up. "And where would you get the money anyway? Rumor has it your family's kind of…floundering in the money area."

Alan didn't answer that, and he didn't look surprised his offer had been turned down. "Haven't you done enough here?"

"No. My study still isn't complete." The doctor finally looked up, closing his notebook. "I'm not here to stir up anything. There's no reason you should feel threatened," he said, condescendingly, looking Alan in the eye. "I'm just finishing up some research. I'm just observing."

---

Carly paced outside of Courtney's room, unsure of whether her friend would see her, or if she would just upset her more than anything else. She sighed and walked over to the corner, leaning against the wall, not willing to go or stay yet.

---

Alexis sighed as she flipped through the channels on the television, wishing she were anywhere except confined to a hospital bed. They'd kept her for observation, to avoid any complications.

"They still holding you?"

She looked up, smiling a little, and nodding her head at Jax as he entered. His tone had been light and playful, but his expression looked like he was being held underwater.

"How's Courtney?" Were the first words out of her mouth. "I heard…"

"Everybody has. You know as much as I do," Jax answered, sitting down beside his friend's hospital bed. "She won't let me see her."

Alexis looked up, surprised at first, and then, as they sat in silence for a moment, she felt sad for him, understanding the thing neither of them wanted to say. She'd heard how bad Courtney's accident had been, physically. She'd broken her collarbone, her left shoulder, and, most of all, her entire face had been cut and broken. Words like "reconstructive" were being thrown around.

He just sat there for a long moment. Neither one of them had to speak. Even when he finally did, they were words Alexis hadn't needed to hear.

"I'm just surprised she thinks – that it would matter."

"I'm not," Alexis said softly. "How would you feel? How did you feel when you were paralyzed."

"Scared." Jax sighed. "I just wish I could get through to her."

She reached out and squeezed his hand. "You will."

He smiled. "I can't believe I'm coming here for support. I mean, isn't this backwards? Which one of us is in the hospital bed?" He pointed out. "How are you doing? What do they say about the baby?"

"They told us it was probably going to be fine, but I have to be kept-an-eye-on more than usual. I may have some sort of condition that can cause some problems, something about leaking amniotic fluid. They're worried if it gets too low… the baby could be stillborn." She said, getting more worried with every word. "Which is why I'd be fine with focusing on your problems. Because I don't even want to think about mine."

---

In another wing of the hospital, Ric and Reese sat, going over the Durant lawsuit.

"A lot of people still can't be reached for deposition. Storm stuff, I guess," Ric said, sighing. "Looks like we're getting nowhere. But there's probably going to be a continuance anyway. Durant will be needing a new lawyer."

"How is Alexis? They say she won't be able to work?"

"I say she won't," Ric said, sighing. "She's going to kill herself if she keeps it up. Stress is very bad for her condition – or the condition she might have. The doctors aren't sure of anything yet."

"I'm sorry. Hope she's okay," Reese offered. She sighed, packing up her breifcase. "Why aren't you sitting with her? We can't get much work done here, today, and I can finish up."

"I can't… I don't know. I can't stay in there, because I'm," Ric paused a long second, trying to find the words to say why he wasn't sitting with his pregnant wife, why he'd spent no more than ten minutes at a time there since they'd admitted her, why he'd slept just outside her door at Lorenzo's house.

"Afraid," Reese finished. "Of what?"

He nodded. "I don't know. Of fighting with her, maybe, making things worse… with the baby. Of losing her completely. Of realizing I'm never going to be able to make this 'family' thing work."

"With her, or with anyone?"

"Both, maybe." Ric sighed. "I don't have a good excuse, or any answers, for why I'm not sitting with Alexis instead of trying to drum up work to get my mind off of it. I should be in there, with my family, but I'm not. I'm busy being anywhere but where I should be."

---

"It's not that I think Nikolas doesn't love me, or doesn't understand – well, he can't completely understand," Emily said softly to Dr. Louise Winters, "but it's not about that. And it's not even that he just looks like Connor. He also – it's like, I can't away from that whole period. I can't go back, and everything, and everyone, is still the same, so I can't go forward either. I can't go anywhere. It's like being trapped."

"Have you told any of this to Nikolas?"

"Of course not," Emily said, almost laughing, one of those frustrated laughs that feels closer to crying. "I mean, he knows – he understands we have problems. But there's no point in rehashing it with him constantly until I find out a way to fix myself."

"That's an interesting choice of words," Louise said. "Fix yourself. Is that why you're here, talking to me?"

"Yeah. I know it sounds impossible, awful, like I'm trying – I'm not trying to run away. I don't what I'm doing anymore."

---

"We heard about the accident, during the hurricane," Jeff Webber answered his daughter's question. "Of course we came. We were afraid it could be serious."

"She just bumped her head. She's going to be fine," Stephen said quickly, not wanting them to add to his sister's fears.

"At her age," Arielle Webber – Jeff's wife – put in, "That could be serious, too." Arielle was a blue-eyed, blonde woman; if someone were pressed to use just one adjective to describe her, it might be "cool," as in not quite cold. The absence of heat was present in her look, manner, and speech. Her eldest daughter, Sarah, resembled her more closely than her younger daughter, Elizabeth.

It was Sarah who saved Elizabeth from feeling uncomfortable for long, or tried at least. "I've seen Grams, and she looked fine, though," Sarah added. "How's Cameron doing?"

"Yes, your mother and I wanted to see our grandson, too. And we thought now would be as good a time as any," Jeff added.

"Cameron is fine. Lucky and I will have you guys over for dinner tonight, of course," Elizabeth added. "We'll have a big, family dinner."

Stephen raised an eyebrow.

"That sounds wonderful," Jeff said, warmly. "Of course we'll come."

Sarah smiled a bit uncomfortably, and both sisters shared the same uncomfortable glance. Neither one of them wanted to be caught in that situation, but neither wanted to discuss the past in front of their parents.

"Well, I've got to – I made an appointment with Dr. Quartermaine for this afternoon, I've got to make, to talk to him," Sarah said quickly, trying to extract herself. "I'll see if I can make it later."

"Why wouldn't you be able to?" Arielle asked her older daughter, but Sarah had already started walking away. "Now that was strange," Arielle added.

"You know Sarah," Elizabeth said.

"Yes, I do. And that was strange."

"I guess. Look, I have to get back to work. I'll see you guys tonight," Elizabeth said quickly.

"Yeah. I should get back, too, if I'm going to meet you guys for dinner," Stephen said before turning to catch up with Elizabeth.

Away from their parents, he stopped her. "Hey. Here," he started to hand her money.

"What are you doing?" She asked, but she was smiling.

"It's fifty dollars. For dinner. Feeding four extra mouths isn't going to be cheap. And I don't want to hear mom and dad worrying about you. I know it's been harder, with the storm damage and all."

"Stephen," she said, sighing, but she took the money. "Thank you. But we're not in the poorhouse over a broken window."

"I know that."

"Besides, hopefully, it will only be three extra mouths," Elizabeth said, underneath her breath, hoping her sister wouldn't come.

---

Carly took a deep breath and finally decided to go into Courtney's hospital room. If there was ever a time for friendship, maybe this was it.

She had to work hard, she knew, not to look shocked at what she saw. Courtney's arm was in a sling, and her body looked bruised, but the hard part was her face.

"You're just luck they haven't taken most of the bandages off yet," Courtney said, seeing Carly through a haze of gauze. "I haven't seen it either, but I imagine it isn't good."

"Heard you were coming to the party," Carly said softly.

"Yeah, driving through the hurricane – probably not my best idea," Courtney said, bitterly, blaming herself.

"Why were you in such a rush to get home?" Carly asked, sensing there must be a reason Courtney had hurried from Manhattan.

"That's a long story. And it doesn't really matter now anyway."

Next chapter:
Sam starts digging around and finds help in unlikely places.
Elizabeth takes a pregnancy test.
Skye is unsure about Luke's plan.
Mac follows through on his promise to Maxie and listens to the recording on her cell phone.
&more

-Alison

P.S. For my Maxie/Jesse story (which I can't stand on the show but need to do something with here --- you'll see why later), most of the scenes with Murphy can't have happened how they did onscreen, just an upcoming F.Y.I.