Okay, I didn't remember if Patrick had ever really met Courtney, but for story purposes he hadn't…so he wouldn't recognize her
"Hey, where am I supposed to sit?" Nikolas came in the den to see that Matthew had taken the seat right next to Maxie.
To that the two-year old smiled the smile that reminded Nikolas so much of Courtney and patted the seat next to him.
"Okay buddy" he said sitting down with the bowl of popcorn.
Not thirty minutes into the movie Matthew had leaned his head over onto Maxie's lap and fallen asleep.
"Hey, I should probably put him in his bed" he told her picking the toddler up.
"Yeah, I should get going back home" she said getting up and stretching.
"I want you to stay" he told her brown eyes twinkling in the moonlight.
"Are you sure?" she asked an ounce of trepidation.
"Very" he said.
"I will be right back" he said as he carried Matthew up the staircase.
When he put Matthew down in bed he kissed his sweet boy's forehead. Every night in the dark like this he thanked the heavens above that Courtney had given him this angel. It was the only thing that helped him to hang on after she passed. This relationship with Maxie was new for him, but he felt like it was time to move on…just like Mike said, Courtney would not want him to mourn her forever.
"Hey" he said approaching her again and embracing her.
"Nikolas, are you sure about this?" she asked him deeply looking into his eyes.
"Why are you not? Because I don't want to rush you" he told her a little rushed.
"No, I am positive about this…I just don't want to rush things between us" she said leaning in to kiss him on the lips.
To that he took her hand and led her upstairs.
He hadn't made love to anyone since Courtney, but luckily there was no real awkwardness…and it felt nice to have someone lying in his arms again.
"Daddy, daddy look at me" he heard the little boy call to him before sliding down the slide.
Her blond hair lay in his lap as he gently caressed her face.
"How did I ever get so lucky?" he asked.
"Nope, I am the lucky one" she said her blue eyes twinkling up at him.
"So what do you think this one is going to be?" he asked placing a hand on her rounding tummy.
"Well I never thought I would even have that one" she said pointing to the little boy who was now knee high in the sandbox.
"I guess we are both blessed with amazing luck" he said leaning down to kiss her lips.
He awoke to the moving of someone in the bed and when he saw the blonde hair splayed on the pillow he smiled to himself. When the body flipped over and leaned in to him he couldn't help but feeling guilty. He didn't know how to stop these dreams of her. How could he explain to his heart that she was gone? So instead her pulled Maxie closer and willed it to be enough.
For a man like Patrick Drake waking up to go into work every morning was an exhilarating thing. And when he walked into the clinic to consult on the Jane Doe found on the beach he just felt like he had to help her.
"Dr. Drake, these are the brain scans from the Jane Doe flown in last night" the nurse told him handing him slides.
"Okay, where is the patient now?" he asked.
"She is meeting with Dr. Santiago right now; he said he will call you for a consult later this afternoon" she said walking into his office with him.
"We did a fully physical on her" the nurse said an almost hurt tone in her voice.
"And" he said asking her to continue.
"She is young, and seems to be in good health…but doctor, she has been with child before" she told him and he understood why she sounded sad.
"Thank you" he said taking a seat and starting to look at the brain scans.
There was a slight anomaly, but only time and work would determine the exact reason for the brain loss. So he sat down and started to dissect the slides for more abnormalities. For some reason this case had already started to tug at the heart strings that Elizabeth had given him.
"Maxie, Maxie!" Kristina and Molly sang out when the woman walked down the stairs to the dining area.
"Maxie" Alexis nodded the young woman.
"Morning guys" she said feeling slightly out of place in the dining room.
"Uncle Nik, want some eggs?" Molly asked holding up a fork full to him which seemed to ease the awkwardness.
After breakfast Nikolas and Matthew walked Maxie to the launch.
"I had a really great time last night" she told him smiling.
"Me too" he said before kissing her deeply.
"See you later?" he asked holding her hand.
"Of course" she said before turning around and getting on the boat.
As they walked back to the manor he picked up Matthew to carry him the rest of the way.
"Dada, where Maxie go?" he asked.
"Home" he said.
The little boy furrowed his brow, "no want Maxie go" he said.
"Me either buddy" he said kissing atop his head.
When he walked into the house he had already braced himself for the questioning. And walking in to see Sam sitting waiting at the breakfast nook told him he was right.
"So, have a little slumber party?" she said grinning over her coffee.
"Don't you have to bug Jason about something?" he asked not being able to hold back the grin.
"Nope, he's at work" she said still smiling.
He rolled his eyes and poured himself another mug of coffee.
"She is over 18, right?" she asked laughing.
"You know, I didn't bother to ask" he said playing along with her little game.
"Talk like that will get you jail time" Alexis said walking in with a smile.
"Great both of you?" he said sighing loudly.
"No, I just came in to tell you that Elizabeth called and would like for you to call her back" she said shrugging with a smile.
"Did you tell her where I was?" he asked.
"You mean, did I tell her that you were walking Maxie to the launch this morning because she spent the night?" she asked causing both women to start laughing.
"Oh so funny, I am going to go call my friend now thank you" he said leaving both women whispering to each other.
Elizabeth answered on the second ring.
"Hello" she said as someone started speaking in rapid Spanish.
"What, no, I am sorry I don't understand; no I don't speak Spanish" she said getting frustrated until she heard a familiar laugh.
"Nikolas Cassadine that is SO not funny" she told him.
"Well I thought it was" he said still chuckling.
"I called you this morning, where were you. Alexis sounded all secretive when I called" she told him.
"I was walking Maxie to the launch" he said.
"Oh" she said as she started talking about something else than stopped mid thought.
"Wait, what…does that mean?" she asked gasping.
"Yes, it means that Maxie spent the night" he said.
"Wow, that is just, wow" she told him.
"So wait is this serious?" she asked.
"I guess it is" he said smiling.
"Oh Nikolas, I am happy for you" she said.
"Me too" he said sounding a little more sad than he wanted to.
"Hey, what's up?" she asked.
"I don't know Liz…I want to be happy…and Maxie she is awesome. She makes me smile again, but I can't help but still miss her, you know?" he asked knowing that Elizabeth would know who he was talking about.
"You are always going to miss her Nik…you loved her…and she loved you so much. I know I was a bad friend before, and I just couldn't see past certain things…but I do know that Courtney would want you to be happy. She wouldn't want you to put your life on hold; she loved you too much for that" she said the tears welling up in her eyes for her friend that had lost his soulmate.
"Thanks Liz…I know…it's just that my heart doesn't want to let her go…I have these dreams about her…and gosh every time I look at Mattie I see her face right there smiling at me" he told her honestly.
"You will always have a piece of her…right there in that little boy, and it will forever remind you of how much you loved her and she loved you…you guys created a miracle"
"Thanks Liz, so enough about me, how is Spain" he asked.
"It's so beautiful, you have to come visit…Cam loves it here…I swear he is going to be fluent in Spanish soon, and Patrick is really enjoying the groundbreaking work they are doing at this clinic" she said.
"Sounds like married life is treating you well…so when can I expect another niece of nephew?"
"Not anytime soon" she said smiling at the sentiment…her and Patrick decided they wouldn't start trying until they were settled back in to Port Charles.
"Well I have to go pick up Cameron from escuela…see I did learn some Spanish" she said smiling.
"Okay Liz, love you, and I will talk to you later" he said before hanging up the phone.
"Hello Miss I am Dr. Patrick Drake" he said to the blond who sat in front of him.
"Hello" she said in perfect American English.
As he started the consult he began to ask her questions. First were the basics about how she was feeling health wise, any headaches, seizures, etc… But then it came down to the questions that would be a little harder to answer.
"Can you tell me the first thing you remember" he asked as he saw her huge blue eyes fill up with tears.
"I just remember waking up on the beach, it was hot, and I was thirsty…I found a beach side shop, and there was no one who spoke English. I started to cry and babble and luckily someone went and found an English tourist who called the authorities. Then came the hospital, and now I am here" she said distressed.
"Okay" he said making notations.
"Well, I have looked over your charts, and luckily I don't see any brain injury…but I do want to do another scan here" he told her.
"Are you going to be able to help me?" she asked her blue eyes shining back at him.
"I am going to do everything in my power to" he said somehow knowing that he needed to help this woman…at all costs.
"Doctor" she said before he left…when he turned around she spoke again, "I do remember one more thing…and I don't know why…but every time I close my eyes I see these brown eyes…and I can't explain it but I…I have to find him" she said and Patrick Drake smiled…when a patient had a reason to remember it made his job that much easier.
A/N: I know this is a little slow moving, but there really is a reason, I promise! As always thanks to everyone who reads and reviews: You ALL ROCK!