Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Georgie walked up behind him, extending a cup of hot chocolate.
"Here," she said quietly, testing the waters. He turned around, smiling slightly.
"You're talking to me?" She offered a half-smile.
"Yeah Lucas, I'm talking to you." He took the proffered cup.
"Thanks." He turned back to stare at the fireplace. "Remember when we were little, how we used to beg to stay up on Christmas Eve?"
She laughed. "Yeah, we used to drive Mom and Bobbie crazy, running around, all high on the cookies-"
"-that we'd leave out for Santa." He finished. He shook his head at her, smiling, then turned back to the mantle, fingering the stockings.
"Hey Georgie," Lucas said.
"Yeah?"
"What happened to us?" His voice was quiet, strained.
"What do you mean?" Her voice was as quiet as hers. He looked sidelong at her.
"We used to count on each other. We've barely spoken in the last few months. How come?"
Georgie exhaled. "Do you really want to do this here? Now? On Christmas Eve?" She looked in his eyes and conceded. "Okay." She took a breath. "The reason we haven't spoken recently, Lucas, is because we got to the point when I could only count on you to be around when I didn't need you to be so much. And it never had anything to do with you being protective, or caring about me-"
"I do care about you, Georgie," he protested, looking weak. She softened a bit.
"I know you do," she conceded. "I know you always will. But when I wanted to be around you more than anything, you only looked my way when Maxie didn't find you convenient. Then when Dillon came along, and he wanted to spend time with me, no matter who else was around, suddenly that wasn't convenient for you. What was it, Lucas? You didn't want me but you didn't want anyone else to have me? That's not fair to me."
"But Georgie," Lucas objected. "Dillon is-"
"-Dillon is a teenage boy who thinks he's invincible," Georgie interrupted with brutal honesty. "He flies by the seat of his pants, he does stupid things, he breaks rules, and he's way too enamored by the desire to be some cinematic hero. But," she emphasized, looking Lucas right in the eye, "no matter what dumbass move he's pulling, whether it's taking off to a hotel or risking his own life by driving a car into a tree, he always does it with me in mind. He makes me his priority, Lucas. Do you understand that? Even if what he does is dumb, he does it thinking of me. I can trust that I'm the uppermost thing on his mind at some point of every day. Was I ever that for you, Lucas?"
He hung his head. "No," he whispered. "I'm sorry." Georgie reached out and pushed up his chin so he was forced to look at her.
"Don't be," she replied. "It's fine. But don't try to tell me that Dillon isn't right for me just because you're mad that he turned out to be what you couldn't."
"What?" he asked. "Your boyfriend? Georgie..." his voice let Georgie know that he was going to try to let her down gently. She didn't give him the chance, because he didn't need to. She knocked into his shoulder, a little playfully.
"No," she said, the hint of a laugh in her voice, "My white knight." Lucas raised his eyebrows. "Come on," she laughed ruefully. "Ever since we were little, you've always wanted to be mine and Maxie's hero."
"I used to be," he whispered in a tiny voice. She smiled.
"Yeah..." Georgie said slowly. "Things changed."
"I didn't want to lose you to Dillon," Lucas confessed. "I still don't."
"Lose me to Dillon?" She repeated. "How? Do you want me, Lucas? Have you ever?" Again, he shook his head, eyes downcast.
"No," he confessed. "But I don't want to lose you, Georgie. I want us to be friends." She laughed at the irony of the statement, remembering the conversation she had once had with Dillon.
"Friends is a totally evil way of saying you're ugly."
"God," she smiled, "I used to hate that term - friends. It felt like such a cheap letdown."
"And now?" He asked, hesitantly.
"I like the sound of it." She paused. "But we can't go back to how we were, Lucas. Not if you're going to badmouth Dillon."
Lucas sighed. "He's good to you?"
"Yes."
"And he makes you happy? Truly?"
"Truly."
"Okay," Lucas nodded. "I'll try. I really will."
Georgie smiled. "Thank you."
They regarded one another, the air between them more relaxed then it had been in a long time. Then, with a slight hesitation, Lucas extended his arms. Georgie hesitated a second herself, then stepped into them, wrapping her arms around his neck. He put his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly, relieved that they'd cleared the air.
"Merry Christmas, Georgie."
"Merry Christmas, Lucas."
"Look at you guys, all holly jolly," a voice teased. Georgie and Lucas looked over and smiled.
"Hey Maxie." Georgie noted the slightly wistful tone in Lucas's happy voice. He had never really gotten over Maxie. Herself, she was happy to finally be getting along with her sister. Maxie draped her arms over Georgie and Lucas's shoulders, shifting them into a three way hug.
"Three Musketeers," Georgie joked.
"Yup," cracked Lucas. "Keeping up with the Joneses."
"Aw," groaned Maxie, "how much eggnog have you been drinking?"
"Hey!" Lucas protested. He and Maxie pushed each other playfully. Georgie started to slip away.
"Georgie!" Maxie called. She turned back.
"Don't go." Lucas smiled at her. She smiled back.
"I'm just gonna go get some cider," she hedged. "You guys have fun." She turned to leave again, but Lucas called after her.
"Wait, Georgie!" She turned again.
"Yeah?"
"Are we..." he made questioning gestures. She smiled, nodding.
"Yeah, we're good." He tossed her a wink and a smile and she drifted off to the window. She looked at the snow swirling around outside, her mind drifting to the moments outside Kelly's, clasped in Dillon's arms. Closing her eyes, she could nearly feel his lips against hers. Georgie sighed, content, yearning. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling a shiver.
"Penny for your thoughts." She whirled around.
"Hey Lucky." He came over and slung an arm over her shoulder, squeezing her.
"Hey there, kiddo." She smiled up at him, the wistfulness evident in her face. He chuckled. "Where is he tonight?"
She grinned ruefully. "Ned promised to bail him out if the Quartermaine shindig got to be too much." Lucky laughed.
"And God knows, no Quartermaine party has ever been any less than too much..."
"Yeah..." Georgie trailed off. Lucky smoothed her hair.
"But you wish he was here." She smiled, almost ironically.
"Not really." He nodded, understanding.
"You going to the thing tomorrow?"
"At the hospital?" she asked.
"Yeah. Em told me that Ned and Alan are setting up the traditional mechanical train in her hospital room."
"The mechanical train?" Georgie asked.
"Yeah, the Q's have this old model train. They spend every Christmas fighting over how to set it up."
Georgie laughed. She could practically hear Dillon's teeth grinding and smiled softly, missing him.
Lucky noticed and kissed her forehead in a comforting gesture.
"Lucky!" Bobbie called from across the room, gesturing him over. He headed toward her, as she motioned everyone else in. Georgie drifted into the living room, where people were gathering. She looked around at the mix of people who somehow made up parts of a family. Lucky had swept Lulu up into his arms on his way over to Bobbie and now moved toward his aunt, holding his little sister. Leslie stood with them, looking proudly at her grandchildren, but desperately missing her daughter. The absence of Laura, and Luke, was palpable. So was Felicia's absence. She had called, telling the girls and Mac how sad she was that she wouldn't be able to make it home for Christmas, but that Mariah simply couldn't be left. Lucas was talking animatedly to his father. Georgie caught Maxie's eye and smiled.
Across the room, Bobbie handed a parcel to Lucky. He smiled, knowing what it was as he unwrapped it. He hugged his aunt tightly, and placed Lulu on the floor next to Leslie, walking over to the stepladder that stood near the tree.
At the same time, a hush came over the room. Mac came over and put his arms around Maxie and Georgie. Georgie and Maxie leaned against Mac. Georgie caught Maxie's look. She knew that even though her sister loved Mac and thought of him as their father, sometimes she couldn't help but miss Frisco. Georgie was sometimes jealous that she had never known her real dad, but also figured that she was lucky not to feel like anything was missing. She squeezed Maxie's hand. Mac kissed the top of Maxie's head, understanding.
Georgie watched as Tony led Lucas over to Bobbie. Bobbie and Tony exchanged looks. So much had happened between them, so much hurt, but an understanding had grown. Their eyes drifted to the candle burning on the mantle - for B.J. Lucas watched his parents, blinking in the light of the flame. His eyes drifted to Maxie, knowing that she had seen the candle too. Unconsciously, her hand had drifted up to her chest and was placed over her heart. They locked sad but grateful eyes.
Across the room, Lucky was ascending the stepladder.
"Look," said Lulu in awe. "The angel."
They all looked as Lucky placed the coveted angel atop the Christmas tree. In the absence of Luke and Laura, Lucky, barely in his twenties, had become the head of the Spencer family. Putting the angel on the tree had become his job. He paused, making sure it was on correctly, then descended the ladder. They looked on at the tree, seeing the angel sitting on top, keeping them safe. Georgie felt warm, wondering what angel had kept Dillon safe in that car, and if it was the same one who had brought him into her life. She flushed. She wasn't typically so reverent, but there was something about what they'd all been through, what they'd all overcome. There was something, despite the cheesiness of the sentiment, about Christmas.
"Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore..." Tony's voice rang out.
"Faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us once more," they all responded.
"Through the years, we all will be together, if the fates allow, hang a shining star upon the highest bough. And have yourself a merry little Christmas now..."

Later on that evening, Georgie was curled up on the couch in her white flannel nightgown that Felicia had sent her , a blanket over her lap. In one hand, she held a cup of hot chocolate with a candy cane. In the other, was a copy of her favorite book, "Little Women." Mac had retired for the evening and Maxie was upstairs, talking on the phone, to Kyle, Georgie presumed.
As Georgie turned the softened pages and sipped her peppermint accented hot cocoa, Laurie and Jo talked easily at the Gardiner's party. Georgie smiled at the familiar words.
The doorbell rang.
Startled, Georgie looked at the clock. It was eleven fifteen at night. Who could possibly be ringing the doorbell at this hour? She waited a second, wondering if Mac was going to come down. When nothing happened, she put the book and the cup on the table and rose, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. Georgie walked to the door and opened it. Her face broke out in a huge smile.
"Dillon!"