Authors Note- This is a fast update. They won't all be like this. Though comments do help me move fast. But, I'll try and post at LEAST one chapter a week if not more. Also, this chapter takes place after the funeral. The funeral you saw on the show DID happen only in my story Logan was there. I loved the funeral that GH wrote so I'm leaving it as is in history for this story!

Chapter Two: Memory

"I have sinned."

"You sinned long before today darlin'."

"I guess but, not in a church. Not in front of dozens of people. Not at my sisters funeral." Maxie spat the words harsh and fast. The first few days following Georgie's death she was unable to even allow words like 'funeral' and 'dead' to enter her mind. Now, she clung to them like a child to a blanket. They were the only things, in a sea of questions left unanswered, that she knew. She knew her sister was dead. She knew that Georgie's funeral had been held just hours before. She knew she had sinned.

"No worries. If anything it took people's minds off of the grief they're feeling." He said kneeling beside her. After she had witnessed her mother at Georgie's grave she had gone to Jake's with the intent of getting completely wasted. But, a little voice in the back of her head told her 'No'. The voice sounded suspiciously like Georgie's. Considering that she practically ruined her beloved sister's funeral, Maxie decided to listen to her just this once. So, she took a short walk and found herself at the cemeteries yet again. This time her mother wasn't there. Thank the lord.

"Fabulous. I made my sister's funeral all about me. That's a shocker for everyone." She said sarcastically. She wasn't sure when Logan had made his appearance in front of her sister's grave. She wasn't even sure how long she had been there. Over and over she had traced the letters on the head stone. 'Georgie Jones, Beloved daughter, sister, and friend'. Talk about the biggest understatement of the year.

"People, they ah, well they understood." He said fingering the ends of her hair. He was afraid to touch her shoulder or hold her still bandaged hand. He was afraid she would flinch or yell or even hit him. But, he needed some kind of contact. He needed to feel her in some way to know that she was still there, that she hadn't let herself disappear into the depths of her hurt.

"Liar." She uttered. There was no bitterness underlying her statement. Only truth. Logan recognized the realism in her words. She was right. Not, everyone had understood. He thought back to the gathering at Bobbie's after the funeral...

2 hours ago. The music was playing softly yet, it could still be heard. Friends and family were barley talking. Barley breathing, for fear that it would trigger another shocking event. Georgie Jones did not have a funeral that mirrored her life. It was caotic and full of drama. Then again maybe it mirrored her life perfectly. In a way that not everyone got to see. Regardless, love for the young girl was evident.

"I'm going for a walk." Maxie stated after finally coming downstairs.

"It's not safe Maxie." Mac argued.

"I'm just going to the cemetery. Maybe I can catch mom and apologize or something." Robin who was standing near by could tell that the little schemer was lying through her teeth. She wouldn't apologize if she saw Felicia. But, Mac was so desperate to keep his family together, the remaining members anyway, that he allowed it. Barley waiting for permission, Maxie rushed out the door into the cold evening air.

"I still can't believe she flipped out like that." Milo stated from next to Logan. He and Lulu were talking about the incident in hushed whispers.

"What did you expect. She didn't respect her sister when she was alive, of course she's not going to now." Lulu jabbed.

"No offense but, I've heard stories and you really don't have room to talk." Nadine responded from her place by Spinelli. Lulu opened her mouth in shock and immediately looked to Spinelli for support but, the poor kid was way too lost in his own sadness.

"That's... not really your business." Lulu fired back.

"And, Maxie's reasons for calling her mom out is yours? Look I'm just saying that we don't know the whole story. What we do know is that Maxie grieving more deeply than any of us and we shouldn't condemn her for it." Nadine spoke wisely.

"She's right." Dillon spoke walking up to the group. "I don't necessarily agree with how Maxie handled things but, let's face it... that's who she is."

"Well, sorry to be the only one to say it but, that isn't always okay. Felicia is grieving too." Lulu responded, feeling ganged up on.

"Oh, boo hoo. I have no sympathy for dead beat parents." Logan finally chimed in.

"Logan..." Lulu said rubbing his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Good try. Nope.

"Don't." He muttered taking a sip of his water and looking away.

"I'm sorry okay! I just do not think what she did was okay. I just, I don't." Lulu said shaking her head.

"No one is saying it's okay. But, neither is Felicia leaving her kids, or Maxie being expected to welcome her with open arms." Logan argued.

"Do you have any idea what I would give for my mother to come back to us?" Lulu asked.

"This isn't about you Lulu! Damn it. The situation isn't even the same. Felicia CHOSE to leave her daughters. She CHOSE to not come back until one was frickin' dead. So, Maxie handled it badly. She picked the worst time possible to act out. Who cares?" Logan exploded quietly, doing his best not to attract attention.

"Ummm, let's see... maybe Georgie? Or Mac. How about anyone else who was grieving!" Lulu responded.

"Guys, cool it. This isn't going to get resolved." Dillon tried calming the quarreling couple.

"No, it's not. Because Lulu is way to close minded to look at why someone is doing something instead of just writting it off as wrong because it isn't what they're expected to do." Logan said disgustedly. Lulu made a sound of disbelief and went to fire back.

"And, this, what you guys are doing right now is exactly the point." Nadine spoke up before Lulu could. "Your sitting here fighting about Maxie when we're supposed to be here for Georgie. But, you couldn't help it because emotions were involved. Multiply that by like 1000 and your in Maxie's shoes. The girl lost her sister, she's not reacting according to a text book. So, what? That's life."

"No, Healing One. That is death." Spinelli spoke up. "Georgie, beautiful Georgie would not have been caught off guard by the Grieving One's actions. On the contrary, she would have stood by her dear sister. Because even more than the Absent One and the Law Enforcing One, Maxie, was the most important person in Wise Georgie's life." he finished.

"Spinelli is right. I mean, I saw it. I saw it everyday. Maxie infuriated Georgie and made her want to pull her hair out. But, they loved each other more than anything. When Maxie was sick and we all thought she was gonna'...we all thought she was going to die. Georgie would tell me these stories about them as kids. How they would make lists of things to do before they died. Georgie always wanted to be like Maxie, with a head full of dreams and a heart open for anyone. She admired Maxie. More than that, she understood her." Dillon finished. He may have felt bad for Felicia but, he was there for Maxie as well.

"If Georgie were here..." Lulu started.

"She would have held Maxie's hand and stood by her. Whether she was the one to leave the funeral or the one to stay, Georgie would have been with Maxie." He interrupted. And that, was something no one could argue with.

"No one holds it against you Maxie." He said breaking away from his memorie. "You were closest to Georgie. Despite how bad people feel for your mom or their beliefs about respect, you were...you..." He trailed off not knowing how to finish his statement. What he wanted to say was that Maxie was the one left with a broken soul. She was the one who would never ever be the same. But, the words still seamed incomplete. Not enough. His biggest fear was that nothing and no one would ever be enough for her again.

"I" She interrupted, turning to face him. "Am the bitch who dared describe the great Felicia Jones as anything but, perfect." She blinked, challenging him to say otherwise.

"You are a bitch." He admitted smiling in that sad kind of way. The way that people smile when they can't seam to manage anything else.

"Mac said it was okay. He told me he understood but, I don't even understand. So, how can he?" She said looking to Logan, practically begging him to have the answers.

"He loves you. That's all he really needs to know." Logan shrugged.

"When did you become some kind of Buddha?" She questioned slipping back into her normal, airy demeanor. It was truly the only way she could get through more than 2 minutes at a time. Paint on a smile, spit an inappropriate phrase or two. This was now her life.

"When did you become the girl who is likely to snap at any given moment." He shot back knowing that she needed this. She needed their usual banter and insults. Her eyes were glazed over and she was pulling back emotionally.

"When my sister died." She responded right away, still clinging to that odd sense of comfort.

"Right." He muttered lamely. The blonde vixen was constantly slapping him down a peg or two. He never knew what to expect. A quality about her that both interested and scared him.

"Don't get all uncomfortable about it. Georgie is dead. She'll be dead tomorrow. And, the next day. And, you know what? The next time I screw up she'll still be dead." Came her detached reply.

"No one there to clean up your messes." He offered.

"That's what the whole damn town must think huh? That's all me and Georgie were in there eyes. The good Jones and the bad Jones. The one who made the mess. And, the one who cleaned the mess up." She laughed bitterly. She was okay with her title as 'bad girl'. It was something that she'd gotten used to. But, Georgie was so much more than what people thought of her.

"So, tell me who the Jones sisters really are." He urged hoping to get her to open up. That thought alone was laughable. Maxie Jones opening up to Logan Hayes. Yeah, I think hell just froze over.

"Were." She corrected immediately.

"What?" He questioned as the conversation took what felt like the millionth turn. Voluntarily talking to Maxie Jones was like slamming your hand in a door, opening it, and then slamming it again. After the incident at Kelly's he had seen her once at the park. She had just been starring at the crime scene. Hypnotized by the yellow tape and fallen snow. They had talked a bit. Then they sat together in silence. He didn't see her again after that until the funeral. Then he had watched her slip out of Bobbie's house. Following her would be the third time he slammed his hand in the car door. That month anyway.

"You said 'tell me who the Jones sister really are'. Well the Jones sisters are gone. They're dead." She pointed out looking unaffected.

"Fine Ms. specific. Tell me who the Jones sisters really were." He clarified.

"No." She answered simply, taking yet another unexpected route. Damn, he was getting whip lash.

"No?" He questioned, truly caught off guard. The poor boy had actually thought he was making some head way. Wrong. One step forward... 18 steps back.

"Are you deaf? Talking about Georgie with you or anyone else is pointless. People feel how people feel and anything I say isn't going to change that. I'm always going to be the sister that paid absolutely no respect to Georgie. Even though I never left her, not ever. Even though I would have killed and died for her. Even though we were so connected that we could feel one another's pain. It is what it is." She said kissing the head stone and standing up abruptly. Shadowing her actions Logan rose and brushed his pants off.

"For someone who didn't want to talk about it, you sure did say a lot." He drawled stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"No I didn't. That didn't even touch a second of what me and Georgie had. It wasn't enough and the fact is nothing will ever be enough." She said mirroring his earlier thoughts. Nothing would be enough.

"Maybe not, but, it was a start."

"Funny, these past days all I've been wishing for was an end." came her dry response. At his shocked expression she continued. "I'm not suicidal ass hole."

"Whatever. Hurry up, it's freezing." He said urging her to get walking.

"So leave." She said stubbornly.

"It's almost dark, there's a killer on the loose and I'm not about to let you be the next victim." He said raising his eyebrows and daring her to argue.

"Like you care."

"With my luck I'd be blamed. It'd be just like you to make my life a living hell even from the grave." Logan said smirking in his usual 'Logan' way.

"Forget it, if I die I'm taking you with me. We both know I'm going to hell and I hear that's a lonely place." She said as they began walking. He laughed, shaking his head.

"Screw that, I'm not getting stuck in hell with you for eternity." He joked. The conversation was light. The way they used to joke before the whole Lulu mess got out of hand.

"Sorry, you don't have a choice. Your fate is totally sealed." She said poking him teasingly in the stomach.

"Yeah, yeah." He muttered bumping her slightly with his shoulder.

"Kind of sucks though. I mean, I'm not sure about the whole heaven/hell thing. But, I'm pretty sure that where ever I end up... won't be where Georgie is." She said getting serious. It was actually strange how much Maxie was opening up to Logan. She wasn't one to let people in. But, Logan didn't just say things because he thought it's what she wanted to hear. He was usually pretty up front. And, like the words 'death' and 'funeral', Maxie felt comfort in that kind of blatant honesty.

"Why's that."

"Georgie must be somewhere amazing and like... getting rewarded for being so good. I'm gonna' get punished. If there's any justice in the world anyway." She explained.

"Nah. You pay for your crap before you die. Unless your a real sicko." He assured her. The truth was, he had no clue himself. He wasn't really a religious guy. Usually these kind of conversations bored him to death. No pun intended. Surprisingly he actually found himself invested in his talk with Maxie. It hit him on a number of different levels. Probably because it was so raw you could practically smell it.

"I don't know." She spoke, yet again voicing his own thoughts. It was quiet for a while. Only the sound of their mismatched footsteps could be heard.

"You know how I said I wouldn't kill myself or anything." She finally piped up. Scared to say anything, scared his voice would crack, Logan nodded.

"I think... if it weren't for Mac and if I knew, like truly 100 percent knew, that I would end up with Georgie..." She trailed off leaving Logan to figure the rest out for himself. He fought back the stinging in his eyes and quickly grabbed her hand.

"What-" She went to question, not knowing when to leave a moment alone.

"I don't want you wandering off or doing something stupid. It's kind of hard to see now." He said shutting her up. A few beats later he spoke again. "And... I care." He finished looking straight ahead and abolishing her earlier statement of 'you don't care'. With that they continued down the street rhythmically where at some point their fingers interlaced. Yes, hell had frozen over more than once that cold December night.

Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who left a comment! This chapter was going to have a different flashback in it at first but, it took on a life of it's own. I know it's a little slow but, the plot will actually get going around chapter four. A bit in 3 but, mostly in four. This is all just setting the stage. I'm open to ideas and I LOVE comments so please let me know what you think!