so...i found this chapter very difficult to write; and i'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. But I don't think I can do it better as of yet, so sorry if it's lacking...Other than that enjoy, I'll be posting the next chapter probably Wednesday.

Four weeks. A month had passed since Maxie had been taken. Word had gotten around the small island community; and if people knew what was going on they weren't coming forward with any information. For fear of the cartel that held Maxie or fear of the Port Charles mob; no one was coming forward, making the process even more pain stakingly slow.

Mac made a public plea on Jason's behalf begging whomever had Maxie to please bring his daughter back. Jason stood in the background but in view of the camera. It was Frisco and Felicia who first discovered a lead. Frisco and another undercover agent were going out that night in hopes of buying a petite blonde American girl. Hopefully this ordeal would all be over tonight.

Over the last few weeks Mac and Jason bonded over their fear of losing Maxie. The tension was at an all time high with Felicia and Frisco being involved, but after a few nights of fighting and blaming; Mac and Jason had finally had a mutual understanding, that they just wanted Maxie home.

Late one night during the 2nd week Felicia found Jason sitting by the bay; his favorite new roosting spot.

"Mind if I ask you a question?" she asked coming to stand behind him.

"I guess."

"How did this whole you and Maxie thing happen in the first place?"

"It's a long story."

"Mind filling me in? When I left town you were in charge of the organization and trying to avenge your sister's death. How did Maxie get involved with you?"

Jason hesitated.

"I know that I have no right to question anything I'm just trying to wrap my head around the idea that my daughter is married to you."

Jason looked at how desperate Felicia looked, "Spinelli. Spinelli and Maxie had a big fight and Maxie came to me to get him back. It just kind of happened, no matter how much I tried to push her away. I love your daughter Felicia."

"We're going to get her back. I can't lose another daughter. Especially with things like this."

Jason turned to the older blonde woman, the resemblance of Maxie visible in the older woman's features.

"I was at the market, Maxie ate some bad seafood the night before and I was getting supplies. I would have been back sooner but I was searching for a bell, like the one you gave her when she was sick."

"She told you that story?" Felicia smiled looking down at her son-in-law.

"There's a bell in our bedside table."

No more words needed to be spoken in that moment; Felicia lightly grasped Jason's hand giving it a gentle reassuring squeeze.

Frisco had been waiting at the coffee shop for the last hour waiting for word that Maxie had been located. His undercover cooperative was supposed to meet him 10 minutes ago with any information he had acquired. It either meant that the deal wasn't going to happen, or there was snag in the transfer. The money wasn't supposed to be an issue.

Frisco hadn't gone into detail in front of Mac or Jason; but out of the four girls they had managed to rescue they hadn't survived unscathed. He didn't have a false sense of assurance in this situation; if anything Frisco had learned to be a pessimist because that was usually closer to his reality. In his reality he had never anticipated having children, marry Felicia had been enough for him to know that, that wasn't the type of lifestyle he was cut out for. So while he knew he would do anything to get Maxie back, it was more work related than fatherly instincts.

The shrill ringing of his phone brought him out of this thoughts; "Yeah?"

"They've got a girl, I'm sending a photo through let me know if she's your girl." Before hanging up.

Frisco quickly flipped open his phone opening the attached file and was relieved when he finally saw Maxie's dirty, partially bruised face. "Felicia we've got her, we're on the way to do the exchange." He said hanging up the phone, at least he was able to do something right, by his daughter.

Maxie sat in the silence of the brick walled room. She'd grown accustomed to the bleak accommodations over the last—she didn't know how long. She'd lost count after the first 8 days. Each day was the same; wake up eat the miniscule amount of food they would bring, and stare at the walls until she eventually fell asleep again.

Occasionally they would bring her to another room, where another petrified girl was. These girls making Maxie feel old; they couldn't have been more than 15.

Finally one morning she was woken by two men coming into her "cell".

"Well it's your lucky day Mrs. Morgan." One of the men said.

"So you know my name, congrats." Maxie said trying to keep her wit, even though she was breaking on the inside. "Why am I so lucky?"

"Cause you've been bought. Your pretty little ass gets to take a nice hot—well let's face it, it'll be cold shower, gotta get you all pretty'ed up to meet your new man." He said roughly grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet.

Maxie complied just because she had learned if you didn't they could hit hard.

They led her down a hallway until they arrived at a small stall shower that completely contradicted the purpose of a shower.

"Well you don't have all day." The man said waiting for Maxie to disrobe."

"You expect me to shower in front of you?"

"You can either shower or we can give you a sponge bath?"

Maxie waiting for a minute before pulling off the dirty black shirt she had been wearing, all smells of Jason having faded long ago. Once stripping off the rest of her clothing she turned on the water waiting a few second for the cold water to pour out. "If you think you're going to see me cry you're going to have to keep waiting."

"I don't wanna see you cry; but I bet I could make you scream."

Frisco was meeting with the other undercover agent, sitting in the backseat of the no descript car was the scared petrified girl that had grown up since their last visit.

"Did you fill her in yet?" Frisco asked.

"As much as I could, she's not in shock yet—but the hospital wouldn't be a bad idea."

"I'll take her from here." Frisco stated shaking hands with the man before approaching the car. "Maxie."

"I just wanna go home." She said looking over towards the voice. "Dad?"

"It's me Max." Frisco said opening the car door, when she didn't move he continued to talk, "We're going to take you to the hospital, have you get checked out. You're Mom, Mac, Jason and that tech kid are going to meet us there."

"Spinelli." Maxie supplied, taking her estranged father's hand and shakily stepped out of the car. She was thankful for the shorts and shirt her abductors had given her.

Jason and Mac were fighting their way to be the first one to enter the hospital room. She was still surrounded by doctor's making sure that she was okay. Frisco had informed them of her medical history making sure to pump her full of antibiotics to overpower any potential infection she might have contracted while not taking her heart medication.

"How is she?" Mac and Jason asked in unison.

"She's pretty banged up." Frisco started a doctor exiting the room before he could elaborate.

"I'm her husband, how is she doing?"

"Mr. Morgan, your wife has been through quite an ordeal." The female doctor spoke her accent slurring her English words. "Physically she doesn't seem to have sustained too many injuries but emotionally. Sir the trauma your wife sustained—just be cautious." She smiled before leaving Mac and Jason to enter the room.

"Maxie." Jason whispered approaching the bed. She nearly leapt from the bed when she saw that it was Jason.

"Jason!" She said leaning forward into his waiting arms. "I thought I was never going to see you again."

"Maxie I'll always find you." Jason said running his hands through her tangled blonde hair. It was a good thing there weren't any mirrors, Maxie wouldn't want anyone to see her this way. Physically she seemed okay, she had a small cut along her cheek, but it was something that would easily heal, and she had a small bruise along her right temple. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." She said hugging him tightly to her body. After a few minutes in the long embrace Jason reluctantly pulled back letting Mac get a chance to see his daughter.

The reunion was long overdue, but short lived when the doctor returned again, and sent Maxie off for a short run of tests before releasing her, Jason and Maxie both promised that she would get a full run of tests when they returned to Port Charles. Spinelli brought their luggage from the villa not wanting to spend more time on the island than was necessary.

Mother, father child reunion lasted no more than 5 minutes total. Frisco and Felicia were called out on another assignment, but Felicia promised to make her way to Port Charles in the near future.

Once safely on the plane back to Port Charles Mac sleeping, Spinelli computing and Jason and Maxie wrapped in each other's arms, that Maxie started to slowly speak about the month long ordeal.

"There were others." She whispered softly into Jason's chest. "5 other girls came and went while I waited."

"Frisco and his team put in very specific requirements when it came to the girl they wanted. There was no way we weren't going to get you back." He said running a hand up and down her back.

"Everytime they came in I kept thinking, it was my turn. I kept thinking that it was going to be me who left and never came back. Jase you need to know that they—"

"Maxie whatever happened, you're safe now, and we will get through this." He promised, again willing her to believe. "Nothing you tell me is going to change that."

"But I—Jason I was—" She couldn't bring herself to say the words.

Jason could only imagine what she had been through, a trip to see Laniey would probably be a new staple for a while.

"Can we just talk later?" Maxie finally said letting the words go unsaid.

"Of course. Maxie I know that this is going to take time, but I'm still your husband, we're going to be okay."

Maxie just closed her eyes, trying to push the images that came from her mind, and grip onto Jason a little tighter.

Back in Port Charles Mac said goodbye at the airport wanting to give Maxie and Jason a chance to get home and attempt to get back to normal. Maxie was mostly surprised at her father's acceptance of Jason and smirked when they shook hands amicably before parting.

"We had a lot of time to bond." Jason said, not telling the truth about how Mac and Jason had shed a few tears together and had even managed to come to a new kind of respect between them.

"So are you hungry, do you want to get some sleep?" Jason asked setting the bags down next to the desk.

"I think taking a shower might be the best idea. Maybe you could order some food?"

"It'll be waiting for you when you get out."

Maxie slowly shrugged out of the sweater she was wearing and made her way up the stairs. The majority of the clothes they had packed for their trip consisted of skimpy tank tops. The outfit she had picked for the trip home was a simple tank top and sweatpants. And the sweater which had hidden the bruises that Jason could now clearly see along her tanned skin.

Taking a bit of extra time to run her hands over the surface of the bed spread, Maxie slowly made her way to the shower, turning it all the way to hot not even bothering with the cold.

Taking off her clothes Maxie examined her bruises in the mirror cringing at the distinct hand print bruises on her hips.

Letting the scalding water run over her body she finally let the rest of her tears fall freely. Closing her eyes a flash of memories of the last four weeks flooded her mind. Watching the men bring in other girls who didn't look much older than teenagers, finally being forced into a shower being leered at by the men, who finally after a month of fear accomplished what she knew they would eventually do.

Sex had always been something Maxie enjoyed, something that gave her power over people. The closest she had ever come to this situation before was when Logan attacked her in the crimson office. But that was all in the before.

Before she was a woman who could survive on her own, before she became a woman who didn't need a man to complete her. Before she was married; she couldn't tell Jason, it would break his heart. She would just have to push this ordeal to the back of her mind, and go back to the woman she was before this whole ordeal.

Too bad she didn't exist anymore.