She looked at him thoughtfully, then said, "I kind of overheard what you said to Jason last night. I wasn't eavesdropping; I was just finishing my volunteer work and passing his room. I heard you tell him I wouldn't be with you if you were the last living creature in the universe."

Spinelli's face reddened.

"I heard you tell him you weren't sure if we were really friends; I can see why you would doubt that. To be honest, I never hated you; it was your devotion to Lulu that I hated. Every guy she meets-" she broke off, not wanting to go there. "Anyway, it was never you. I didn't like that you-" She paused. She wished she could find a way to say this in a way that would not seem as if she were throwing Georgie's feelings for him in his face again. "I didn't like that you didn't notice Georgie."

He nodded, knowing she was only being honest with him, not trying to be cruel.

"I wanted to make you and everyone else as miserable as I was; Georgie said that more than once and she was right. I had a good thing with Coop and I blew it by making that bet with Logan. I hated everyone, including myself. I wanted to punish everyone around me for every bad thing that ever happened to me; BJ dying, my failing heart, my mom leaving, my own mistakes, everything. But I'm starting to see what Georgie saw in you; I'm starting to understand why Lulu and Jason are your friends. I honestly don't picture us ever being a couple, and I'm not saying that to be mean."

"I know; I don't either; we're just too different."

She nodded, relaxing.

"But I really do wanna be your friend, not just because of Georgie, but because you helped me when I really needed a friend, even when I was horrible to you, even when you couldn't stand me."

"I never hated you either; I just hated the way you treated people."

"Especially Lulu."

"And your sister at times, and I'm not saying that to be mean either."

She sighed.

"I deserve to have you mean that in a mean way."

"That's not what friends do. They're honest, but not cruel."

"I was cruel."

"You're not anymore, at least not to me."

She looked at him sadly.

"If I'd seen in you then what I do now, my last conversation with Georgie would have been a good one. I was so mean to both of you, and after I'd just gotten through telling you both that I wanted us to all be friends."

"What happened?" he asked, knowing she needed to get this off her chest.

"She was trying to convince me that Coop could have been the killer; she was telling me about the information you found on him and that strangled soldier and I- I threw you in her face. I said she was jealous because I had a great guy and she lost Dillon to Lulu and couldn't even get a-"

She broke off. She couldn't finish this. She didn't want him to hate her.

"Go on. I won't get angry."

"I said she couldn't even get a- a total loser like you to notice her."

"At the time, you agreed with the general consensus of people who don't really know me but think they do. That is no longer the case with you."

The words hurt him, but not as much as they would have before. He could see she was sorry.

"Georgie would forgive you," he said gently, "as do I."

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

She kissed his cheek, surprising him.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to violate your bubble again."

"No, The Jackal's bubble is in place only for people who are not his friends; The Wounded Blonde One no longer falls under that category."

She smiled, then looked serious.

"I don't wanna be mean anymore."

"Good; I'll try to help you be nice."

She gave him another sad smile.

"I used to wanna see you as the geek that no one would ever fall for and who people only said was their friend because they felt sorry for you, or because they could use you for your Cyber skills and manipulate you into doing anything they wanted. I used to wanna think that was why Lulu kept you around, because you would have done anything for her just to get her to notice you. I know now that you did it because you honestly care about her; you would have gotten her out of some of her messes even if you didn't like her because that's the kind of person you are. I wanted to pretend you were nothing but a Cyber geek just so I could feel better about myself. It didn't work; it never works when I try to hurt someone to make me feel better. What I did to my mom at Georgie's funeral only made me hate myself for making it about my feelings and totally disregarding the fact that Georgie didn't feel the same way and would have wanted Felicia there."

"I don't know what I would have done in your position."

"You would have honored Georgie and not been selfish."

He smiled, then went to the kitchen to pour himself another soda. This time he brought back a glass of milk for her. She wrinkled her nose at it, wishing she could have more coffee, but he was right. Caffeine would hurt the baby. She accepted it with sincere thanks.

"I hate to say this, and if you ever tell Lulu if she gets her memory back I'll deny it, but I kind of understand the position she was in now. What if having an abortion is my only option?"

"The Blonde One made the choice she did because her pregnancy was unwanted. Part of your decision will have to be based on whether or not you want this child. There's also your health to consider. Is it safe for you to have a baby?"

"Dr. Lee said as long as I'm careful it shouldn't be a problem."

"Lulu doesn't remember having the abortion; she remembers nothing. I've told her some things because she needs to know, but we all have to be very careful what we say and how we say it."

"So you don't want me to bring up her pregnancy or the abortion."

He nodded to show that she was right.

"She knows she hurt Georgie, but not how. She knows you're angry with her for what she did. She's hoping that you and she can become friends, which would make things easier on me because you're both my friends. As my friend, will you agree to try, or at least to be civil to The Blonde One?"

Maxie thought for a long moment. Lulu had broken up Georgie's marriage. What if Georgie had still been with Dillon when Diego was terrorizing the city? Maybe she would still be alive.

"No," a voice said in her head. "She wanted to save you. She was determined to find out who the killer was and she would have gone into that park, anyway. Besides, if she and Dillon had really been meant to be together, he never would have slept with Lulu in the first place."

That voice sounded like Spinelli.

"You want Spinelli's friendship," another voice said. This one sounded like Georgie. "Lulu's his friend, too, and she's very important to him. If you wanna be his friend, you have to try with Lulu. You're the only one who won't let go of what she did; everyone else has moved on. Georgie forgave her, too. It's time for you to decide what's more important; your future and your friendship with Spinelli or a past that everyone else has forgiven and your hatred for Lulu."

She didn't have many friends; only Sam, and now Spinelli. He really was a good person and she needed his friendship, both because he understood how lost she was without Georgie and because he was not judging her about her pregnancy. She knew most of the rest of the town would, including Lulu, when and if she got her memory back. Besides, she honestly liked his sweetness, charm, innocence and honesty. He was loyal to a fault and she'd never had anyone besides Georgie be truly loyal to her before. It didn't even really bother her that she would have to share that loyalty with Lulu.

"I agree."

"Excellent!" he said, beaming, thinking that maybe Lulu's memory loss would bring about some welcome changes, but still hoping that her loss of memory was only temporary.

Maxie went back to the hospital with Spinelli. She wanted to tell Robin about the baby.

Lulu smiled awkwardly at Maxie after Spinelli introduced her.

"Hi," she said cautiously.

"Hi," Maxie said, keeping her tone and expression neutral.

They stared uncomfortably at each other for a few seconds.

"I have to go now," Maxie said, giving Spinelli a significant look. "I need to go find Robin. Feel better, Lulu."

"Thanks, and I'm sorry about your sister, if I didn't tell you before I lost my memory."

"You did, but thanks."

"Who's Robin?" Lulu asked Spinelli when Maxie left.

As he began to explain, Spinelli was suddenly struck by how odd it was explaining people Lulu had known all her life to her when he'd only been in Port Charles a little over a year.

Telling Robin was easier than Maxie had thought it would be, but she knew telling Mack would be the hard part. Robin agreed to be with her when she told him; they would go back to the house after Robin's shift.

Mack's reaction wasn't as bad as Maxie had feared, but it wasn't exactly good either. He had lectured her on protection, stating several times that he shouldn't have to tell her this; she was old enough to know better. He brought up the same concern Spinelli had about her heart, but in a much angrier tone. Robin was the one to explain Maxie's need to be careful and follow the doctors' instructions. It wouldn't just be Dr. Lee either; Dr. Julian was going to have to monitor both Maxie and the baby regularly to make sure the pregnancy, and Maxie's activities, were not too much of a strain on Maxie's borrowed heart, as Maxie frequently called it.

Maxie had been thinking about it all day and had come to the conclusion that she had only one option; there was only one thing she wanted, and that was to keep her baby. It was Coop's baby and she loved it already. Her child with Coop was growing inside her, a part of both of them. She couldn't kill it; she had already lost Georgie, then Coop. She wasn't going to throw away Coop's last gift to her. They had made love before he died; that must have been when she conceived. No matter what happened, she was keeping her baby.

Later, she called Spinelli and told him. Mack had listened to her decision and had not argued. He knew Maxie needed something positive and apologized for reacting so strongly. If this baby would help ease some of her pain, he would gladly help her in any way he could.

Spinelli was relieved to hear that Mack had been less angry than she'd thought. He was also glad The soon to be Maternal Blonde One had decided to keep her baby. Maxie needed someone to love who would not judge her, criticize her or make her feel bad because of her past mistakes. Babies only knew that the person holding them loved them, fed, burped and changed them and made them feel better when they cried. Maxie's child would know her for who she was, not what she did. Spinelli's instincts told him she would be a good mother.