"Hey! Watch what you are doing!" Dillon protested indigently, glaring up at his husband from his seated position. "Move."

Lucas raised an eyebrow at what his husband was holding, in the shower no less. He gripped the shower curtain as he contemplated how to express his confusion. "Are you doing work in the shower?" He motioned toward the laptop in Dillon's hands.

"I was." Dillon closed the laptop with a defeated sigh "Until someone blocked the only good wireless signal we have."

"What do you think you're doing? We're on vacation for goodness sake!"

"I know we are on vacation but the plans are at a critical stage now. I can't just abandon them."

"Oh yeah?" Lucas snatched up the laptop, walked into their room, and lightly tossed the machine onto the bed.

"Yes." Dillon raised himself out of the shower and walked towards the bed. "One wrong move and this party will be a disaster."

"You promised you wouldn't work." Lucas groaned. "I guess that was just something you tell your spouse."

"It's not exactly working. I'm just helping."

"It counts!"

"What do you want me to do? I can't exactly walk away from this."

"Then why did you agree to come?"

"Because I wanted to spend time with you and Lance." Dillon sighed and sat down on the bed, running his fingers through his hair, making it messier than usual. "I'm sorry. I'm getting a little Glen Close in Fatal Attraction aren't I?"

"Just a bit. The point of this vacation was to take a vacation. You don't see me handing out my P.I. cards to the people we pass on the beach, do you?"

"No." Dillon admitted. "But I did see you get a little too involved in that search for the lost boy on the beach."

"We're talking about a missing child. You're worried about some stupid party." Lucas pointed out.

"I just want it to be perfect. After everything that's been going on...we need some fun."

"We're having fun!" Lucas insisted shrilly. "Aren't we?"

"Of course!"

"So that's why you're having secret rendezvous in the shower with your laptop?" Lucas did not sound convinced.

"No. The celebrity homage artist I was trying to book was only available to chat right now."

"On one condition." Lucas smiled despite himself. Maybe he should be mad, but he understood how hard it was to leave work at home.

"What's that?"

"You pick our plans for the afternoon. You're totally in charge of everything."

"Really?" Dillon jumped up and grabbed Lucas by the arms. "Anything I want?"

"Yes. Anything you want." Lucas nodded. His husband was just a big kid sometimes.

"Score!" Dillon turned to run out of the room, threatening to leave Lucas in the dust. "Come on Lance. Daddy Lucas finally said yes to bungee jumping!"

"What? What?" Lucas howled in surprise.

"You said anything."

"Can I just go and watch?" Lucas whispered.

"Oh no baby. You and I are jumping together."

"Can I at least make up a will?"

"I've got you now." Maxie whispered to the sketchbook in front of her. She was basically hiding, but in plain sight. She didn't have to work today, but it was too busy at home, so she had taken refuge at a table in front of Kelly's. Ric had proven to be a very worthwhile distraction; one that, until she finished this, she was going to have to avoid. She had tried to explain it to him and that had pretty much explained why her hair would never look the same again, no matter what she tried.

Luckily—and it was total luck—she had managed to get him out of her house a few minutes before Mac, Alexis, and Kristina pulled into the driveway. She had cleaned up the mess they had made of the kitchen and disappeared off to her room to collect the rest of her drawing tools.

"Well if it isn't the elusive Miss Jones." Kate practically purred as she lowered herself into the chair on the other side of the table. Given the size of Port Charles, she had figured the younger woman would not have that many placed to hide. Apparently she had been wrong. Maxie Jones had been more than scarce, she had been a ghost. Kate had practically done a double take when she saw her sitting calmly in Kelly's. It was a gift from the journalistic gods themselves.

"Go away." Maxie didn't have to look up to decipher who the voice belonged to. She had been able to avoid this exactly confrontation for a long time and she was in no mood to rehash it. "I don't have time to give you a story that you'll just end up twisting around. I didn't realize Lulu volunteered at General Hospital. I must have missed her every time I've had a friend or family member sent there over the last year."

"It's easy to not remember faces when you are busy playing caretaker." Kate dismissed easily. "Now who does a girl have to kill to get some service around here?"

"Management reserves the right to refuse service to anyone. Consider me your management representative."

Kate shook her head in amusement. Maxie was not the first reluctant waitress she had come across in her career but she had the potential to be the most amusing. "Working on your sketches for the Nurse's Ball, are you?" she inquired innocently, fingering the edge of the sketch book. "Quite a coup for an unknown designer."

"I'm just doing what I've been assigned to do." Maxie brushed off her inquisition.

"It would be just amazing what a little pre-event publicity would do to your career. Think of it. All of America would be rooting for the plucky survivor to achiever her life long dream. The public would eat it up."

"I guess." Maxie shot her down again. "Was there something you wanted, because you're making it very hard to concentrate? I don't know if you've been informed, but I have a deadline coming up."

"Oh I'm well aware of your deadline. I'm aware of lots of information about you Maxie Jones."

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" Maxie's eyes were as cold as her tone when she met Kate's stare.

"It means I have been doing my homework on you Mariah Maximiliana."

Maxie shook her head slightly and returned her attention to her sketch. "Like that's classified information." She grumbled.

"Unlike the man that was very concerned about you on the scene of your accident?"

Maxie's eyes shot to Kate's. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really?" Kate arched her eyebrow elegantly. "The paramedics I talked to seemed to know everything about it."

"I wasn't conscious, so I honestly can't help you. Probably some concerned neighbor." Maxie countered.

"No, they didn't seem to think so. In fact they were pretty sure he worked at the hospital. And he seemed to be very attached to you." Kate leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Ringing any bells for you now?"

"Nope. I had a stalker a few years ago. Maybe he saw a golden opportunity." Maxie suggested.

"How very fortunate for him."

Strolling up to the diner, Ric caught only snippets of the ongoing conversation. He recognized the back of Kate's head but her position in the chair obstructed him from viewing her interviewee. From what he could tell, this wasn't a voluntary Q&A. By Kate's tone, he deduced that it was closer to an interrogation. Who was she harassing now? She had no right to come here and bully the good people of Port Charles. He must have underestimated how desperate she was to tie up the loose ends. "Kate, would you give it a rest?"

"Richard, I'm just doing my job."

"Your job suddenly involves threats? I don't think so." Ric shook his head at her tactics.

"Who said anything about threatening? Maxie was I threatening you?"

Maxie stared hard at her sketchbook having recognized his voice from the instant he had gotten onto Kate. She didn't like the way she called him Richard, but it was more than that. Something else was making her uncomfortable. When Ric had mentioned his wife, she had never put together that she might be the reporter who was just itching to get a story from her. Until he had called her by name just now, she hadn't actually remembered the reporter's name. This couldn't be happening. Knowing her eyes would give her away, she shook her head.

"See? Maxie doesn't think I'm threatening her." Kate motioned to her reluctant witness with a wave of her hand. "Really Ric you know me better than that."

Maybe it was because lying to his wife had become almost second nature—maybe that's why it was easy to not acknowledge Maxie in the slightest way. He knew Kate would jump all over the story and he didn't want to put Maxie through it. "She's just being nice. I could hear you from almost a block away."

"And you came just to rescue an innocent maiden in distress? I knew you were chivalrous Ric, but I had no ideas what length you would carry it to." Kate reached out and took hold of his hand. "Since there is nothing of a threatening nature going on here, would you care to join us?"

"You can have the table." Maxie struggled to say. "I'm leaving." If she could get out of here without meeting Ric's eyes she would be fine. Her face was probably the color of a tomato due to the simple intimacy Ric and Kate seemed to share in holding hands.

"What am I thinking? You were here first. No we'll find another table. Won't we Ric?" Kate stood up, placing her hand delicately on Ric's shoulder.

"I don't know what you'll be doing, but I think I've lost my appetite." Ric argued taking a step back so that she was no longer touching him. He could feel the waves of jealousy radiating from Maxie and hated that there wasn't anything he could do about it. He couldn't defend her without admitting that he knew her.

"Please don't go on my account." Maxie replied drolly.

"You don't have to go." Ric assured her. "I'm sorry she bothered you."

"I don't need you to protect me. I'm a big girl." Maxie grumbled unapologetically.

"I'm sorry do you two know each other?" Kate asked slowly, turning her head between the two. She could tell Ric was tense, but for what reason she didn't know. In fact, he seemed to become tense the second she had acknowledged Maxie.

"How could we? I don't volunteer at the hospital and he doesn't work here." Maxie pointed out. "Excuse me." She shoved past Kate.

Ric made sure to keep his expression relaxed, but Maxie's assurance made him nervous. Kate hadn't mentioned that he was a doctor, but Maxie had.

Watching Maxie stalk into the diner, Kate turned back to Ric with a relaxed smile on her face. "Looks like it's just you and me. Just like the old times."

"I have patients. Excuse me Miss Howard." Ric turned his back to her and retreated to his car.

"I'll see you soon." Kate called after him. "You can bet on it."

"Ask me again."

At her demand, Steven realized his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth. He couldn't have told her hello for all the trouble he was having just breathing.

"Steven? Hello?" Georgie opened her eyes and stared nervously into his blue orbs. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He stammered.

"Then why aren't you saying anything?"

"I wasn't expecting..." His voice trailed off.

"Well I wasn't exactly expecting your question the first time around either." Georgie pointed out. "This makes us even."

"Would you..." Steven tried again. "Um, would—no will you...God, why is this so hard a second time?"

"Maybe it's because this time there will be an answer?"

"There will?" Steven asked quietly.

"Just ask Steven."

"Will you marry me Georgie Jones?" Steven repeated breathlessly.

This was going to go down as the craziest, best decision she had ever made. Taking a deep breath, Georgie squinted for a brief second before looking into his anxious blue eyes. "Yes." She whispered. "Yes."

"Yes?" Steven forced out, unintentionally clutching her hand.

"Yes." She leaned forward and pulled him closer to her. "I'll marry you."

Steven caught her lips with his and framed her face in his hands. His kisses were quick and frenzied; he couldn't remember ever being this happy before. "I love you." He managed, pausing only long enough to meet her eyes.

"I love you too." She managed between his kisses, returning them with equal frenzy.

Steven suddenly broke the kiss and stood up. "We've got so much to do."

"Like what?"

"Well, for one thing," he leaned down and kissed her for good measure. "I've got to get you a ring."

"There's that of course." She smiled.

"And then we've got to figure out where we're having the ceremony or if we're having a ceremony. I don't have a preference really. Do you?"

"No. No. I don't think so."

"We've got to have witnesses at least so I'm thinking Lindsay and Veronica. Unless you want to wait until we go to Port Charles." Steven rattled off nervously.

"No. If we wait, there will be a whole town full of people trying to talk us out of this."

"We agree on that." Steven nodded and crouched down in front of her, keeping his hands on either side of the bench. "Tell me about your dream wedding."

"Well first off I never wanted to walk down the aisle to the Wedding March." Georgie began.

Steven blew out a sigh of relief. "Thank God. It's so overused."

Georgie chewed on her bottom lip. "I've kinda always wanted an outdoor wedding."

"What kind of setting are we talking about here?"

"A park. Trees all around. Maybe a fountain if we can find one."

"This is Paris. I'm sure they have a few." Steven grinned. "What about flowers for the walkway? Do you have a favorite?"

"It's going to sound lame."

"We make lame fashionable. Tell me." Steven pressed on.

"Daisies. I love daisies."

"What's lame about daisies? I was afraid you were going to say 'Red roses.'"

"Ugh. God no." Georgie looked up to the sky to collect her racing thoughts. "I'm thinking simple. Nothing too fancy."

"Parachute dress and glass slippers?"

"Maybe for the silver anniversary. No just something nice and tasteful. Something my sister would call boring and basic."

"I think it's time to call those crazy friends of yours since I'm not willing to tempt fate over a little thing like seeing you in your wedding dress." Planting a kiss to her neck, he added, "Though I will enjoy taking you out of it."

"For the record I hope I enjoy that too." Georgie blushed. "How much time are you thinking?"

Steven laughed when Georgie smacked him for what must have been a seductive expression. "That depends. Do I have to wait until we're married to have sex with you again?"

"Yes Horny Boy." They just got through a pregnancy scare and he was already thinking about getting her into bed.

"I've been corrupted." He assured her leaning over to steal another kiss.

"Ditto." She breathed tracing his face with her hand. "So answer the question. How long? I give Linds and Ronnie a shopping mission and a time limit and they will come through."

"How's tomorrow morning sound?"

"Sounds perfect."