Keep it light. Keep it simple. No complications. No ultimatums. It had been such an easy mantra. Maxie had lived by it for as long as she could remember. Maybe since her mother walked out on their family for bigger and brighter things. Poor Georgie. She actually thought Mommy Dearest would one day return. At least if she tried Alexis would be the new Mrs. Scorpio and she would have to take a number. Maxie would actually prefer if her mother stayed far away. What a role model Felicia had been for her daughters! If it got too hard, the only solution was to run. It didn't matter who got hurt, who suffered, so long as the end result was satisfactory.

Damn Ric, Maxie thought miserably, scribbling a pattern across the front of an old design she had made. No one had ever seen it. There were days she wished she had been so lucky. Ruffles, gross! Too many sequins. Who was supposed to wear something like this? She stilled her hand, the pen dangling from her loose grip, and she tried to remind herself that she had brought this upon herself. Ric seemed more than happy to stay away until she approached him, or be forgotten. Why had she sought him out? They had had a lot of fun together, but that's all it was. She didn't love him. She couldn't see a future with him. Her interview was the excuse she was going to fall back on. It was only days away. She needed to relax and therefore, however ironic it might be, she needed Ric for that.

Raising his hand to knock, Ric gave himself another second to take a breath before making his presence known. Her message had been clear. Come to see her or she walked away. Forever. Maxie hadn't even hinted at the last word, but he had read it clearly in her tone. Not that he didn't deserve it. He should have just told her the truth and let her decide for herself what she wanted to do. Now there was no way he could make his decision to keep that one stupid kiss from her look like the good idea it had seemed at the time.

How had it come to this of all things? He was actually scared she would walk away from him. If he thought he had missed her when he was in Tucson, he didn't want to start to imagine what would happen if she actually left him. Scratch that. He knew what would happen. He'd eventually fall into old patterns and end up dissatisfied because none of them would be Maxie.

"Just knock." Ric told himself firmly. "Just knock and get it over with. And whatever you do, don't let her see how scared you are." His fist finally connected with the door.

Maxie stared at the door, giving herself another second to figure out everything she wanted to say. Satisfied but no less terrified, she slowly pulled the door toward her and sucked in a breath before letting her eyes connect with his. "Thank you for coming." She skidded to the right and waited for him to walk over the threshold.

Stepping in cautiously, Ric checked for the presence of her father. The man was legally allowed to carry a gun. "Are we alone?"

"Of course." Maxie nodded, ignoring the urge to laugh at the panicked look on his face. It was good her father scared him, she thought wickedly.

"Good." Ric reached out to touch her hand and wasn't all that surprised when she took a step back from him. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yes." Maxie nodded again, feeling slightly foolish. How long had she been standing here silently just staring at him? She led him over the couch.

Noticing her reluctance to sit, Ric elected to stand. If she was going to give him the brush off speech, it was better he stay standing anyways. The better for quick exits and all that. "Look, about the last time we saw each other..." he began.

Maxie put her hand over his mouth to keep him from continuing. "Don't lie to me." He looked like he wanted to say something, but must have thought better of it. "Whatever happened in Tucson doesn't matter." She watched his eyes widen. "I don't want details or excuses or anything else. Obviously something happened or you wouldn't be avoiding me like the Plague." Her hand fell from his mouth, but she still didn't let him get a word in edgewise. "You know how I feel about Kate. You say she's gone and maybe she is. I'm not going to demand to know where you are or check up on you. I'm not that person. I have a little more respect for myself than that."

"So what exactly are you saying Maxie?"

"For as long as I can remember, you've been blatantly honest with me. All I need to know is if it's going to happen again."

"Never." Ric swore. Kate had signed the papers and there were no more reasons for them to see each other. His family liked Kate better than him anyways. There was no reason for Kate to return to Port Charles and less than none for him to go to New York.

Maxie let the stress abandon her features. "Good." She touched her mouth to his softly, almost experimentally.

Gently, he cupped her face in his hands. "You...you are a goddess." He whispered.

"Well I definitely have the wardrobe." Maxie stepped deeper into his embrace so that his arms automatically wrapped around her. "I feel so safe with you." She admitted, tracing the back of her hand across his face, her eyes scanning every inch of his face. She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and then under his chin. When her lips found his neck, she lightly nibbled at the skin she found there. His arms tightened around her; she ran her hands up and down his arms slowly to try and relieve some of his tension.

He pulled one of her hands toward his lips and softly kissed the inside of her palm, nuzzling his nose against her skin. "I've missed you."

Maxie blushed. "I've missed you too." She jerked at the ends of his shirt until she managed to free the material from his pants and swept her hands beneath it, reveling in the feel of his warm skin under her fingertips.

Ric kissed the corner of her mouth tenderly and then came back for a kiss that seduced Maxie's lips to part. His fingers tumbling down the front of her dress to unfasten the first three buttons, he slipped his hand inside. "I think we need to find a more comfortable place, don't you?" He asked, nodding toward the couch.

"Yes." Maxie took his hand and tugged him toward the stairs.

"Where are we going?"

"To find some more privacy." Maxie explained nervously.

"But I thought upstairs was off-limits."

"It's not to you."

*****

Laura was bustling with energy as she skipped across Bobbie's lawn and let herself into the house via the front door. She heard voices coming from the kitchen and decided to follow them. She found Bobbie and Robin sitting at a table covered in papers, pictures, a bunch of pens, and her sister-in-law's "famous" planner. "There you both are!"

"Laura!" Bobbie exclaimed. "What are you doing here? I thought you were watching the twins."

"I was. Lucky and Elizabeth came to pick them up." Laura explained, leaving out the reason behind her excitement.

"How was the trial?" Robin asked cautiously. If it had gone badly, she didn't want to add fuel to the fire.

Laura beamed. "Well the judge came to a decision."

"She did?" Bobbie asked alarmed. Why hadn't the kids said anything? She would have been there front row if they had only told her. "But I thought Dara said that was weeks away."

"I guess the judge was a little impatient to pass down the ruling." Laura assumed. "I have to sit down." She reached for a chair and dropped into it, the energy refusing to abate.

"Laura, you're scaring me." Bobbie warned her sister-in-law.

"Well." Laura leaned forward, "While I'm certain the Grimes would have rather stolen Cameron from my son for the rest of their lives, I knew Lucky would never treat them that way if they were to be awarded full custody. The judge must have known this as well because she said Cameron is coming home to Lucky. She said the original custody agreement could only be altered if Cameron, himself, asked to live with his grandparents."

Bobbie and Robin squealed in delight. "So it's over?" Robin asked.

"It's really over?" Bobbie added.

"It's really over." Laura signed deeply, her reaction from when they had told her the news directly. "Cameron has to be returned to Lucky no later than six days from today."

Bobbie leaned back in her chair and let out a sigh of relief. "Lucky must be through the roof."

"He is. He could barely make sense, he was smiling so much."

"This is wonderful news!" Robin exclaimed and then burst into tears. "Why am I crying?" She blubbered, dropping her head in her arms.

"Hormones." Bobbie nodded. "And the fact this is exactly what we were all hoping for."

"That must be it." Robin wiped frantically at her drenched face. "Thank God." She added as an afterthought.

Laura nodded toward the table's new accessories and inquired, "And what exactly are you two working on without me?"

"Well it was plans for Robin and Patrick's wedding, but I don't think Robin will mind if we take some time to plan a welcome home party. Would you Robin?"

"I say the more the merrier." Robin answered happily. "Besides, this is just a review for you, isn't it, Laura?"

"That's right. I've been planning this day since he came to stay with us." Laura admitted proudly.

"And I've been telling Robin all about your ideas." Bobbie assured her.

"Then really it's just the little details now." Laura realized.

Robin laughed. "Yes, like the dress and flowers and location right?"

"Like I said little details."

"And since I think I've sold Robin on the location and I'm fairly certain Elizabeth is helping you take care of the dress and flowers, I think it is safe to say this wedding is as good as planned. Now who wants to talk welcome home party?" Bobbie smiled at both women.

*****

Tony had gotten tired of her crying, so Lisa had sought refuge in their bedroom where she knew he would not be. He was downstairs and Cameron was in his room, playing with his toys and making them talk to each other. Maybe he was able to emotionally distance himself from their grandson, but she was not! She didn't know how she was going to sleep once he was gone, Cameron not Tony. Tony had made it a point to leave before she woke up and return after she had gone to sleep. Her paranoia was plenty justified now. She had gotten his phone away from him once, but she had been too terrified to call the reoccurring number that showed up on his list of recent calls. "You are a coward," She said aloud, not caring if anyone heard her. "You would rather live a lie than face the truth." Her husband was a criminal, but she didn't know the details of it. She didn't know if he was just in cahoots with one or if he actually was one himself. Had it been going on so long he didn't even know how to separate himself from them?

When the judge had passed down her verdict Lisa had had the drastic urge to run home, grab Cameron, and take him over the border to Canada. It would just be the two of them, let Tony's new crowd offer him support. She was tired of making excuses for him with their friends. If he had allowed her to keep any close friends they would have noticed right away that something was wrong, but he had been the jealous type in every way, shape, and form so the friends she had managed to keep were little more than passing acquaintances. There was no one she could go to for help; he had made sure of it. First, by isolating her from her family, from her father and mother especially, and then her sister, Beatrice. She couldn't remember the last time she had spoken with her sister. Her parents had died over ten years ago, together, in their sleep, holding hands. She couldn't lie to herself anymore. She and Tony weren't her parents.

Tears slid down Lisa's cheeks as she remembered a similar conversation she had had with Jessalyn. It was back when she and Lucky had started dating. She had come home late and without a believable excuse and Tony had been incredibly hard on her. She had raged and slammed her hands against her bedroom door, her reaction to his decision to ground her until she began to understand what it was to be a parent and worry about where your child was when they missed curfew. Lisa had convinced Jessalyn to open the door for her and they had spent the remainder of the evening talking about Lucky Spencer and how wonderful he was. Funny, Jessalyn had said. He was so funny. And sweet. He was a hopeless romantic to fault. And he never forgot anything, like her birthday or the week anniversary of their first date.

Lisa had been worried because Lucky sounded so similar to Tony at that age. She began to fear for her daughter's independence and said so. Jess laughed off her concern and paid no attention to the telltale signs. Once the news of Cameron's impending arrival reached Lisa, she knew her daughter was bound to Lucky Spencer forever. She had been ready to strangle her daughter over such a direct act of irresponsibility and was enraged when she and Lucky announced they would not be getting married. Cameron needed a stable home, Lisa had insisted, but Jess had heard none of it. She was an adult, didn't Lisa know? She knew what she was doing. She didn't love Lucky and he didn't love her. She would rather share her son with his father than a home because at least she could spare Cameron a little pain. If he never saw his parents struggling through a marriage that was all wrong for them, then maybe it would be something he never had to wonder about. He could be happy, happy with both of them. The judge's ruling, much like God's, had been final. Losing Cameron was like losing Jess a second time and Lisa couldn't bear it. Not again. She couldn't. Pushing the bedroom door open, she was startled when she found Tony standing just outside of it.

"It's time." He said.

Previews:

"She'll be here." Lucas assured his husband.

"I've never stood you boys up before." Sage entered the room with a smile. "I don't intend to start now."

"Sage." Dillon forced a smile onto his face. "You look great."