Mike Corbin made it a priority, probably the only one he stuck to, to keep his nose out of other people's business. It never ended well for him when he interfered with personal matters and he should have left well enough alone...but he couldn't. Ric Lansing had been walking around town like a zombie since the couple decided to part ways and he couldn't sit back and watch the scene play out any longer. As if on cue, the doctor walked through the diner, the bell signaling his arrival, and Mike looked up from his notebook.

If the doctor and the little designer weren't going to work things out themselves, he was going to have to step in and make his opinion known. How much longer could he watch the young man struggle with indecision? "What's up Doc?" He teased, holding out a fresh cup of coffee.

"Not much Mike." Ric sighed as he sat down at the counter. "Not much at all."

"You look a little rough around the edges," Mike said abruptly. "Have you been sleeping?"

"Long days at the hospital. Still getting back into a normal routine now that Robin Drake went home." Ric shrugged off the older man's concern. Work was partially the reason. The other part was a tiny blonde who was currently hiding from him. But he wasn't about to admit that to anyone.

"You know, I don't make it my business to interfere," Mike began, taking a seat next to Ric.

"But you're about to anyway?"

"I don't like seeing my customers struggling when there's no reason for them to."

"So enlighten me." Ric smiled.

"You know, Georgie Webber comes in here a lot. She fills me in on her life just like she did when she was six years old."

"Must be nice to be so well liked." Ric responded casually. Georgie had kept true to what he assumed was her word to her sister and froze him out.

Since Ric was ignoring it anyway, Mike took the coffee from him and gulped down a large swallow. "I wasn't always. I came here to escape my past and, wouldn't you know, it found me anyway? I thank God everyday that it did because now I get to be in my grandchildren's lives even though I couldn't be there for their father or their aunt."

"That's great for you Mike. And I'm sure Kristina and Morgan are thrilled to have you in their lives."

"When I left Sonny and Courtney's mothers I told myself that it was for the best. They didn't need me in their lives, my children, or so I thought. The years went by, birthdays passed, and I started to wonder if I made the right decision. I told myself that if I could ever find out where they were, I would go to them and be the man they deserved."

Ric looked at Mike quizzically. It was always interesting to hear about someone else's problems and he was only just now starting to see what the other man was getting at. "Do you know something Mike?"

"I've known the Jones' girls their entire lives and I've always protected them as best as I could." Mike told him.

"Maxie has always spoken of you fondly."

"If you're just going to hurt her again then do an old man a favor and tell me now so I won't have wasted my time." Mike insisted solemnly.

"I don't want to hurt her." Ric promised him. "All I want to do is apologize and see where we can go from there."

"You've already done that," Mike pointed out. "Maybe you should try a new approach."

"If I knew where she was, then I would work on that new approach."

"Really? What would you do differently?"

"I don't know yet. But I am open to suggestions."

"Whatever you did and I told you I don't listen to rumors, I'm sure Maxie was justified in leaving you."

"She was." Ric admitted.

"You've got to accept that it happened and quit repeating yourself for one," Mike sighed. "She doesn't want to hear that you know what you did. I doubt she's been able to forget it."

"True." Ric nodded. "Then what do you suggest?"

"Be creative." Mike replied. "Have you tried doing anything proactive or are you too wound up in your own misery?"

Mike was right. If there was one thing Maxie needed in life it was to be the center of attention, to feel like the lead actress in her own soap opera. She didn't need apologies, she needed a spotlight. "I like your proactive idea."

"Maybe you should try and put yourself in her shoes, huh? Imagine she was the one who turned to another man."

Ric shuddered. He didn't particularly want to envision that scenario. "I get it. I need to make a public spectacle of myself."

Mike scribbled something on a napkin and slid it over. "Don't make me regret this."

"Regret what?" Ric regarded the napkin carefully.

"This is Maxie's address in Los Angeles." Mike clarified with a slow nod.

*****

He had some nerve, Bobbie thought to herself as she followed Cruz to his not-so-secret destination. Taking her to their restaurant! It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. Wasn't it enough that he was secretly seeing this woman? Did he have to smear her face in it too? The night he had told her about his magazine's nomination. She closed her eyes for a split second, not wanting to wreck the car, and felt a cold tear drift down her face. She would not be made a fool!

What if she was wrong? Oh how she prayed to be wrong. She would eat her words if this was all just a big misunderstanding. It must be! He wouldn't do this to her; he wouldn't do this to their daughter. And, if she wasn't wrong, if he was making plans to abandon them, she would be ready. She owed it to her daughter and she owed it to herself. When Tony died, she was distraught. Only Lucas had kept her going and she had seen how much strain that put on her only son. She would not do that to her daughter.

"So we're in agreement then. The site on Fifth Street is the ideal location for our bait?" Kate questioned as she stabbed at her salad with her fork.

"It has potential." Cruz replied sounding a little less than certain.

"Have you found out something I don't know about?" Kate wondered. "Has Jax made another move on The Insider that you didn't tell me about?"

"No," Cruz shook his head. "No. It's nothing like that."

"Then what is it partner?"

Cruz smirked. "It's been a long time since I've had someone watching my back."

"Well get used to it." Kate smiled.

"Are you absolutely certain about this? You can still back out." Cruz offered.

"I'm sure. Jasper Jacks needs to learn to not be so pushy."

"If I could just understand why you're so hell-bent on helping me..."

"I told you. I don't like to see people get pushed around. If you got half the song and dance I got, it gets old thinking up new ways to say no to someone who isn't listening."

"I have great news." Cruz informed her, leaning in close.

"What's that?"

"Stan Johnson agreed to help us. He said he'd love to stick it to Jasper Jacks."

Kate smiled victoriously. "Now that is reason to celebrate."

Cruz signaled the waiter. "We're having a celebration. What would you suggest?"

"Well for starters, we're getting dessert."

Bobbie leaned against the post, her face partially hidden behind the horrendous plant, and cried silently. It was worse than she had thought. Cruz's sudden change in behavior, his newfound positive thinking, had nothing to do with Majandra's mastering the words "Daddy" and "cup." It was this woman, this beautiful, young blonde who had turned his head and stolen his heart.

Oh God. She couldn't stand to watch this, but her feet wouldn't move. She was trapped. She was terrified. All of the plans she had made when Dr. Lansing told her she was going to be a mother again were shattered. She didn't know how to do this alone despite her immediate decision at the time to raise her daughter alone. She had actually been foolish enough to believe he meant every word of his vows.

"So at least for now, the website looks authentic." Cruz explained biting into a chocolate chip cookie. He would never outgrow these. "I've been on the phone for three days getting everything on the business side set up. You say the Fifth Street location is perfect, but have you spoken with the original tenant yet?"

"Not yet but I plan to swing by tomorrow morning. Hit them bright and early."

"Good," Cruz nodded eagerly. "Not to be rude, but would you be offended if we cut this evening short? I've barely been home this week."

"That's fine. The less time we spend together in public, the better our plan will work anyways. I'll email you as soon as I talk to the tenant."

"Thank you again Kate."

"It's not a problem." Kate winked at him as she stood up, patting his head. "I like helping people every now and again. It keeps me on my toes."

*****

"But if it's a party then why do I have to get all dressed up?" Cameron whined at his father.

Lucky fought the urge to laugh. Cameron had been fine with thinking of the wedding as a party, until he heard the words "dress" "shopping" and "tuxedos." Now suddenly he had serious concerns about participating in this whole wedding thing. "I told you buddy. This is a very special type of party. Everyone will be dressed up."

"Not if you tell them not to like Grandpa Luke does." Cameron pointed out.

"I know you don't understand this yet buddy, but one day you will." Lucky sat down and pulled Cameron up into his lap. "You see girls tend to plan this wedding stuff for years. Basically from the time they start dating. And when it comes time to plan this party, they have very specific ideas about what should happen. You know like you do about your birthday?"

Cameron nodded. "So it's like a fancy birthday party?"

"Kinda. I'm not explaining it well. Let's just say when it's your turn to get married; it's just better to go with whatever your girl is planning. Much safer."

Cameron shot Lucky a skeptical look. "I'm not getting married. Girls are yucky."

"You play with Kristina and Gracie."

"They don't count." Cameron explained as he ran out of the room and past Elizabeth. "Hi Lizzie!"

"Hey Cam." Elizabeth smiled down at him, patting his head. "Grams is downstairs with the twins. I'm sure she'd love to see you."

"Yeah!" Cameron yelled as he raced down the stairs. "Hi Grams!"

Turning to look at Lucky, she crossed her arms across her chest. "Safer huh?"

"You heard that?"

"Every word." Elizabeth took another step towards him. "So now it's a real elaborate birthday party we're planning?"

"If you can come up with a better explanation I'd love to hear it."

"Just don't start expecting candles on the wedding cake there mister." Elizabeth warned, poking her finger in his chest.

"Not unless you want them." Lucky promised, bringing her closer and wrapping his arms around her. "Not unless you want them."