Maxie slammed her fist into the alarm clock and glared it through her thick, unkempt hair. Hunter thought it would be a great idea to keep her up all night with stories of her and Ric while downing Jell-O shots. Sufficient to say, he had called in sick last night and she was going to have to face the world in an hour. She rubbed her forehead and groaned. The first thing she had to do was run a brush through her fuzzy hair. Somehow she dragged her weary body to the bathroom and threw the lever on the faucet until it reached a temperature she preferred. Then, clothes and all, she climbed in and lay down, praying for the pounding in her head to stop as the shower beat mercilessly down on her.

If she could muster up enough strength, she would throttle Hunter for his stupid, spur-of-the-moment ideas. Seeing as she didn't have the brain power to get her fingers to work the buttons on her nightgown, she closed her eyes and wished for death. Some time later, she woke up and realized the entire bathroom was drenched in water. Still, she felt a little better. God, what time was it? Had she slept through work? Surely not. She reached for the side of the tub and slowly, painfully, and with great effort pulled herself out of it. She couldn't stand, but she could crawl and that was how she ended up on the cold floor.

Something familiar got her moving and it wasn't the obvious sense of dread that she had missed work. It was something else, something wonderful. She breathed it in. Coffee. Oh thank God. She could get to the kitchen. Maybe. She would get to the kitchen. Dragging herself toward the door, she wrenched it open and in true cartoon style, followed the smell until she found a fresh cup of coffee waiting for her. Next to it there was a note. Hunter's chicken scratch read: Made coffee. Passed out. Have a good day at work. She brought the cup to her mouth and drank it all in one gulp, enjoying the heat and the taste and not bothering to register that it was so hot it should have burned her lips.

Thirty minutes later, Maxie was fully dressed; her hair was shoved under a thick black headband. She felt so much better. Maybe there were people in the world who could live without coffee, but she had never claimed to be one of them. She grabbed her purse from the side table, grabbed her keys, and opened the door.

The sound of the keys hitting the floor was muffled only by the owner's insistence in using carpet instead of linoleum. Propped up against the side of the hallway was the pinkest, frilliest, most beautiful bicycle she had ever seen. The wheels were ashen-white and shiny multicolored tassels hung from both handlebars. A plastic pink bell was nearly hidden behind a large white wicker basket, both placed front and center of the bike. Its height intimidated her.

Where in the world had this come from? She walked around, her mouth hanging open, and that was about the time she spotted a single white envelope resting inside the plastic white basket. It read simply: Maxie. Curious and wary, she used her nail to rip open the seal and unfolded the note she found inside.

Blondie –

Better late than never right?

Ric

Maxie was wiping away tears when she finished reading what he had written. She vaguely remembered telling him how much she had wanted a bike just like this one as a child, but that Mac and Felicia hadn't gotten her one. She hadn't gone on to say that it was her overall health that made them hesitate because she'd rather that Ric not know. He would look at her differently. In true doctor form, he would try to fix her.

The rest of the day went like that. Her tiny office was filled chocolate mousse desserts, lilies, encrypted little notes that transformed her back to the time they had spent together. He must have listened to everything she had ever said to be this specific in his presents. She knew what he wanted despite what she told her curious co-workers. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. By five o'clock she was willing to at least talk to him.

Seeing her exit the building, Ric stood up from the bench he had been sitting on for the past two hours. So far, she hadn't sent anything back. He hadn't seen any of his gifts come flying out the window. All good signs. Coming up quickly behind her, he tapped her shoulder lightly. "Have a good day?"

"Enlightening." Maxie answered, catching her breath.

"Really?" He drawled as she came to a stop in front of him. "Care to elaborate on that?"

"The bike." She pushed her hair behind her ear. "That was the first thing I ever told you about. How did you remember it?"

Shrugging his shoulder, Ric reached out and pushed back another flyaway strand. It was shorter than he remembered, but he still liked it. "I told you I was listening to you."

Maxie rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes. "What is it you want from me? The bike, the gifts…I'm confused to say the least."

"The same thing I wanted back in Port Charles. I decided to take away your ability to hang up on me."

"This isn't fair." Maxie said slowly.

"Whoever said I play fair?"

"I know somewhere we can go to talk, but let's get one thing straight right now: it'll only be talking."

"Talking has never been our strong point." Ric reminded her.

"Take it or leave it." Maxie bargained, planting her hands on her hips.

"Lead on."

*****

Kristina dragged her rabbit along behind her as she and Alexis walked Mac to the front gates of the Port Charles train station. "Do you really have to go?" she asked, her eyes filling with tears.

Mac stopped, turned around, and dropped down in front of her, wiping her tears away. "Just for a little while. I have to go help some other cops get a couple of bad guys." He had told Alexis and Kristina that he had gotten a call from a neighboring county where an old friend of his worked. They had a couple of lowlifes that greatly resembled Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan and were just as slimy when it came to getting charges to stick.

"Why do they need your help? Why can't they do it themselves?" Kristina demanded, frowning.

"They just can't princess, but I'm going to be back home with you, Mommy, and Georgie very soon." Mac promised adamantly. Hesitantly, she let him pull her into his arms and then in the next instant threw her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. The sound broke his heart, but he knew he had to do this for Georgie since she wasn't going to do it for herself.

"Will you call me everyday?" Kristina inquired once they broke apart. Her eyes were already puffy and red rimmed.

"Everyday." He nodded and turned to Alexis who looked about ready to cry herself. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Me? Please." Alexis forced out, smiling for his benefit.

"A couple of days. No longer."

"I know. You have to go." Alexis wouldn't let herself cause a scene. It was such a soap opera reaction and she wouldn't stoop to that. She bent down to pick Kristina and her shabby rabbit up.

"I love you both. I've got my phone with me. Call me if you need me." Mac ordered.

"We will." Alexis shoved him to the ticket counter. "Go save another town. You're good at it."