Maxie tapped her foot impatiently as she and Spinelli rode the elevator up to the fifth floor of GH. She was in a hurry and the elevator just wasn't going fast enough.
Spinelli laid a hand on her arm to still her. She looked up at him with a look of anticipation. "Oh Spinelli, why is it taking—" the bell dinged, the doors opened and Maxie breathed a sigh of relief. She rushed out of the metal box, dragging Spinelli with her.
"Hello, I'm Maxie Jones. I received a phone call saying that my sister Georgie Jones was awake."
The nurse looked up in surprise. She clearly wasn't used to getting visitors at this hour. "Oh, yes. Ms Jones is awake. You're just in time; her doctor is almost finished with the examination. When he's done, feel free to go in to the room. Normally we don't allow visitors at this hour, but Dr. Drake asked that an exception be made."
"Thank you," Maxie said as she hurried down the hallway. Spinelli followed her close behind. She stopped in front of her sister's room. Through the open blinds, she could see her sister sitting up and a doctor talking to her. Maxie bit her lip. For the first time since she'd discovered that Georgie was alive, she was now unsure of what to do. She was actually going to talk to the sister she'd believed to be dead.
Dr. Elena Mire walked out of the room and stopped when she saw Maxie. "Hello Ms. Jones. This is it. You finally get to talk to her. She's confused, so you will have to explain what happened. But please do it gently. Your sister's condition is still fragile, so we need to be gentle. And I can't let you stay for than an hour at most. Georgie needs rest."
Maxie nodded and turned to face Spinelli. She looked terrified. Spinelli laughed. "It's okay, Max. I'm right here. I'll stay out here for now. Go on inside," He shooed her toward the door and she stepped inside.
Georgie was lying on her side, with her back to Maxie. Maxie crept inside and shut the door. The noise made Georgie shift and she looked surprised when she saw her sister standing over her.
"Maxie?" She whispered. Her voice was raspy, which was a side effect of the breathing tube, Maxie knew.
"Hi s-sweetie," Maxie's voice broke.
"What are you doing here?"
Maxie smiled. "The question should be: what are you doing here?"
"I was sad and I needed to see Port Charles, even if it was from a distance. I was at the cemetery. I saw my grave a-and R-Robin's," Georgie finished as if she'd run out of steam. She motioned to the water glass that was next to her and Maxie retrieved it. Georgie sipped and began again. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
Maxie frowned. "What to happen?"
"For you or anyone to see me. I'm supposed to be dead. According the state of New York, I am, but according to the WSB, I'm very much alive."
Maxie shook her head. "But how? I saw you. You were dead."
Georgie looked down. "I-I wasn't dead…not completely. The medical examiner who t-took me away, wasn't really an M.E."
"What do you mean?"
"He was a WSB agent. I w-was sort of handpicked. WSB was following Diego's case. They figured out who could be the target of his rage. And they watched Port Charles…and me," Georgie looked up at her sister. "I'm sorry for not telling you this then."
"No, no. Please continue." Maxie sat down in the chair next to the bed.
"I was alive. Just barely. I was losing consciousness, but I heard the agent say that they were going to inject me with a poison that would make me appear dead. That way, I would be dead to everything from WSB. I've been undercover for the agency for twenty-nine years," Georgie finished and reached for Maxie's hand. "I'm here now. We can decide what do to next. I want to know what I've missed in the last twenty-nine years. I already know that I missed Robin. I saw her grave at the cemetery. I want to all about that and you and Mac. But for now, I'd just like to sleep. I'm so tired." She closed her eyes, but didn't let go of Maxie's hand.
"O-okay, sweetie. Sleep now and I'll be here when you wake up," Maxie whispered, leaning over to drop a kiss on her sister's brow. She laid her head on the bed and closed her own eyes. Now that she knew that Georgie was out of the woods, she could finally sleep.
XXXXXX
With the elaborate dinner long over, guests had gravitated back towards the dance floor, trying to work off the rich food. Mattie stood in the doorway of the dining room and scanned the room for her father. She was surprised to not see him and even more surprised when she didn't see her aunt or Spinelli either.
Then she saw Patrick walking out to the balcony. She skirted the crowd and followed him. "Dad!"
He turned around and followed her voice. With a wave, he waited until she made her way over to where he stood. "Hi Mattie."
"Where'd you go? Where's Aunt Maxie? I haven't seen her or Spinelli," Mattie asked.
Patrick smiled. "The hospital called. Georgie regained consciousness."
Mattie's eyes lit up. "Really? Has she been checked out?"
"Yes, Dr. Mire is on call so I'm sure that she's been examined. Maxie and Spinelli left as soon as they called. I'm sure that Maxie is already talking to Georgie."
Mattie smiled. "What a reunion that must be. I can't imagine how it would be to see the sister that you thought had been dead for almost thirty years."
"I know," Patrick agreed. Then he sighed. "I wish your mom was here for this."
"Mom would be so happy to see her."
Patrick nodded, thinking of the night of Georgie's funeral all those years ago. It had been the night that Mattie had been conceived. From that point on, they had both known that they were right for each other. But he shook his head. "There's no use trying to understand the party. Tonight's a party and Georgie's back with us. Now we just have to figure out a way to tell Mac and everyone else in Port Charles."
"That's going to be interesting," Mattie said, brightening when she saw Morgan walking toward them.
"I wondered where you'd gotten to," he said, dropping a kiss on her nose.
"Well, I was getting ready to ask my father for a dance. Maybe you'd like to find your sister and dance with her for a moment. I promise I'll always come back to you," Mattie grinned slyly and reached for Patrick's hand. He led her out to the middle of the dance floor.
"He's in love with you."
Mattie smiled sweetly and he saw that little girl he'd once known peek out. Her eyes were dreamy. "I know…and I'm in love with him too. So it works out."
Patrick didn't bother to look surprise, which made Mattie laugh. "That doesn't surprise you, does it?"
He shook his head. "No, I always knew that you loved him. Even when you were a little girl. Your mom saw it too."
"Now that I'm in love with someone and I'm experiencing all these feelings, I wish she were here. I think that we'd talk about it," Mattie said, her voice breaking.
"Hey, hey. I didn't mean to make you cry," Patrick said gently, brushing the tears from her cheek.
She shook her head, not trusting her voice. Putting her arms around him, she whispered in his ear, "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, baby girl," he said, pulling her close.
As they swayed slightly with the music, she allowed her mind to wander to a bright spring day nine and a half years earlier.
*Flashback*
The sun was shining as they walked through the park. They were dressed nearly the same; both in jeans and tee-shirts. Their hair, identical sable brown, hung down their shoulders.
Robin stopped by the gazebo and stared. It still brought back memories of Georgie. Although despite that horrible tragedy, something wonderful had come about. She ran a hand down her daughter's hair. Mattie had been a light born from darkness.
"Mom, are you okay?" Mattie asked, concerned. Everyone worried about Robin these days. It was clear that she was becoming weaker. It was only a matter of time. She had cheated death so many times, but now there was nothing that anyone could do.
Robin nodded. "Yes." Then she took her daughter's hand and led her around the corner to a small clearing. From where they stood, they could see Queen of Angels. "I used to dream that when you get older and meet the man of your dreams, that you'd get married here—in this clearing."
"Oh mom," Mattie began, but Robin cut her off.
"Stop." She looked frustrated. "Why does everyone walk on eggshells around me? I know that is happening to me. But that doesn't mean that I can't think about the future. It's inevitable, you know. I know that even after I'm gone, life will go on. You will go to school and graduate from college. Maybe you'll be a doctor or a lawyer or whatever. But life will go on. I want you to get married here. I want to be able to talk about the future. So please, don't try to ignore it." She turned and looked at Mattie whose face was remorseful.
"I'm sorry, Mom."
"No, I shouldn't have lashed out like that. I'm sorry, sweet girl," Robin apologized, hugging Mattie close. Mattie breathed in her scent, her perfume, the hospital. Everything that would forever remind her on her mother.
Mattie shook her head. "Mom, it's hard to think about the future when you are here fighting this disease."
"I know, honey. But you have to move on. The future is a wonderful thing to think about when the present isn't so great. Things will be better in the future." Robin stood up and motioned to Mattie. "See, you need to think about the future. Tell me what you want to be doing in five years."
Mattie looked skeptical. But Robin pressed on. "Tell me, I want to know. I want to know so when I'm looking down from Heaven, I'll know what to look for."
Mattie sighed. "Okay, well, I want to be a doctor. So I'll still be in med school. But I want to get married someday. Maybe to Morgan."
Robin smiled. "Ah, so that's the way the wind blows. I thought so. You've been in love with that boy ever since you were a little girl. I could see it. At the time, I thought that it was ironic, considering Carly's and my past."
Mattie shrugged. "I do love him, but he needs the chance to get used to it. And I doubt that Carly will ever wrap her mind around it."
"You're right there."
"Mom, how can we talk about what will happen after…" Mattie asked, tears falling down her face.
Robin smiled. "We can because it's inevitable. The future will happen and we have the right to dream.
Mattie nodded, unable to stop the tears that fell. Robin hugged her and they stood together, on that bright sunny spring day, thinking about the future.
*End Flashback*
"Mattie?" Patrick looked at her quizzically.
She lifted her face and looked at her father. "I'm sorry, please. I'm so sorry. I need to go." She pulled away and, lifting the hem of her dress, hurried away from the crowd.
Mattie raced out of the ballroom to the lighted veranda. When she reached the cement wall, she fell to the bench and buried her face in her hands. With the sound of her tears filling her ears, she didn't here footsteps coming toward her.
"Mattie?" Morgan looked down at her worriedly. He had been dancing with Amelia when he had seen her hurry out of the room. And he'd heard the sound of her tears. Laying a hand on her shoulder, he felt her jump in surprise.
Morgan knelt down to face the sobbing woman. "Mattie, it's me…Morgan. What's wrong?"
Mattie lifted her face and stared at him through tearstained eyes. "I don't know. One minute I was dancing with my dad and the next, I had this memory of my mom. But it was so vivid…as if she were right next to me, telling me about it." She wiped her face. "Ugh, I look like a monster. All that time that I put into my face and now I look terrible."
Morgan laughed and stood up. He pulled Mattie to her feet and into his arms. "You are most certainly not a monster. You are beautiful."
"Thanks for that. I needed that, but I really do need to fix my face. Stay right here and I'll be back." With a peck to his cheek, she hurried off toward the restroom.
Sarah caught up with her as she passed the bar and they walked together toward the restroom. "Mattie, I saw you run outside. Are you okay?"
Mattie smiled. "I'm fine. It was nothing. I just need to fix my face." She walked up to the mirror and opened her clutch to retrieve her compact. Brushing the fine powder over her nose and cheeks, she eyed her friend in the mirror. "I noticed that you and Jake are getting pretty close."
Sarah balked. "What? No. You know us, it's off and then it's on. He can't get his act together."
"He can't? Or you can't decide?" Mattie reapplied her lipstick and studied her reflection. There. Perfect.
"Hey! I can decide. But I'm not ready to commit and he is. He doesn't seem to care either because he doesn't try to work at the relationship any better than me!" Sarah protested. She glared at Mattie in the mirror.
"You need to make a decision. That's all I'm going to say about it," Mattie shrugged and picked up her clutch. She walked out of the room and back towards the noise of the party.
Sarah tagged along. "Wait!" She walked alongside her friend. "What do you mean?"
Mattie stopped and looked at Sarah. "I mean that you have to decide whether or not you want to be with Jacob Spencer. Because if you don't want to be with him, then you can't keep stringing him along. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my guy." With a wave, she walked back outside to where Morgan was waiting.
Morgan was standing with his hand on the wall, looking out over the harbor. She could see the Metrocourt and further off in the distance, the hospital. Creeping up behind him, she put her arms around his waist.
"Hey." He turned around to face her and kissed her. "Are you okay?"
She smiled into his chest. "Yes, I'm fine."
"Hey, do you want to take a walk?"
Mattie nodded. "That would be nice." She pulled back and Morgan grabbed her hand. Together they descended the steps and walked down the pathway that led around the house.
"It's truly beautiful here, isn't it?" Mattie asked, turning to look up at him.
"Yeah, it always reminded me of The Secret Garden, you know all the verandas and pretty gardens and pathways," Morgan kissed her hand and she grinned.
"I always that that it was like a fairy tale and you were my prince charming," Mattie replied.
They turned the corner and walked toward the stables. Morgan stopped suddenly and Mattie looked at him quizzically. "What? What's wrong?"
He looked uncomfortable and for a brief moment, Mattie thought that something was seriously wrong. "No, no, nothing's wrong. I-I just wanted to say something. Here, away from the noise."
She cocked her head, confused. "O-okay…"
He knelt on the cold ground, which caused her to gasp. "Mattie, you are the most amazing, beautiful woman I have ever met. I love you so much and I can't see living without you. I have been in love with you since I first saw you even when you were only a teenager. Please, be my wife…" He took a deep breath and reached in the pocket of his pants, drawing out a small box. "Matilda Drake, will you marry me?"
Mattie brought her hands to her mouth in surprise. She smiled and felt her eyes tearing up. "Oh Morgan…I love you so much. You don't know how long I've waited for those words. So…yes. Yes, I will marry you and be your wife." She held her breath as he slipped the ring on her finger. It was a silver band with a tiny diamond in the center. The diamond was surrounded by a small circle of bright red stones.
Morgan got to his feet and Mattie let out a shriek. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "Oh, I love you so, so much!"
Morgan smiled. He pulled back and looked her in the eye. "I love you, and I promise you that I will stand by the vows we will take for the rest of my life."
"Come on, we have to go tell everyone. Oh, I can't wait to see my dad's face. And Mackenzie's," Mattie said, pulling him along the path as they made their way back towards the house. As they did, screams rang out through the air.
Okay, okay. I know that the proposal was corny, but I think that it suited their characters. Also, no one is going to be murdered or anything. So the screams might be slightly exaggerated. But I hope that you will review…I love to hear from my readers. Enjoy!