Maxie maneuvered her car into Mac's driveway and killed the engine. She released the seatbelt and began to open the door. Suddenly she stopped and pulled her hand back. What the Hell was she doing? She was about to go into the house and tell she man she'd called dad for as she as she could remember that the daughter he'd buried almost thirty years ago was alive. How crazy did that sound? Truthfully, she still couldn't believe that Georgie was back. There was so much she wanted to know, but didn't have the courage to ask. But it was one thing to see it herself and entirely another to shock her aging father.
Well, he was going to find out eventually and she'd rather he know from her and not from any other source. Sighing, she pushed open the door and stepped out. After all, there was no time like the present.
She trudged up the walk and climbed the steps, feeling as though she'd just completed a marathon. Something made her want to play it formal and ring the doorbell, but she knew that Mac would know something was up. So she pulled her key out of her bag and put it in the lock. Turning it, she heard the door release and after opening it, stepped inside.
"Mac!" she set her coat and bag on a chair in the foyer and stepped down into the living room. It looked exactly the same as it had when she was a little girl, sans for the new recliner he'd invested in after retiring. "Mac! It's Maxie!"
He appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room. "Hey, I didn't expect you." He was drying his hands on a towel, which he tossed to a counter. She smiled and took a hesitant step into the living room.
"Yeah, it was kind of unexpected."
"Well, I like the unexpected. Do you want some coffee or something?" he motioned her toward the kitchen and she came slowly.
"Sure…that'd be nice." She sat in a kitchen chair and accepted a mug of steaming coffee. She murmured her thanks as he took a seat across from her. Maxie looked at her father. He'd aged well, considering all the gray hair she, Georgie and Robin had given him throughout the years. Despite retirement nearly twenty years earlier, he'd kept in good shape and hardly looked his age. His once thick black hair had settled into a salt and peppered pattern that looked good on his narrow face. She smiled inwardly at how little he'd changed in the years she'd called him her father.
Mac frowned as he sipped his coffee. Over the rim of his cup, he studied the woman who sat across from him. In all the years since she was a child, she never fidgeted, but now she was doing just that and Mac could see how nervous she looked.
"What's wrong Maxie?" he asked, setting the mug down on the table. He leaned in and folded his hands on top of the cherry wooded table.
Her eyes widened, but to her credit, she managed to keep her composure. "What makes you think something's wrong dad?" she closed her eyes for a moment and tried to pull herself together. She needed to remember that what she was about to tell him was good news. The only problem was that it could potentially cause a heart attack.
"You're fidgeting."
Her eyes narrowed this time. "I am not," she replied indignantly.
"Yes, you are. And I know you Maxie, you don't fidget," he said coolly.
"No. I don't. And I'm not planning to start now," she snapped, and then scolded herself for giving him an attitude.
"Maxie, you need to tell me what's wrong. I can see it in your eyes. Something is up," Mac said, picking up his cup.
"Okay, I'll tell you, but I need to warn you that this is major and it will shock you."
He nodded. "Okay…" he set the cup back down in preparation.
She sighed. "Last week Mattie and Patrick called me to the hospital. They had a patient that was a Jane Doe. Well, she wasn't exactly a Jane Doe, but they needed my help in identifying her. All she had was a WSB badge. She'd been in an accident out by the cemetery on the highway."
He frowned. "Okay, but why did you have to identify her?" he picked up the coffee cup again and took a sip.
Maxie closed her eyes and wished there was a more delicate way to tell him this. "Because the badge said Agent Georgianna Jones."
His eyes widened and he nearly spewed coffee all over the kitchen. He set the cup on the table with a thump and stared hard at her. This time she did fidget. She felt like she was a teenager again and he was interrogating her about staying out late or something.
"That's not possible."
She shook her head. "That's what I said. Patrick had to operate on her to relieve pressure on her brain so I couldn't see her right away, but when I did—I knew. It was Georgie."
"I don't understand. I read the autopsy report. She was dead."
"It was forged. She was handpicked by the WSB and she'd been an undercover agent for almost thirty years," Maxie said, getting to her feet and coming around to hug Mac. He held on to her as if she were his lifeline.
"I don't know what to say…"
Maxie sighed. "I think it would be better if she told you the story. I just needed to tell you. She'd being released today and she will stay with Spinelli and I for a while. At least until she figures out what she will do next. Perhaps you can stop by later and see her." She leaned down and kissed his weathered cheek. "I'm sorry Mac, for springing this on you, but I had to tell you sometimes."
He looked up hesitantly. "You mean, she's really alive and well?"
Maxie nodded. "Well, she's alive. And she will be well. Patrick says the prognosis is good. She'll be fine. Listen, I have to go. I said that I would be back before they discharged her." She walked out into the living room and slipped into her coat. With a small smile, she opened the door and walked outside toward her car.
Mac watched her go. His baby girl was alive, after all these years. He'd come to terms with the heinous crime that had stolen her from him, but now…he felt like he was getting a second chance. Sighing, he walked to the hall closet and reached for his own jacket. He knew exactly where he needed to go right now. It was the same place he always went when he needed to think. He needed to be close to his family and it seemed that too much of his family were at the very same place.
Locking the door, he walked across the lawn to his own car and got inside. Starting up the engine, he eased it into the road and angled toward the edge of town.
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Mattie flipped through the charts on the desk of the nurses' station. She was looking for a particular chart. Aha! There it was. She picked up the patient's chart and scanned it. No signs of trauma other than the poisoning. Surgery had been done to fix the punctured lung and now Ric Lansing was in recovery. Wouldn't Molly and Sarah just love that!
She closed the chart just as the elevator door opened and Maxie walked through it. Mattie smiled as she studied Maxie's pale face. Maxie spotted her and walked up to the desk.
"Hi."
"Hey, how are you? I heard that Georgie was being released today," Mattie replied, frowning over how worn out Maxie appeared. She took her aunt's hands and led her to the couch in the waiting room.
"Yeah." Maxie looked around absently, as if itching to find a reason to bolt. Seeing Mattie's worried face, she sighed. "I just came from Mac's."
Mattie's eyes widened. "Oh." It was all that was necessary to say. "How did he take it?"
Maxie shrugged. "Surprisingly well. He was calm…or he seemed calm on the outside. I'm sure that he was startled. I mean—I just told him that Georgie, who he was dead thirty years ago—is alive."
"I see."
"Do you?" Maxie cocked her head and studied Mattie. She liked what she saw in her smart, strong-headed niece.
"I do. You desperately want everything to be the way it was before Georgie left, but honey, the problem is that nothing is the same. Everything is different and there's nothing that you can do about it," Mattie replied, getting to her feet. She pulled Maxie up and hugged her aunt. "Nothing is the same, but that doesn't mean that it can't be better. Maxie, you have your sister back. Cherish that time, okay? That's all you can do for now."
Maxie smiled and held on to Mattie. "How did you get to be so smart?"
Mattie chuckled. "Well that came from a combination of my very intelligent parents and college." Suddenly her eyes widened. "Oh, I almost forgot. You are so going to hate me because you aren't the first to know."
Maxie frowned. "What is the world are you talking about?"
Mattie held out her left hand. "I got engaged!"
Maxie gasped and made a grab for Mattie's hand. She studied the ring and looked back at her niece, who was grinning from ear to ear. "When?"
"At the ball."
"And you waited this long? Oh what the Hell. Mattie, I'm so happy for you," she said, wiping the tears out of her eyes and crushing Mattie into a hug.
"I'm sorry, but I just got caught up. Anyway, I was hoping that you would do our wedding. And before you ask, we haven't decided anything, date, number of people, location, etc. I barely have had a chance to think about it myself, let alone discuss it with Morgan."
"That doesn't matter, not right now. Oh, Mattie. I'm so happy for you. I can't believe that you're getting married. We will have to talk soon, okay. But now, I need to see about my sister," Maxie replied, hugging her again.
Mattie nodded. "Yes, you do. Tell her hello for me. I'll try to stop by tomorrow or something. Okay?"
"That will be fine. I've got to go. She's probably ready to go." With a wave, Maxie hurried away down the hall toward Georgie's room.
Mattie watched her go and hugged her arms around her body as if trying to keep the heat inside. She wished that life was easier and that the curveballs weren't so sharp. But there was no such way to predict how fate would play it out. Shrugging, she walked back to the desk and picked up a chart. She'd do better to keep busy and what better place to do so than the hospital.
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Okay, please review. I hope that you like the story so far. I have quite a few more plans and can't wait to delve deeper into Georgie's past. I also want to include some angst between Georgie and Dillon, but am having problems with the writing. So I hope that it will be up to your satisfaction. Again, please review. And above all, ENJOY!