A/N – Thanks for the comments! Glad you like the reveal and Liz/Maxie! * Guest – Sorry. Hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Chapter 33 – Rules

Carly listened to her son and felt an overwhelming sadness about the state of their relationship. This was so far from what she wanted but at the same time, she understood that Michael was in pain and trying to get his life back.

"So, I'm asking you not to butt into my life in any way. It's my life and my choices. You don't get a say. Do you think you can do that?"

"I will try."

"I want to make it clear that there are no second or third chances. I'm not going to risk my recovery."

Carly nodded and wiped a tear away. "I guess I never stopped to think how my actions would hurt you."

"The point being you never stop to think," Michael said smirking.

"You're right. I have pretty much been a raw nerve since I stepped foot into this town. It's all I know, but I don't want to lose you Michael. I'm not sure how to change, but I'm willing to give it a try. I don't want to lose you."

He didn't say anything. The truth was that he had no confidence that his mother could uphold her side of the bargain and that truly made him really sad. He knew she loved him but Michael wasn't even sure that his mom understood a healthy kind of love. Whenever she came close, she always ended up ruining it in one way or another.

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Dylan looked down at Georgie, "You did good."

"They looked like they had seen a ghost."

Dylan smirked. "Yeah, but in the end, at least they respected your wishes."

"True. Thank you for calming me down."

He brushed her hair back off her face. The more he was around her the more he realized that he was developing feelings for her. "I do have to thank Elizabeth for something."

"What?"

"If I hadn't of known her, I would have never met you."

Georgie blushed. "So you don't regret how things turned out?"

"I think that everyone is with the person they are meant to be with."

He leaned down and slowly kissed her. "You scare me."

Georgie made a face. "I scare you?"

Dylan looked away for a second taking a deep breath and then met her gaze again. "Every time it seems like I'm going to get what I want, something happens and it takes it all away."

She lovingly touched his face. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Elizabeth thought the same thing."

"There's no one who could walk through that door that I would want more than you."

"What about your ex.?"

Georgie rolled her eyes. "I'm so over him. We were kids."

Dylan closed his eyes for a long moment. "Please don't hurt me Georgie. Right now, I just couldn't take it."

Tears sprang into Georgie's eyes and then she kissed him with everything she had. "We're going to have to trust each other. You think you can try?"

"Okay."

Georgie hadn't realized how vulnerable Dylan was. They stood there holding each other for a while until Monica interrupted them.

"They are ready to leave."

"Thanks," Georgie said.

Monica nodded. "If either of you need anything, please ask."

Georgie smiled. "That's a lovely offer. Jason is taking very good care of me."

"Thank you Monica," Dylan said.

Monica nodded and walked out.

Georgie took Dylan's hand, "Come on, I need to get out of here."

They walked out into the restaurant and Lulu watched from her table stunned. She got up and rushed towards them.

Georgie was surprised at how different she looked.

"Georgie, I can't believe you're alive."

"It's really crazy huh?"

"Can I have a hug?" Lulu asked.

Georgie nodded and they hugged.

"You look exactly like you used to," Lulu said smiling. "I'm so jealous."

Georgie laughed. "I guess there is an advantage to all this. Who's that?"

"Oh, this is my husband Dante," she said pulling him forward. "Dante this is Georgie Jones, Maxie's sister."

Dante smiled. "It's nice to me you. Mac must be really excited."

Georgie grinned. "He is."

She noticed Jason and Elizabeth walking towards the service elevator.

"Listen, I have to go but maybe we can touch base some times," Georgie said.

"I would love that Georgie. If you need to talk or anything, call me." Lulu grabbed a piece of paper and pen out of her purse and scribbled down her number.

"Thanks Lulu."

Lulu smiled and watched Georgie walk away. "I need to call Maxie and see how she is doing."

Dante nodded. "Let's finished eating and we can stop by her apartment on the way home."

They walked back to the table with Lulu trying to process it all.

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The next morning, Georgie and Jason were the first up and she helped him make breakfast.

"I'm going to get fat if we keep eating like this."

Jason grinned. "You can work out in the gym with me then."

She smiled. "I might take you up on that."

"You look fine though. As long as you're comfortable with yourself, don't worry about it."

She nodded. "I used to be really scared of you."

Jason looked over at her and chuckled. "I guess I can be scary if I want."

"Super scary. How's Spinelli?"

Jason had forgotten that Georgie used to have a crush on him. "You want to talk to him?"

She nodded.

"Do you know that he's Georgie's father?"

Georgie's mouth dropped open. "Maxie and Spinelli are together?"

"I don't think so. They had broken up for a long time and he was with a girl named Ellie. Milo kind of filled me in."

Georgie understood. Jason had been out of the loop for a while.

"I haven't seen him either. He lives in Portland now. Let me give him a call."

Jason whipped out his phone and Spinelli picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hello," he said slightly out of breath.

"Spinelli, it's Jason."

Spinelli plopped onto the couch in shock. "Stone Cold?" He knew that Jason was back. Maxie had told him.

Jason smirked. "It's me."

Spinelli sputtered for a moment, "It's so good to hear your voice."

"It's good to hear yours too. Listen, something happened and Helena froze a few more people. There is someone here who wants to talk to you."

"Okay." He couldn't think of who it could be.

Georgie grabbed the phone. "Spinelli? It's Georgie Jones."

Spinelli's mouth dropped open and tears came into his eyes. "Oh my God."

"I know it's a shock. I just wanted to say hello and see how you were doing."

Spinelli swallowed hard. "I was so devastated when you were horribly ripped away from us. Knowing that you are safe and sound makes feel so happy. Maxie must be over the moon."

Georgie smiled. "She was shocked. I'm meeting her later."

"Maybe the next time I come to visit, I can see you?"

"I would love that." Georgie missed her quirky friend."

They chatted for a few more minutes as more people woke up and joined them and then she ended the call with a big smile on her face.

"Who was that?" Elizabeth asked.

"That was Spinelli."

Liz smiled. "You had a good talk?"

"Yup. It made me feel a little more normal. I kind of wish he was still in town."

"I understand."

There was a knock on the door and Liz ran to get it. She was surprised to see Michael.

"Hey, I hope I'm not interrupting."

Liz smiled and gave him a hug. "You're always welcome here Michael. Are you hungry?"

He smiled shyly. "I could eat."

"Come on then. We're having pancakes. The guys are like vultures. You have to grab them fast."

Michael chuckled and followed her into the dining.

"Hey Michael," Johnny said.

"Hi Johnny."

Jason smiled at him and motioned for him to sit down next to him. They all dug in and ate and then Jason and Michael headed to the man cave to talk.

"This is really cool," Michael said looking around.

"Yeah, Liz did it for me."

Michael smiled. "It's nice to see both of you so happy."

"What's going on with you?"

He shrugged. "I'm just going to take it day to day. For now, I'm going to try and avoid any kind of conflict."

"I hear you."

"Have you talked to mom yet?"

"No. I'm sure I will soon. We need to get some things straight."

Michael nodded. "Whatever you decide, I'll respect. She can be toxic and you don't need that kind of stress."

"I'm sorry that you and your mom are having problems. I know that it's stressful."

"It is but I have to do right by me just like you have too."

Jason was impressed that Michael was being so mature after knowing what I wreck he had been lately.

"I changed my last name to Quartermaine."

Now Jason was surprised. "Really?"

Michael smirked. "I was really pissed off at Sonny."

Jason chuckled. "Are you glad you did it?"

"Yes, I am. I don't want to have anything to do with Sonny."

"I understand. You have to do whatever you feel is right."

"Would you ever go back to using Quartermaine?"

Jason thought for a moment. "All I've known is Morgan. I think it fits me."

Michael nodded.

"Now that you can carry on the name, I don't have any pressure," he said smiling.

Michael shook his head. "Like that would have made any difference."

"Probably not. Come on, play a round of pool with me."

"So you can kick my ass?"

"I'm rusty. You might actually have a chance."

Michael smiled. "Alright."

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AJ waited until Sonny stepped out of his car to remove his hat. He was standing across the street from the Metro Court.

Sonny looked up and watched as AJ smiled and he froze, confusing Max who was looking at his boss and wondering what the problem was. By the time he followed Sonny's gaze, AJ had slipped away into the crowd.

"Boss?"

Sonny didn't answer. He thought he was losing his mind. He couldn't get AJ off his mind and the fact that Michael had completely rejected him and had taken things to such an extreme.

"I'm fine," Sonny said walking around the car. Maybe if he just ignored it, AJ would stop haunting him.

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AJ slipped back into the house.

Liz smiled. "You missed breakfast."

AJ shrugged. "I can make myself something. Don't worry about it."

"AJ, Michael is downstairs with Jason."

AJ was completely taken aback. "I want to tell him. He deserves to know."

"Honestly, he's been so lost. I think it will help him a lot."

AJ nodded. "We should warn Jason."

"I'll go down."

Liz went downstairs and smiled at the sight of Jason and Michael talking smack and having a good time. She walked towards them.

"Is everything okay?" Jason asked.

"Yes, um, there's someone upstairs who wants to see him."

Jason nodded. "It's okay. Michael let's sit down okay."

Michael sat down.

"There is someone else who was frozen that I haven't told you about because the person wasn't ready to reveal himself. It's a hard thing to wrap your mind around."

"I understand."

"I hope you do because I don't want you to be mad at me for not telling you."

Now Michael was getting nervous. "I won't. You were honoring their wishes."

AJ walked down the stairs and when Michael saw him he started to cry. His father rushed towards him and Michael stood up and they embraced. AJ held Michael tightly as they both cried and Jason and Liz disappeared upstairs to give them some privacy.

"I can't believe you're alive. You don't know how low it got for me after you died. I lashed out and hit rock bottom."

"I know. I knew you were in rehab and that is why I waited until you were out and more stable."

He was very concerned about Michael's mental health.

"I'm doing a lot better and making the changes I need to. Jason and Elizabeth have been great. I needed someone around me who wouldn't kiss my ass."

AJ smirked. "I'd like to be there for you too."

Michael nodded. "I would like that but if you're going to go back to drinking, I can't be around you; even though that would kill me," he said tearfully.

"Michael, I couldn't be more proud of you right now. You are not me. I let alcohol control me for years. You are fighting and wanting to be a better man. I'm so glad that you won't follow my path. I love you and I know I haven't been a good father, but now, I really want to try."

Michael wiped away a tear. "Thank you for supporting me. If you need to go to a meeting, I'll go with you."

AJ softly smiled. "Thank you. The one thing I noticed that is different about me is that I don't want anything to do with alcohol. It's crazy but true."

Michael smiled. "Good."

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Helena turned and looked at Victor. "According to my sources, everything is going as planned. AJ has been gaslighting Sonny."

Victor grinned. "I wish I could be a fly on the wall to see Sonny spin out of control again."

Helena chuckled. "Me too. This is just starting to get interesting actually. I can't wait to see what choice Jason will make. Will he be loyal to family? Will getting involved cost him Elizabeth?"

"That is exactly what you are hoping for isn't it?"

"Of course. Elizabeth thinks she has it all right now but if I get my way, it will come crashing down. Did you take care of the paperwork?"

"I did as you asked."

"Good. I love it when things go my way."

Victor smiled. He had to admire her tenacity. "What about the Spencers?"

"Luke will go down and now that Lucky knows about Cam's name change, it will be interesting to see how that falls out." Helena was hoping that Jason would finally end that insipid brat. Thank God for Maxie for delivering the news so quickly.

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AJ took a deep breath. "Michael, there is something I need to ask you."

"What?"

"You can't tell anyone that I'm alive. I'm still trying to process this and I especially don't want Sonny to know."

Michael thought for a moment. "I guess I have no problem with that."

AJ breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"What about Monica?"

"I'll tell her soon."

"She can keep a secret AJ," Michael said.

"I know. Maybe you can have her come over to your place tonight and I'll tell her then."

Michael smiled. "She's going to be so happy."

AJ smiled. "It will be nice to see her."

"I'll give her a call."

They went upstairs so AJ could get something to eat and Liz and Jason were really happy to see both of them in a good place.