GH Fic: In the Ever-Repeating History, We Have Inherited Life
Title: In the Ever-Repeating History, We Have Inherited Life
Author: normative_jean
Fandom/Characters: General Hospital; Maxie Jones, Lucky Spencer, Cameron Webber, Jake Spencer, Emma Drake
Rating: G
Prompt: Kiss
Author’s Notes: Finally! Something for schmoop_bingo! Many thanks to empressearwig for putting up with my craziness while writing this. You always make my brain make sense, hon. I'm still not sure how I feel about this, but I'm chalking up any remaining misgivings to not being used to writing fluff. This fic broke from canon quite a while ago.
Summary: As strange as it was -- and after a lifetime in Port Charles, Maxie prided herself on being an expert in strange -- Lucky had somehow become one of the most stable influences in her life.
Despite what most people might have thought, Maxie hated summer. Oh sure, it was bikini weather and when all the cute sandals came out, and her figure looked great in those little sundresses, but summer was hot. Summer in upstate New York meant humidity, which meant flat hair and the potential for runny make-up, not to mention the humiliation of the occasional sweat drop.
"You know what, Emma?" Maxie stopped pushing the stroller and leaned over to look at her little cousin, who was perfectly happy being pushed around and not expending any energy. "I think you're going to be a lot like me. We've got the same birthday, you know."
Emma tilted her head backwards and smiled, gurgling around her stuffed elephant.
"Exactly," Maxie said, since Emma was clearly in agreement with her. "We're Scorpios. Not the family Scorpio, although I guess you are and technically I'm adopted in, but zodiac Scorpios. We're autumn babies, you and me." She reached down and tugged Emma's little sunhat back onto her head. It was never too early to think about a proper skincare regimen, even though Robin had stuck the hat on before they left because she was worried about cancer. Maxie had bigger concerns for her baby cousin: freckles. The horror.
"Seriously," she continued, pushing the stroller further into the park. "Don't get me wrong, I love summer clothes, but pastels and bright colors just don't do anything for me. I'm definitely a jewel tone kind of girl." Maxie grimaced and thought about the atrocious pale pink dress Emma had been wearing before Maxie put her foot down. "And believe me, lights don't do you any favors either. Not that you're not adorable in pretty much anything -- which you are and which I'm insanely jealous of, by the way -- but it's the principle of the matter. You and me, Emma, we're definitely made for the dramatic colors of fall and winter. I promise, I'm going to take you shopping this month to get you a great fall wardrobe. It's never too soon to start playing with textures."
"You do realize that she has no idea what you're saying, right?"
Maxie's head shot up at the voice, but she quickly relaxed. Apparently, she and Emma had wandered to the edge of a path near one of the sandboxes, and they'd found a group of Spencers for their trouble. That almost made it worth braving the September heat.
"Lucky, hi." Maxie smiled at him and pushed the stroller all the way into the alcove. Emma seemed to have the right idea and immediately started fussing with the straps holding her in. "Hang on, hang on," Maxie muttered, coming around to undo the buckles. "Geez, could Robin have bought a more complicated stroller?"
Lucky laughed and got up from his bench, casting a quick eye at Cam and Jake, who were perfectly content in the sandbox. "Here," he said, "let me give you a hand."
"My hero." Standing, Maxie stepped back and stretched for a moment as Lucky made quick work of the straps. "Okay, how'd you do that?" Seriously, that had been like one of those Chinese finger thingies.
Lifting Emma out of her stroller with the ease of a natural father, Lucky shrugged. "Between strollers, high chairs, baby carriers, and everything else, you kind of become an expert at baby gear." He set Emma down and watched her toddle over to the sandbox. "I'm assuming that's okay?"
That wasn't even worth dignifying. "Oh, please. Our family can handle sand."
Lucky laughed again. "Fair enough." He looked at her, that same mix of fondness and vague confusion he always seemed to send her way lately. "What exactly were you and Emma, um, talking about?"
Maxie shrugged her purse off her shoulder and dropped it on top of the stroller. Taking a seat on the bench and motioning for Lucky to return to his place as well, she stared ahead, watching Emma plop herself down in the sandbox and begin helping Jake with his sandcastle. Or maybe they were building a sand hotel; it was definitely boxier than castles usually were. Maxie had half a thought to sit in the sand herself and make sure Emma put in a nice pool and some cabanas, but she figured Emma was still a bit too young to fully appreciate a good beach resort.
"I was just explaining to Emma the importance of knowing one's best color palette," she said holding a hand above her eyes to block the sun for a moment. She was seriously crazy for offering to take Emma out in this heat, but Robin had needed a break, and Brenda was pretty insistent about that all-day spa retreat. Maxie was almost jealous of them -- Kate would die when she found out that Maxie's cousin was best friends with an international supermodel -- but she knew how much Robin needed a day to herself. Maxie was just glad that Robin had someone else besides her to lean on, especially now that she'd kicked Patrick out.
Knowing that the closest thing to a sister she had left was being taken care of definitely made it worth staying out in this heat. It fit perfectly into her New Life Plan.
(Maxie found that things were always more likely to be accomplished when they came with titles. It made people think they were important and pay attention.)
There was silence beside her. Maxie blinked out of her reverie and looked away from Emma, turning back to Lucky. He was staring at her, that same expression as before on his face. "What? Oh god, is my eyeliner running?"
That caused Lucky to laugh and shake his head. "I promise, you look as good as ever."
"Thanks!" Maxie beamed, then frowned. "Wait, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Because I thought we were passed all the bad stuff we've been through, and if that was just your way of saying that I always look bad--"
"Maxie!" Lucky waved his hands between them; well, he didn't need to look like she was crazy for thinking that might have been what he meant. "I swear, I just meant that you looked great, like you always do." He stopped, cast his eyes down for just a second, and then was back to normal. "How much coffee did you have today?"
Maxie couldn't tell what she had just seen there, but it wasn't worth pondering. She and Lucky were finally in a good place together, and she had no intention of screwing up anything else in her life. So she pointedly ignored the tiny flutters in her chest and moved forward. "Just my usual triple-skim-no-whip-caramel-frap."
"Do any of those words have anything to do with coffee?"
But Lucky was smiling, so she knew it was said in jest. They were finally like that now, where they could joke with each other about their idiosyncrasies without every word being shaded in their collective demons. It felt nice to be able to have a conversation as light as the sun, with nothing menacing or heavy underneath. She and Lucky were finally just...bright.
"Don't hate on my caffeine," she said, nudging his shoulder. "I know exactly how much coffee cops drink every day."
"Guilty as charged," he chuckled. "But yours probably tastes better than what we've got at the PCPD."
Maxie shuddered. She'd made the mistake of trying the sludge they had at the station once, and seriously, never again. "It is an absolute miscarriage of justice that the city doesn't give you a better coffee budget. I mean, really, you're performing a valuable public service, the least you deserve is an espresso machine."
"Yeah," Lucky replied dryly. "I'd love to see you take that up with Mayor Floyd."
"Don't think I won't." She sniffed in distaste; how that man hadn't been voted out of office yet was just one more thing Maxie would never understand about politics. "He doesn't scare me."
Lucky nodded. "I would never bet against you, Maxie."
They both smiled, holding each other's eyes for a moment, before Maxie broke away and turned back to watch the kids playing. Cam seemed to be attempting to direct Jake and Emma's construction project, which had grown to take over half of the sandbox. Maxie had never been any good with kids, but even she had to admit that the whole scene was pretty adorable.
"They look good," she said quietly, not wanting to disrupt the calm that had settled over her and Lucky. But she'd also never been any good at not talking about the things she wanted to talk about, and Lucky deserved to know that whatever else was going on in his life, he was still an amazing father to those boys. "How've they been handling everything?"
At first he didn't say anything, but she definitely felt him stiffen beside her. Maxie panicked that maybe she had said the wrong thing, had pushed into an area where they couldn't yet talk; he never liked discussing Elizabeth with her, but she genuinely cared about what happened to those kids he loved so much. As strange as it was -- and after a lifetime in Port Charles, Maxie prided herself on being an expert in strange -- Lucky had somehow become one of the most stable influences in her life, and the idea of losing that made her want to take her question back.
"I think Jake's still too young to really understand what's going on," Lucky finally said, looking straight ahead at the kids and -- very pointedly, Maxie thought -- not at her. "Elizabeth and I hadn't been living together, so I think he thinks it's normal to have a bedroom at Mommy's house and a bedroom at Daddy's house."
Maxie bit her tongue and forced herself not to say anything about Elizabeth’s choices. She reminded herself that she was here with Lucky on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, watching his kids play and be happy. Elizabeth was out of town hiding because she couldn't even deal with the consequences of her own actions. That was more than enough to make Maxie drop the subject of Elizabeth completely.
"Ugh," she said instead. "Emma's getting filthy. I can't believe I'm going to have to give her a bath, too."
Lucky was clearly glad she was moving the conversation on. "What are you doing here with her, anyway?" he asked. "Haven't you always been pretty adamant that kids aren't your scene?"
"Well, yes," she said. "But I've always made an exception for my cousin. No offense, but Emma's the cutest, sweetest baby ever. And baby girl's clothes are so much more fun to buy than boy's clothes!"
Lucky barked out a laugh and shook his head, finally looking at her again the way he had when she first walked into the park. Maxie much preferred that -- like he couldn't quite figure her out but was okay with that -- to his shadowed, shut-down expression he wore whenever she talked about Elizabeth. She liked knowing that Lucky seemed to be sticking around despite not understanding her. It felt a lot like...acceptance.
Maxie wasn't sure she'd had that unconditionally from anybody besides Mac, Robin, and Georgie. Even Spinelli had always seemed to be trying to figure her out. He may have loved her, Maxie never doubted that, but even at its best and most pure, Spinelli's love had always felt like it was coming with a price. Ultimately, it was a price she hadn't been able to pay. But she and Lucky...they'd seen the worst in each other, been down at the lowest points in their lives together, and they were both still here. Maybe together, even.
No, best not to think things like that. That way lay madness and poor life choices, and Maxie was on a strict starvation diet from those.
"We're here for an afternoon of cousinly bonding," Maxie said. "Brenda dragged Robin out for a spa day, and as much as it would have been awesome to be pampered alongside an international supermodel, Robin needed some BFF time, so I volunteered to do some baby time."
Lucky nodded, perhaps more understanding of Robin's situation than even Maxie was. "How's Robin doing with everything? Mac's been on a tear since he came back to work, and he usually only gets that bad when something is going on with you girls."
Maxie shrugged. "Patrick moved out a few weeks ago. Well, Robin threw him out. She's been spending basically every waking moment either at work, with Mac, or with Emma at home. Maybe not the greatest coping strategy, I guess." Maxie didn't really know what to say to him now; she knew Robin had known about Nikolas and Elizabeth and had said nothing. And now here she was, living out Lucky's role. "But I mean, she's Robin, you know?"
"Yeah." Lucky nodded, casting his eyes down. "She and I haven't been close, but I know how it gets when you have to throw yourself into work and your kids in order to keep going."
"Yeah." Maxie swallowed, and felt compelled to defend her cousin, even if she didn't understand why Robin had kept quiet about what Elizabeth was doing. "Listen, you know that Robin never meant to--"
"I know," Lucky cut in gently, smiling. His eyes softened as he spoke, but they were still sad. "She's always been close with Nikolas; I can understand her having loyalties there. I mean it, I do know something of what she's going through. Tell her that if she ever wants to talk to someone who's been there..."
"I'll tell her." Maxie beamed at Lucky; he was such a good person. Elizabeth had never deserved him. "You're one of the last good guys on the planet, Lucky Spencer."
He sniffed and shook his head. "Nah, just older and wiser for it...no, you know what? Let's go with your thing. I am a good guy."
They both laughed, and the kids looked over to see what had the adults in such a state.
"Daddy!" Cam called. "What's so funny?"
Lucky tried to tamp down on his amusement. "Nothing, Cam," he said. "Daddy and Maxie were just talking."
Cam frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "About what?" He asked it so suspiciously that Maxie was actually impressed. The little guy clearly took no bull from anybody and could tell when he wasn't getting the whole story. A kid after her own heart. "You're laughing. Is it something funny?"
Still chuckling, Lucky replied, "Just grown-up stuff, buddy. Go back to playing with your brother and Emma.”
"Yeah!" Jake shouted, waving his shovel at his brother. "Play more!"
"Play," Emma echoed happily, tugging on Jake's arm and swapping his shovel for the bucket she had been using.
Jake beamed at her, took the proffered trade, and hugged Emma. Emma smiled and returned the clumsy hug, but ducked her head, the same way Patrick always used to whenever Robin did her gushy praising thing at him. Not that she was likely to be doing that anymore, and anyway, it was so much cuter when Emma did it.
"Oh my gosh," Maxie whispered. "Do you see that?"
Lucky nodded, lips pressed together to hold in more laughter. "Do I need to be worried about Mac coming after me to keep my son's hands off of his great-niece?"
"Probably," Maxie giggled. "Mac always says he wants his girls with nice, law-abiding citizens, but considering that he threatened Matt with bodily harm when he saw me kiss him..."
Lucky's eyes widened. "Ah. And how is the good Dr. Hunter lately?"
Maxie shrugged. Between Matt slowing things down between them until Maxie got her emotions straight, and now the whole thing with Patrick and Lisa, they actually seemed to be spending less time together than they had before. But she wasn't going to let herself get hung up on that again. That was not part of her New Life Plan.
"He's good, I think," she said. "Patrick moved in with him for now. I don't think he's too thrilled with that, but I guess he's trying to be a good brother...sorry." Maxie winced. There she went, speaking without thinking again.
"It's okay." Lucky waved her guilt off. "But I thought you two were, you know, together?" He definitely looked more puzzled than amused right now, with just the slightest hint of disapproval. "Maxie, you're not just sleeping with him and not getting involved, are you? Some sort of weird attempt to get over Spinelli?"
"No," Maxie huffed. Really, was that what he thought of her? "I mean, yes, I flirted with Matt and kissed him to make Spinelli jealous, back when we were still together, and then I had to kiss you to make sure I actually felt something real when Matt and I kissed, and okay, sure, we slept together one timeasked." But she decided that even though he had insulted her, it wasn't really Lucky's fault that he didn't know about her recent determination to make good life choices. "But to answer your real question, no, Matt and I are not together, in any sense of the word. Right now, we're mostly just trying the 'friends' thing, and we're both stuck in the middle of the Robin-Patrick mess."
If Maxie didn't know better, she'd swear that Lucky relaxed at hearing that. But she did know better, because not knowing better was not an option. "Friends, huh?" He seemed to consider this. "I thought you said you actually might like the guy? I mean, isn't that what that whole 'grab and kiss' at the station a few months ago was about?"
She nodded. "It was. But Matt made a few observations about...let's just say my timing of developing feelings for him. And since it very rarely happens, I took him up on one of his few moments of good advice and am trying something new with my life."
"Oh? Anything you can share?"
A cloud passed in front of the sun, and Maxie blinked furiously, trying to relax her eyes after squinting in the bright light. She really should have brought sunglasses today, but who knew she'd end up sitting out in the open instead sticking to the shady paths like she'd planned? But at least she could finally look at Lucky without squinting. "I have a New Life Plan."
Lucky chuckled quietly, eyebrows slightly raised. "Why do I feel like you said that in capital letters?"
Maxie blinked again, wondering if he knew her that well, but forced herself to shrug it off. "I'm swearing off men." Lucky actually choked, and she slapped his arm, the bastard. "Funny. I just mean, I can't remember the last time I was single. I've always either been with a guy or after a guy, ever since high school. I mean, let's face it, you know better than anyone how unhealthy my emotional attachments can get." She didn't give him the chance to respond to that; they were more than passed it. "And Matt actually made a good point about why I was suddenly feeling things for him as soon as I'd broken up with Spinelli, when he's been chasing me for years without me so much as looking twice."
"Are you sure it wasn't more that you just didn't want to look?" Lucky asked. "Because I do know you, Maxie, and as much as you might say you form unhealthy attachments, I know you well enough to know that even when you're on a downward spiral, there are always real emotions involved."
She waved him off. "Maybe. But it really got me thinking, you know? And I realized that I couldn't remember a time when I was just...me. And I'm not who I used to be. Maybe being me isn't such a bad thing anymore. At least, I figure I owe it to myself to find out, right?"
Something in Lucky's eyes softened, and Maxie had to swallow against the familiar rush that always threatened to rise up around him, even after all this time. He was right; even in her darkest hours, Maxie had always lived on her emotions. "You were never bad, Maxie," he said gently. "You were just in a really bad place. I get that, now."
Maxie swallowed and looked back at the kids, because she didn't think she could bear to look at Lucky when he was looking at her like that. All these years later, and his open, honest eyes were still her biggest weakness.
"So I'm trying to focus on me," she continued, relaxing at the sight of Jake and Emma practically sitting on top of each other in the sandbox, with Cam acting as the dutiful chaperone. "And my family, and my career. Robin and Mac really need me right now, and after everything I've put them through, I figure I owe it to them to finally step up."
Lucky nodded. "And your career seems to have fallen into place, finally."
"As much as dealing with Kate Howard can ever be considered 'falling into place.'" Maxie sighed and continued watching the kids play. "Look at them," she murmured. "Were our lives ever that simple?"
"If they were, I don't remember it anymore." Lucky sounded as sad about that as she felt. It just renewed her determination to help Robin in any way that she could. Robin, who had only ever wanted a simple, stable life, filled with family and friends who were safe, and look how that had turned out. She thought about Lucky, who only seemed at peace anymore when he was with his sons. She thought about Georgie, and the life she would never get to live. Maxie owed it to all of them to get her own life in gear so she could be there for them.
Maybe they all owed it to themselves to give these children something better than any of them had ever known.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Lucky asked quietly, leaning into her so that the kids wouldn't overhear. Maxie didn't think Jake or Emma would care, especially since Emma was practically crawling into Jake's lap to work on whatever they were building now. But Cam was definitely clever, and he would probably take issue with the adults having a conversation he wasn't a part of.
She considered Lucky's question. "They're plotting to take over the world," she decided.
Lucky's eyes crinkled up with mirth. "Don't you think you're giving them too much credit?"
"Nope," she said. "Emma's a Scorpio, and don't think I don't know how crafty you can be." She pointed an accusing finger at Lucky. "And Cam's been glancing over at us for like the last ten minutes. He may be playing in the sandbox now, but he could definitely could figure out a way to take over the world."
"First, Port Charles, then the world?"
"Wouldn't be the first time a world domination plot started here."
Maxie decided then and there that Lucky needed to laugh like this more often, because it was such a great sound. Maybe that could be part of her New Life Plan. After all, she was determined to be there for the people in her life who mattered the most, and even if she didn't know much else about her own emotions right now, she knew that Lucky definitely fit into that category.
And he was giving her that look again, the one that made it very difficult not to just throw herself at him. Because that wouldn't help anybody, least of all, Maxie was certain, Lucky. It was the look that made her think that maybe she was okay as just herself. Like maybe everything they'd all been through until now would somehow be worth it in the end. They were still leaning close together, and it would be so simple to just close the gap between them like she used to...
"Daddy! Jake needs help!"
Cam's scream broke through whatever connection they were having. In an instant, Lucky had jumped to his feet, ready to run to his son's aid; Maxie was only a second behind him. If something had happened to Emma...
"Oh my God!" Maxie raised a hand to her mouth to cover her excited squeal. "Oh, my God! Lucky, do you see that?!"
Lucky nodded mutely, seemingly torn between hysterical laughter and abject horror.
There, sitting in the sandbox, surrounded by toys and a half-finished estate, were Jake and Emma, breaking apart from the most innocent kiss Maxie was certain the world had ever known.
Emma had her little arms around Jake's neck, looking for all the world the same way her mother used to when kissing her father. She plopped back down beside Jake in the sand, releasing him. Jake just stared at Emma, blushing nearly as red as his t-shirt. But he wasn't, Maxie noticed, running away.
"Oh, tell me that was not the most adorable thing you've ever seen in your life!" Maxie grabbed onto Lucky's arm, giddy with how perfect the moment was.
"Daddy!" Cam shouted again. "Make Emma 'pologize for kissing Jake without permission!"
"Mac is going to kill me," Lucky moaned. He also looked unsure as to whether his son actually needed rescuing.
"Do you think I could get Emma to kiss Jake again so I could get it on film for Robin?"
Lucky turned to gape at her. "Are you insane?"
"No!" Maxie scoffed. She wasn't insane; she was getting a sign. This was perfect! "This is a sign!"
"Oh, God." Lucky rubbed a hand over his eyes and sent Maxie an overly-bright smile. "A sign for what?"
She ignored his look; he was an unbeliever now, but that was just because she hadn't explained her absolute vision to him yet. "Think about it, Lucky. A Scorpio and a Spencer are kissing!"
"Were kissing," he hastily corrected. "Were. I really don't want Mac to have a reason to kill me. Again."
"Ugh, Lucky!" Seriously, Maxie was this close to stomping her foot in frustration. How could he be missing what was so plainly obvious to her? "Don't you get it? This is a sign from the Port Charles gods."
"The Port Charles...what?"
Maxie turned back to Lucky, and whatever he was seeing on her face caused him to take a step back. Really, was it asking for so much that people caught on to things as quickly as she did?
“Think about it,” she said, very slowly, since it was clear that the heat had gotten to Lucky’s brain. “After everything we’ve been through the last few years, after all the people who’ve come and gone so quickly it was like they were never even here.” She lowered her head just slightly, closing her eyes. “After all the people who should still be here and aren’t…” She looked up and met Lucky’s eyes again. “Doesn’t this seem like things are back to the way they were?”
He didn’t say anything, but something in his eyes shifted as she spoke. He turned back to look at the kids. Emma and Jake got out of the sandbox and toddled into the shade of a huge oak tree covering the alcove. They collapsed onto the soft grass, both looking like they were fighting to stay awake. Even Cam was rubbing at his eyes, although he was making a valiant effort to stay upright and continue shoveling sand.
Lucky walked over to the sandbox and started helping Cam pack up the toys. "Back to the way things were, huh?" He looked back at her, smiling, and Maxie had to suppress the urge to grin back like a fool.
“Exactly!” she chirped. “This is like…the next generation taking up the mantle, or something. All of the things our families have done for this town - and our families have given a lot to this town - and all of the things that this town has done to us, it’s like…”
“Coming full circle.”
“Hmm?”
Lucky put the last toy into the bag and walked over to the tree where Jake and Emma lay beside each other, both barely conscious. Jake had a tiny hand wrapped around one of Emma’s pigtails, and Lucky bent and gently pried his son’s fist open. He picked Jake up, and Maxie walked over and picked Emma up as well. The little girl didn’t even fuss, which Maxie attributed to extreme exhaustion, since her own personal experience was that if someone tried to take her away from a boy she wanted to kiss, she’d seriously lose her cool.
“It’s like what you were saying before.” He rested Jake against his hip, and slung the bag of toys over his other shoulder. Cam leaned against Lucky's side, tired but standing proudly on his own. They walked back to the bench, and Maxie settled Emma back in her stroller. Lucky gently set Jake down and waited until Cam climbed up beside him; Maxie stood aside when Lucky turned to fasten the belt like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“You were talking about how innocent the kids looked,” he continued, picking Jake up again. Cam slid off the bench and leaned back against Lucky’s leg. “And I think I get what you mean. I don’t know that I’d call it a sign, necessarily.” They both laughed softly as they walked back down the path towards the little parking area where Lucky’s car was. “But it’s like…our parent’s lives were so chaotic and insane.”
“What, you don’t think people in other cities have to deal with hidden treasures and world domination plots or major mob infestations?”
Lucky chuckled. “I doubt it.” They reached his car, and Maxie stayed on the sidewalk while he dropped the bag of toys in the front seat. Cam climbed into his car seat in the back, and Lucky leaned against the driver’s side with Jake still resting against his shoulder. “But see, they led these crazy lives, but they brought us into them. And then we had to live those lives too.”
Maxie nodded. She understood all too well paying for her parents’ choices. “We were kids,” she gently reminded him. “We didn’t have any choice but to live our parents’ lives.”
“Maybe,” he conceded, eyes closing for a moment. When he looked at her again, that familiar emotion was there, along with something else she didn’t dare analyze. “But we know what that sort of life does to a child. And we may have brought our own baggage into adulthood, but it also made us want something better for our own kids.”
“Something more than our parents ever gave us.” Maxie watched Emma’s little chest rise and fall as she breathed. She’d never considered herself a baby person before. But Maxie knew with absolute certainty that she would do anything for her little cousin, who had been one final gift from Georgie.
Georgie…
The thought of Emma having anything other than a perfect childhood and a perfect life twisted something so deep inside Maxie that she thought she might be ill. She looked back up at Lucky, fiercely determined. “I want Emma to have a better life than we did, Lucky. I don’t want her to have to deal with all the things we did.”
Lucky offered her a small, proud smile, and Maxie decided that he needed to not look at her like that if she was going to survive her New Life Plan. Especially the parts about making Lucky laugh, and not hurting the people she lov...cared about anymore; Maxie was fairly certain that the two were mutually exclusive where she and Lucky were concerned.
“And that’s what I mean,” he said. “It’s like…they led those lives, they chose those lives, and we got caught up in the wake. And it’s always been a balance, you know? Between living like our parents, because that’s all we know, and just having normal lives, because that’s all we ever wanted.”
Maxie nodded. She’d given in to her worst impulses far too often because she realized as a child that the dream of a safe, stable family and home was never going to happen. Mac had tried, God, how he had tried, but he was as much a symbol of the family Maxie craved as of the family she could never have. “So we have our parents at one end, living crazy.”
“And then there’s us, caught in the middle.” Lucky smiled softly at her. “It might be too late for us, but not for these guys.” He shifted Jake on his shoulder, and the little boy blinked, but remained still. “We can give them everything we never had. We’ve come all the way around from where our parents started, and now we have the chance to make something better.”
Jake yawned and put his head back down. “Well, if that’s not a sign of dismissal, I don’t know what is,” Maxie giggled.
“I’d better get these guys home for a nap,” Lucky replied. He gently nudged his son. “Say bye-bye to Emma, Jake.”
Jake actually managed to lift his head off of his father’s shoulder long enough to blink at Maxie and Emma. He raised a small hand and waved. “Bye, Emma.”
Emma perked up at Jake’s voice, and pulled herself up enough to wave back. “Bye-bye,” she cooed. And then she blew a loud, smacking kiss at Jake, and Maxie thought she might die on the spot.
Lucky shook his head and chuckled, then buckled Jake into his seat. Closing the door securely behind his kids, he came back to stand beside Maxie. “Okay, if we’re going to go about giving them normal lives, I have to say that I am way too young to deal with my son having his first girlfriend.” But he was smiling, so Maxie knew he found the whole thing as adorable as she did.
“I’m telling you, Scorpios and Spencers. In any generation.”
Climbing into the driver’s seat, Lucky looked back at Maxie before starting the car up. She met his eyes, and thought that maybe, just for a sunny Saturday afternoon in September, everything might actually be all right.
“You know what, Maxie?” he asked, smiling brightly. “You just might be right.”
Author: normative_jean
Fandom/Characters: General Hospital; Maxie Jones, Lucky Spencer, Cameron Webber, Jake Spencer, Emma Drake
Rating: G
Prompt: Kiss
Author’s Notes: Finally! Something for schmoop_bingo! Many thanks to empressearwig for putting up with my craziness while writing this. You always make my brain make sense, hon. I'm still not sure how I feel about this, but I'm chalking up any remaining misgivings to not being used to writing fluff. This fic broke from canon quite a while ago.
Summary: As strange as it was -- and after a lifetime in Port Charles, Maxie prided herself on being an expert in strange -- Lucky had somehow become one of the most stable influences in her life.
Despite what most people might have thought, Maxie hated summer. Oh sure, it was bikini weather and when all the cute sandals came out, and her figure looked great in those little sundresses, but summer was hot. Summer in upstate New York meant humidity, which meant flat hair and the potential for runny make-up, not to mention the humiliation of the occasional sweat drop.
"You know what, Emma?" Maxie stopped pushing the stroller and leaned over to look at her little cousin, who was perfectly happy being pushed around and not expending any energy. "I think you're going to be a lot like me. We've got the same birthday, you know."
Emma tilted her head backwards and smiled, gurgling around her stuffed elephant.
"Exactly," Maxie said, since Emma was clearly in agreement with her. "We're Scorpios. Not the family Scorpio, although I guess you are and technically I'm adopted in, but zodiac Scorpios. We're autumn babies, you and me." She reached down and tugged Emma's little sunhat back onto her head. It was never too early to think about a proper skincare regimen, even though Robin had stuck the hat on before they left because she was worried about cancer. Maxie had bigger concerns for her baby cousin: freckles. The horror.
"Seriously," she continued, pushing the stroller further into the park. "Don't get me wrong, I love summer clothes, but pastels and bright colors just don't do anything for me. I'm definitely a jewel tone kind of girl." Maxie grimaced and thought about the atrocious pale pink dress Emma had been wearing before Maxie put her foot down. "And believe me, lights don't do you any favors either. Not that you're not adorable in pretty much anything -- which you are and which I'm insanely jealous of, by the way -- but it's the principle of the matter. You and me, Emma, we're definitely made for the dramatic colors of fall and winter. I promise, I'm going to take you shopping this month to get you a great fall wardrobe. It's never too soon to start playing with textures."
"You do realize that she has no idea what you're saying, right?"
Maxie's head shot up at the voice, but she quickly relaxed. Apparently, she and Emma had wandered to the edge of a path near one of the sandboxes, and they'd found a group of Spencers for their trouble. That almost made it worth braving the September heat.
"Lucky, hi." Maxie smiled at him and pushed the stroller all the way into the alcove. Emma seemed to have the right idea and immediately started fussing with the straps holding her in. "Hang on, hang on," Maxie muttered, coming around to undo the buckles. "Geez, could Robin have bought a more complicated stroller?"
Lucky laughed and got up from his bench, casting a quick eye at Cam and Jake, who were perfectly content in the sandbox. "Here," he said, "let me give you a hand."
"My hero." Standing, Maxie stepped back and stretched for a moment as Lucky made quick work of the straps. "Okay, how'd you do that?" Seriously, that had been like one of those Chinese finger thingies.
Lifting Emma out of her stroller with the ease of a natural father, Lucky shrugged. "Between strollers, high chairs, baby carriers, and everything else, you kind of become an expert at baby gear." He set Emma down and watched her toddle over to the sandbox. "I'm assuming that's okay?"
That wasn't even worth dignifying. "Oh, please. Our family can handle sand."
Lucky laughed again. "Fair enough." He looked at her, that same mix of fondness and vague confusion he always seemed to send her way lately. "What exactly were you and Emma, um, talking about?"
Maxie shrugged her purse off her shoulder and dropped it on top of the stroller. Taking a seat on the bench and motioning for Lucky to return to his place as well, she stared ahead, watching Emma plop herself down in the sandbox and begin helping Jake with his sandcastle. Or maybe they were building a sand hotel; it was definitely boxier than castles usually were. Maxie had half a thought to sit in the sand herself and make sure Emma put in a nice pool and some cabanas, but she figured Emma was still a bit too young to fully appreciate a good beach resort.
"I was just explaining to Emma the importance of knowing one's best color palette," she said holding a hand above her eyes to block the sun for a moment. She was seriously crazy for offering to take Emma out in this heat, but Robin had needed a break, and Brenda was pretty insistent about that all-day spa retreat. Maxie was almost jealous of them -- Kate would die when she found out that Maxie's cousin was best friends with an international supermodel -- but she knew how much Robin needed a day to herself. Maxie was just glad that Robin had someone else besides her to lean on, especially now that she'd kicked Patrick out.
Knowing that the closest thing to a sister she had left was being taken care of definitely made it worth staying out in this heat. It fit perfectly into her New Life Plan.
(Maxie found that things were always more likely to be accomplished when they came with titles. It made people think they were important and pay attention.)
There was silence beside her. Maxie blinked out of her reverie and looked away from Emma, turning back to Lucky. He was staring at her, that same expression as before on his face. "What? Oh god, is my eyeliner running?"
That caused Lucky to laugh and shake his head. "I promise, you look as good as ever."
"Thanks!" Maxie beamed, then frowned. "Wait, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Because I thought we were passed all the bad stuff we've been through, and if that was just your way of saying that I always look bad--"
"Maxie!" Lucky waved his hands between them; well, he didn't need to look like she was crazy for thinking that might have been what he meant. "I swear, I just meant that you looked great, like you always do." He stopped, cast his eyes down for just a second, and then was back to normal. "How much coffee did you have today?"
Maxie couldn't tell what she had just seen there, but it wasn't worth pondering. She and Lucky were finally in a good place together, and she had no intention of screwing up anything else in her life. So she pointedly ignored the tiny flutters in her chest and moved forward. "Just my usual triple-skim-no-whip-caramel-frap."
"Do any of those words have anything to do with coffee?"
But Lucky was smiling, so she knew it was said in jest. They were finally like that now, where they could joke with each other about their idiosyncrasies without every word being shaded in their collective demons. It felt nice to be able to have a conversation as light as the sun, with nothing menacing or heavy underneath. She and Lucky were finally just...bright.
"Don't hate on my caffeine," she said, nudging his shoulder. "I know exactly how much coffee cops drink every day."
"Guilty as charged," he chuckled. "But yours probably tastes better than what we've got at the PCPD."
Maxie shuddered. She'd made the mistake of trying the sludge they had at the station once, and seriously, never again. "It is an absolute miscarriage of justice that the city doesn't give you a better coffee budget. I mean, really, you're performing a valuable public service, the least you deserve is an espresso machine."
"Yeah," Lucky replied dryly. "I'd love to see you take that up with Mayor Floyd."
"Don't think I won't." She sniffed in distaste; how that man hadn't been voted out of office yet was just one more thing Maxie would never understand about politics. "He doesn't scare me."
Lucky nodded. "I would never bet against you, Maxie."
They both smiled, holding each other's eyes for a moment, before Maxie broke away and turned back to watch the kids playing. Cam seemed to be attempting to direct Jake and Emma's construction project, which had grown to take over half of the sandbox. Maxie had never been any good with kids, but even she had to admit that the whole scene was pretty adorable.
"They look good," she said quietly, not wanting to disrupt the calm that had settled over her and Lucky. But she'd also never been any good at not talking about the things she wanted to talk about, and Lucky deserved to know that whatever else was going on in his life, he was still an amazing father to those boys. "How've they been handling everything?"
At first he didn't say anything, but she definitely felt him stiffen beside her. Maxie panicked that maybe she had said the wrong thing, had pushed into an area where they couldn't yet talk; he never liked discussing Elizabeth with her, but she genuinely cared about what happened to those kids he loved so much. As strange as it was -- and after a lifetime in Port Charles, Maxie prided herself on being an expert in strange -- Lucky had somehow become one of the most stable influences in her life, and the idea of losing that made her want to take her question back.
"I think Jake's still too young to really understand what's going on," Lucky finally said, looking straight ahead at the kids and -- very pointedly, Maxie thought -- not at her. "Elizabeth and I hadn't been living together, so I think he thinks it's normal to have a bedroom at Mommy's house and a bedroom at Daddy's house."
Maxie bit her tongue and forced herself not to say anything about Elizabeth’s choices. She reminded herself that she was here with Lucky on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, watching his kids play and be happy. Elizabeth was out of town hiding because she couldn't even deal with the consequences of her own actions. That was more than enough to make Maxie drop the subject of Elizabeth completely.
"Ugh," she said instead. "Emma's getting filthy. I can't believe I'm going to have to give her a bath, too."
Lucky was clearly glad she was moving the conversation on. "What are you doing here with her, anyway?" he asked. "Haven't you always been pretty adamant that kids aren't your scene?"
"Well, yes," she said. "But I've always made an exception for my cousin. No offense, but Emma's the cutest, sweetest baby ever. And baby girl's clothes are so much more fun to buy than boy's clothes!"
Lucky barked out a laugh and shook his head, finally looking at her again the way he had when she first walked into the park. Maxie much preferred that -- like he couldn't quite figure her out but was okay with that -- to his shadowed, shut-down expression he wore whenever she talked about Elizabeth. She liked knowing that Lucky seemed to be sticking around despite not understanding her. It felt a lot like...acceptance.
Maxie wasn't sure she'd had that unconditionally from anybody besides Mac, Robin, and Georgie. Even Spinelli had always seemed to be trying to figure her out. He may have loved her, Maxie never doubted that, but even at its best and most pure, Spinelli's love had always felt like it was coming with a price. Ultimately, it was a price she hadn't been able to pay. But she and Lucky...they'd seen the worst in each other, been down at the lowest points in their lives together, and they were both still here. Maybe together, even.
No, best not to think things like that. That way lay madness and poor life choices, and Maxie was on a strict starvation diet from those.
"We're here for an afternoon of cousinly bonding," Maxie said. "Brenda dragged Robin out for a spa day, and as much as it would have been awesome to be pampered alongside an international supermodel, Robin needed some BFF time, so I volunteered to do some baby time."
Lucky nodded, perhaps more understanding of Robin's situation than even Maxie was. "How's Robin doing with everything? Mac's been on a tear since he came back to work, and he usually only gets that bad when something is going on with you girls."
Maxie shrugged. "Patrick moved out a few weeks ago. Well, Robin threw him out. She's been spending basically every waking moment either at work, with Mac, or with Emma at home. Maybe not the greatest coping strategy, I guess." Maxie didn't really know what to say to him now; she knew Robin had known about Nikolas and Elizabeth and had said nothing. And now here she was, living out Lucky's role. "But I mean, she's Robin, you know?"
"Yeah." Lucky nodded, casting his eyes down. "She and I haven't been close, but I know how it gets when you have to throw yourself into work and your kids in order to keep going."
"Yeah." Maxie swallowed, and felt compelled to defend her cousin, even if she didn't understand why Robin had kept quiet about what Elizabeth was doing. "Listen, you know that Robin never meant to--"
"I know," Lucky cut in gently, smiling. His eyes softened as he spoke, but they were still sad. "She's always been close with Nikolas; I can understand her having loyalties there. I mean it, I do know something of what she's going through. Tell her that if she ever wants to talk to someone who's been there..."
"I'll tell her." Maxie beamed at Lucky; he was such a good person. Elizabeth had never deserved him. "You're one of the last good guys on the planet, Lucky Spencer."
He sniffed and shook his head. "Nah, just older and wiser for it...no, you know what? Let's go with your thing. I am a good guy."
They both laughed, and the kids looked over to see what had the adults in such a state.
"Daddy!" Cam called. "What's so funny?"
Lucky tried to tamp down on his amusement. "Nothing, Cam," he said. "Daddy and Maxie were just talking."
Cam frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "About what?" He asked it so suspiciously that Maxie was actually impressed. The little guy clearly took no bull from anybody and could tell when he wasn't getting the whole story. A kid after her own heart. "You're laughing. Is it something funny?"
Still chuckling, Lucky replied, "Just grown-up stuff, buddy. Go back to playing with your brother and Emma.”
"Yeah!" Jake shouted, waving his shovel at his brother. "Play more!"
"Play," Emma echoed happily, tugging on Jake's arm and swapping his shovel for the bucket she had been using.
Jake beamed at her, took the proffered trade, and hugged Emma. Emma smiled and returned the clumsy hug, but ducked her head, the same way Patrick always used to whenever Robin did her gushy praising thing at him. Not that she was likely to be doing that anymore, and anyway, it was so much cuter when Emma did it.
"Oh my gosh," Maxie whispered. "Do you see that?"
Lucky nodded, lips pressed together to hold in more laughter. "Do I need to be worried about Mac coming after me to keep my son's hands off of his great-niece?"
"Probably," Maxie giggled. "Mac always says he wants his girls with nice, law-abiding citizens, but considering that he threatened Matt with bodily harm when he saw me kiss him..."
Lucky's eyes widened. "Ah. And how is the good Dr. Hunter lately?"
Maxie shrugged. Between Matt slowing things down between them until Maxie got her emotions straight, and now the whole thing with Patrick and Lisa, they actually seemed to be spending less time together than they had before. But she wasn't going to let herself get hung up on that again. That was not part of her New Life Plan.
"He's good, I think," she said. "Patrick moved in with him for now. I don't think he's too thrilled with that, but I guess he's trying to be a good brother...sorry." Maxie winced. There she went, speaking without thinking again.
"It's okay." Lucky waved her guilt off. "But I thought you two were, you know, together?" He definitely looked more puzzled than amused right now, with just the slightest hint of disapproval. "Maxie, you're not just sleeping with him and not getting involved, are you? Some sort of weird attempt to get over Spinelli?"
"No," Maxie huffed. Really, was that what he thought of her? "I mean, yes, I flirted with Matt and kissed him to make Spinelli jealous, back when we were still together, and then I had to kiss you to make sure I actually felt something real when Matt and I kissed, and okay, sure, we slept together one timeasked." But she decided that even though he had insulted her, it wasn't really Lucky's fault that he didn't know about her recent determination to make good life choices. "But to answer your real question, no, Matt and I are not together, in any sense of the word. Right now, we're mostly just trying the 'friends' thing, and we're both stuck in the middle of the Robin-Patrick mess."
If Maxie didn't know better, she'd swear that Lucky relaxed at hearing that. But she did know better, because not knowing better was not an option. "Friends, huh?" He seemed to consider this. "I thought you said you actually might like the guy? I mean, isn't that what that whole 'grab and kiss' at the station a few months ago was about?"
She nodded. "It was. But Matt made a few observations about...let's just say my timing of developing feelings for him. And since it very rarely happens, I took him up on one of his few moments of good advice and am trying something new with my life."
"Oh? Anything you can share?"
A cloud passed in front of the sun, and Maxie blinked furiously, trying to relax her eyes after squinting in the bright light. She really should have brought sunglasses today, but who knew she'd end up sitting out in the open instead sticking to the shady paths like she'd planned? But at least she could finally look at Lucky without squinting. "I have a New Life Plan."
Lucky chuckled quietly, eyebrows slightly raised. "Why do I feel like you said that in capital letters?"
Maxie blinked again, wondering if he knew her that well, but forced herself to shrug it off. "I'm swearing off men." Lucky actually choked, and she slapped his arm, the bastard. "Funny. I just mean, I can't remember the last time I was single. I've always either been with a guy or after a guy, ever since high school. I mean, let's face it, you know better than anyone how unhealthy my emotional attachments can get." She didn't give him the chance to respond to that; they were more than passed it. "And Matt actually made a good point about why I was suddenly feeling things for him as soon as I'd broken up with Spinelli, when he's been chasing me for years without me so much as looking twice."
"Are you sure it wasn't more that you just didn't want to look?" Lucky asked. "Because I do know you, Maxie, and as much as you might say you form unhealthy attachments, I know you well enough to know that even when you're on a downward spiral, there are always real emotions involved."
She waved him off. "Maybe. But it really got me thinking, you know? And I realized that I couldn't remember a time when I was just...me. And I'm not who I used to be. Maybe being me isn't such a bad thing anymore. At least, I figure I owe it to myself to find out, right?"
Something in Lucky's eyes softened, and Maxie had to swallow against the familiar rush that always threatened to rise up around him, even after all this time. He was right; even in her darkest hours, Maxie had always lived on her emotions. "You were never bad, Maxie," he said gently. "You were just in a really bad place. I get that, now."
Maxie swallowed and looked back at the kids, because she didn't think she could bear to look at Lucky when he was looking at her like that. All these years later, and his open, honest eyes were still her biggest weakness.
"So I'm trying to focus on me," she continued, relaxing at the sight of Jake and Emma practically sitting on top of each other in the sandbox, with Cam acting as the dutiful chaperone. "And my family, and my career. Robin and Mac really need me right now, and after everything I've put them through, I figure I owe it to them to finally step up."
Lucky nodded. "And your career seems to have fallen into place, finally."
"As much as dealing with Kate Howard can ever be considered 'falling into place.'" Maxie sighed and continued watching the kids play. "Look at them," she murmured. "Were our lives ever that simple?"
"If they were, I don't remember it anymore." Lucky sounded as sad about that as she felt. It just renewed her determination to help Robin in any way that she could. Robin, who had only ever wanted a simple, stable life, filled with family and friends who were safe, and look how that had turned out. She thought about Lucky, who only seemed at peace anymore when he was with his sons. She thought about Georgie, and the life she would never get to live. Maxie owed it to all of them to get her own life in gear so she could be there for them.
Maybe they all owed it to themselves to give these children something better than any of them had ever known.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Lucky asked quietly, leaning into her so that the kids wouldn't overhear. Maxie didn't think Jake or Emma would care, especially since Emma was practically crawling into Jake's lap to work on whatever they were building now. But Cam was definitely clever, and he would probably take issue with the adults having a conversation he wasn't a part of.
She considered Lucky's question. "They're plotting to take over the world," she decided.
Lucky's eyes crinkled up with mirth. "Don't you think you're giving them too much credit?"
"Nope," she said. "Emma's a Scorpio, and don't think I don't know how crafty you can be." She pointed an accusing finger at Lucky. "And Cam's been glancing over at us for like the last ten minutes. He may be playing in the sandbox now, but he could definitely could figure out a way to take over the world."
"First, Port Charles, then the world?"
"Wouldn't be the first time a world domination plot started here."
Maxie decided then and there that Lucky needed to laugh like this more often, because it was such a great sound. Maybe that could be part of her New Life Plan. After all, she was determined to be there for the people in her life who mattered the most, and even if she didn't know much else about her own emotions right now, she knew that Lucky definitely fit into that category.
And he was giving her that look again, the one that made it very difficult not to just throw herself at him. Because that wouldn't help anybody, least of all, Maxie was certain, Lucky. It was the look that made her think that maybe she was okay as just herself. Like maybe everything they'd all been through until now would somehow be worth it in the end. They were still leaning close together, and it would be so simple to just close the gap between them like she used to...
"Daddy! Jake needs help!"
Cam's scream broke through whatever connection they were having. In an instant, Lucky had jumped to his feet, ready to run to his son's aid; Maxie was only a second behind him. If something had happened to Emma...
"Oh my God!" Maxie raised a hand to her mouth to cover her excited squeal. "Oh, my God! Lucky, do you see that?!"
Lucky nodded mutely, seemingly torn between hysterical laughter and abject horror.
There, sitting in the sandbox, surrounded by toys and a half-finished estate, were Jake and Emma, breaking apart from the most innocent kiss Maxie was certain the world had ever known.
Emma had her little arms around Jake's neck, looking for all the world the same way her mother used to when kissing her father. She plopped back down beside Jake in the sand, releasing him. Jake just stared at Emma, blushing nearly as red as his t-shirt. But he wasn't, Maxie noticed, running away.
"Oh, tell me that was not the most adorable thing you've ever seen in your life!" Maxie grabbed onto Lucky's arm, giddy with how perfect the moment was.
"Daddy!" Cam shouted again. "Make Emma 'pologize for kissing Jake without permission!"
"Mac is going to kill me," Lucky moaned. He also looked unsure as to whether his son actually needed rescuing.
"Do you think I could get Emma to kiss Jake again so I could get it on film for Robin?"
Lucky turned to gape at her. "Are you insane?"
"No!" Maxie scoffed. She wasn't insane; she was getting a sign. This was perfect! "This is a sign!"
"Oh, God." Lucky rubbed a hand over his eyes and sent Maxie an overly-bright smile. "A sign for what?"
She ignored his look; he was an unbeliever now, but that was just because she hadn't explained her absolute vision to him yet. "Think about it, Lucky. A Scorpio and a Spencer are kissing!"
"Were kissing," he hastily corrected. "Were. I really don't want Mac to have a reason to kill me. Again."
"Ugh, Lucky!" Seriously, Maxie was this close to stomping her foot in frustration. How could he be missing what was so plainly obvious to her? "Don't you get it? This is a sign from the Port Charles gods."
"The Port Charles...what?"
Maxie turned back to Lucky, and whatever he was seeing on her face caused him to take a step back. Really, was it asking for so much that people caught on to things as quickly as she did?
“Think about it,” she said, very slowly, since it was clear that the heat had gotten to Lucky’s brain. “After everything we’ve been through the last few years, after all the people who’ve come and gone so quickly it was like they were never even here.” She lowered her head just slightly, closing her eyes. “After all the people who should still be here and aren’t…” She looked up and met Lucky’s eyes again. “Doesn’t this seem like things are back to the way they were?”
He didn’t say anything, but something in his eyes shifted as she spoke. He turned back to look at the kids. Emma and Jake got out of the sandbox and toddled into the shade of a huge oak tree covering the alcove. They collapsed onto the soft grass, both looking like they were fighting to stay awake. Even Cam was rubbing at his eyes, although he was making a valiant effort to stay upright and continue shoveling sand.
Lucky walked over to the sandbox and started helping Cam pack up the toys. "Back to the way things were, huh?" He looked back at her, smiling, and Maxie had to suppress the urge to grin back like a fool.
“Exactly!” she chirped. “This is like…the next generation taking up the mantle, or something. All of the things our families have done for this town - and our families have given a lot to this town - and all of the things that this town has done to us, it’s like…”
“Coming full circle.”
“Hmm?”
Lucky put the last toy into the bag and walked over to the tree where Jake and Emma lay beside each other, both barely conscious. Jake had a tiny hand wrapped around one of Emma’s pigtails, and Lucky bent and gently pried his son’s fist open. He picked Jake up, and Maxie walked over and picked Emma up as well. The little girl didn’t even fuss, which Maxie attributed to extreme exhaustion, since her own personal experience was that if someone tried to take her away from a boy she wanted to kiss, she’d seriously lose her cool.
“It’s like what you were saying before.” He rested Jake against his hip, and slung the bag of toys over his other shoulder. Cam leaned against Lucky's side, tired but standing proudly on his own. They walked back to the bench, and Maxie settled Emma back in her stroller. Lucky gently set Jake down and waited until Cam climbed up beside him; Maxie stood aside when Lucky turned to fasten the belt like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“You were talking about how innocent the kids looked,” he continued, picking Jake up again. Cam slid off the bench and leaned back against Lucky’s leg. “And I think I get what you mean. I don’t know that I’d call it a sign, necessarily.” They both laughed softly as they walked back down the path towards the little parking area where Lucky’s car was. “But it’s like…our parent’s lives were so chaotic and insane.”
“What, you don’t think people in other cities have to deal with hidden treasures and world domination plots or major mob infestations?”
Lucky chuckled. “I doubt it.” They reached his car, and Maxie stayed on the sidewalk while he dropped the bag of toys in the front seat. Cam climbed into his car seat in the back, and Lucky leaned against the driver’s side with Jake still resting against his shoulder. “But see, they led these crazy lives, but they brought us into them. And then we had to live those lives too.”
Maxie nodded. She understood all too well paying for her parents’ choices. “We were kids,” she gently reminded him. “We didn’t have any choice but to live our parents’ lives.”
“Maybe,” he conceded, eyes closing for a moment. When he looked at her again, that familiar emotion was there, along with something else she didn’t dare analyze. “But we know what that sort of life does to a child. And we may have brought our own baggage into adulthood, but it also made us want something better for our own kids.”
“Something more than our parents ever gave us.” Maxie watched Emma’s little chest rise and fall as she breathed. She’d never considered herself a baby person before. But Maxie knew with absolute certainty that she would do anything for her little cousin, who had been one final gift from Georgie.
Georgie…
The thought of Emma having anything other than a perfect childhood and a perfect life twisted something so deep inside Maxie that she thought she might be ill. She looked back up at Lucky, fiercely determined. “I want Emma to have a better life than we did, Lucky. I don’t want her to have to deal with all the things we did.”
Lucky offered her a small, proud smile, and Maxie decided that he needed to not look at her like that if she was going to survive her New Life Plan. Especially the parts about making Lucky laugh, and not hurting the people she lov...cared about anymore; Maxie was fairly certain that the two were mutually exclusive where she and Lucky were concerned.
“And that’s what I mean,” he said. “It’s like…they led those lives, they chose those lives, and we got caught up in the wake. And it’s always been a balance, you know? Between living like our parents, because that’s all we know, and just having normal lives, because that’s all we ever wanted.”
Maxie nodded. She’d given in to her worst impulses far too often because she realized as a child that the dream of a safe, stable family and home was never going to happen. Mac had tried, God, how he had tried, but he was as much a symbol of the family Maxie craved as of the family she could never have. “So we have our parents at one end, living crazy.”
“And then there’s us, caught in the middle.” Lucky smiled softly at her. “It might be too late for us, but not for these guys.” He shifted Jake on his shoulder, and the little boy blinked, but remained still. “We can give them everything we never had. We’ve come all the way around from where our parents started, and now we have the chance to make something better.”
Jake yawned and put his head back down. “Well, if that’s not a sign of dismissal, I don’t know what is,” Maxie giggled.
“I’d better get these guys home for a nap,” Lucky replied. He gently nudged his son. “Say bye-bye to Emma, Jake.”
Jake actually managed to lift his head off of his father’s shoulder long enough to blink at Maxie and Emma. He raised a small hand and waved. “Bye, Emma.”
Emma perked up at Jake’s voice, and pulled herself up enough to wave back. “Bye-bye,” she cooed. And then she blew a loud, smacking kiss at Jake, and Maxie thought she might die on the spot.
Lucky shook his head and chuckled, then buckled Jake into his seat. Closing the door securely behind his kids, he came back to stand beside Maxie. “Okay, if we’re going to go about giving them normal lives, I have to say that I am way too young to deal with my son having his first girlfriend.” But he was smiling, so Maxie knew he found the whole thing as adorable as she did.
“I’m telling you, Scorpios and Spencers. In any generation.”
Climbing into the driver’s seat, Lucky looked back at Maxie before starting the car up. She met his eyes, and thought that maybe, just for a sunny Saturday afternoon in September, everything might actually be all right.
“You know what, Maxie?” he asked, smiling brightly. “You just might be right.”