By Any Other Name
A Sequel to Final Dawn
Jason/Maxie


2013
New York City

Jason Morgan was drunk, but not quiet as drunk as he
planned on being. He poured himself another shot of whiskey
and drank it down automatically. He didn’t care what it tasted
like- whether it was aged to perfection or the cheap version you
could pick up at the local minimart. All he cared about was how
fast and how effectively it would rob him of his ability to think
and to feel tonight.

Not fast enough.

Damn. He poured himself another shot and drank it one
swallow. He wasn’t surprised that his efforts to get drunk
weren’t working. He hadn’t really expected that they would.
Was it the eternal optimist in him that made him try?

That was almost funny. Him an optimist. After what he
had done. The people he had hurt. The crimes he had
committed. The crimes he planned to commit.

He wondered what kind of hell God had designed and
waiting for him. It couldn’t be worse than the hell he lived on
earth. Maybe this was his hell. Maybe he had died that day of
the accident that had wiped out forever Jason Quartermaine and
left in his place Jason Morgan. Maybe he was dead and no one
knew it.

It would make a strange perverted since because he had
been walking in the land of the living dead for a long time. And
maybe he didn’t deserve to be out there with the crowd, having
fun, enjoying the feeling of just being alive at Christmas.

She had loved Christmas.

Damn he wasn’t going to think of her. Not to night. If
he was lucky maybe not for at least a month or so. Or at least
for the rest of the night.

He had already finished his Christmas presents. Presents
for Michael who was spending Christmas where he belonged
with AJ in Port Charles. Presents for his parents because of a
promise he had made to his sister that he swore to keep.
Presents for Sonny.

The list of people he had not been able to buy presents
for was longer. No presents for Lila who had died almost three
years ago. No presents for Emily. He closed his eyes and
thought of his sister. God keep her safe this year. Keep them all
safe. And no presents for ....

Oh hell, he might as well say it. Not like saying it is
going to make it worse.

No presents for Robin.

Because he had killed her.

This time he poured himself a double.



At almost 24, Maxie Jones was spending her first
Christmas alone. Ever. No Georgie to wake her up, although at
18 now Georgie considered herself far to grown up for childish
games. Maxie hoped Georgie out grew this stuffy phase fast
because her little sister was rapidly growing too obnoxious to
take in more than small and limited doses.

Maxie walked down the city sidewalks of New York,
pulling her green overcoat that brought out the green highlights
in her eyes closer to her. She loved the holiday season in
general. She just hated this particular year. She had come to
New York to spend time with her father. It felt strange to call
Frisco Jones her father. In almost every way that counted she
considered Mac to be her father. She knew Georgie felt the
same way.

But Maxie had felt the need to talk with her father about
her future, to see if his viewpoint would offer some insight that
Mac’s or her mom’s had lacked. Maxie had finished her double
major in Criminal Behavior and Psychology in June. She had
spent the last six months working for Mac helping the PCPD on
a part time basis. She loved the work. But there were so many
possibilities out there for her. The FBI had tried recruiting her
as had the WSB to the surprise of her father and the horror of
her mother. Felicia wanted her to go to grad school, confident
that a few more years of academic study would negate Maxie’s
desire to follow in the footsteps of the man she loved most in
the world. Mac.

She had to make a decision soon. Most of her friends
were well established in their careers by now. Lucas was putting
his business degree to work helping Jax run his business
empire. Tommy was following in the steps of his father and
working for Mercy Corp in Africa. Everyone she knew had a
plan for their future.

Actually so did Maxie. The trick was going to be trying
to convince everyone else that she knew what she wanted to do.

So she had played a blind hunch in the hope that Frisco
could help her convince Felicia and the result was that she was
spending Christmas alone. A last minute assignment had forced
Frisco to cancel on her. She should have been expecting it.

Not the family reunion she had been hoping for by a
long shot.
She paused in front of a neighborhood bar. It reminded
her a little of the Outback. Giving into her loneliness, she
opened the door and walked in.


Jason instinctively looked up as the bell signaled that
someone else had entered the bar. Then he stopped.

God, she was beautiful. She had to be at least 5’9,
maybe taller, with long blonde hair that flowed down her back
and a face that could have stared at him from the cover of a
glamour magazine. Even bundled up in the overcoat, he knew
that he was looking at one of the sexiest women he had seen in
a long time.

And the first that had caught his attention in years. Not
that he intended to let her know that she had his attention.
There was no room in his life for even the hint of another
relationship. Besides he was too destructive. He had broken one
heart- Robins. One was enough for a life time.

He swirled his whiskey as he watched her hang up her
overcoat and reveal a black tailored outfit that emphasized her
long legs and fair skin. His second look confirmed his first
instinct she was beautiful.

And young. He judged her to be somewhere between
her early and mid twenties, at least a decade younger than
himself. She had the look of innocencence and faith that only
the young can hold. What was she doing alone on Christmas
Eve? Meeting a boyfriend or a lover? He hoped the jerk knew
how lucky he was.



Maxie thoughtfully swirled her drink. With a sigh, she
lifted the glass. “Merry Christmas BJ, she whispered silently
before she took the drink.

BJ. Maxie smiled sadly, unaware that the wistfulness of
her smile served to punctuate her beauty and underscore her
resemblance to her mother. After all these years, she still missed
BJ. Still thought of her often. Still woke up each day saying a
silent prayer of thanks to her childhood friend and lost cousin.
BJ’s heart beat in her. Keeping her alive. Keeping her strong.
The two girls had been inseparable as children. In a strange way
they were even more inseparable as adults.

What would BJ have been like as an adult? Maxie
grinned. BJ would probably have lived a life of daring and fun.
By now she would have climbed a mountain, skydived from an
airplane, and kayaked down the wildest rivers she could find. BJ
had always been the leader, Maxie the follower.

What had Maxie done with BJ’s heart? Gone to school.
Studied. Spent summers at the beach. Evenings scribbling in her
journal about places she wanted to visit, people she wanted to
meet. She smiled ruefully. BJ wouldn’t have just written about
it. BJ would have done it. BJ would have lived her life. Maxie-
Maxie couldn’t even go into the career she wanted unless she
had the approval of all of the adults in her life.

Face it Maxie, she took a long sip of her drink, you’ve
grown into a wimp. Even your love life is non-existent. A virgin
at 24. How many people held onto their virginity for so long. Of
course some of it wasn’t her fault. Having a stepfather who was
also the police commissioner didn’t exactly lead to guys beating
a path to her door. And there was no way she was going to
engage in casual sex. None at all. Not when she had a living
example in her own family of what could happen when you did
that. Poor Robin. Maxie closed her eyes. Maybe that was the
other reason she was so eager to try to arrange this Christmas
holiday with her absentee father. Ever since Robin died,
Christmases at the Scorpio household were always tinged with
sadness, no matter how hard everyone tried otherwise for the
boys. Mac especially took it really hard.

“So, what’s a beautiful lady like you doing in a dive like
this?”

Great Maxie thought with an inner scowl, not only do I
get picked up by a drunk on Christmas Eve but I get the
unoriginal one as well. Just how stale was that line, anyway?
She decided to ignore him. Or at least try to.

The middle aged guy moved closer to her. “What’s the
matter? Cat got your tongue? Don’t you even want to say hi?”

Maxie looked up directly. Yeah his face matched his
personality. Ugly. She looked down again.

“Come on,” The men cajoled drunkenly. “The least you
can do on Christmas Eve is give us a smile...”

“I believe the lady would like to be left alone,” The
strong voice came from behind Maxie. “Why don’t you go
home to your wife and kids?”

“Why don’t you mind your own business,” the drunk
blustered.

“Hey pal,” this from the bartender who was watching
closely. “that man practically owns this state. Why don’t you
take his advice and head home? While you can still walk.”

The drunk takes one more look at Jason’s muscular
frame and slouches towards the front door.

Maxie looked up in disbelief. Jason? Jason Morgan?
Robin’s Jason? Mac’s Jason? She looked up, about to tell him
who she was, when their eyes connected and for the first in her
adult life, Maxie felt a thrill of electricity go through her.

Oh my god, I’m attracted to Jason Morgan. He smiled
at her and she had to swallow the lump in her throat and fight
the blush that she knew stained her face.

He didn’t recognize her. How long had it been since she
had seen him? Robin’s funeral maybe. Tell him who you are
Maxie, she commanded himself. Tell him that he used to babysit
you. Tell him that you’re Robin’s cousin. Mac Scorpio’s
daughter. Tell him.

She remained silent.

Jason smiled. He recognized the glint of interest in her
eyes. For the first time since Robin died, he knew that look was
reflected in his own eyes.

“I’m sorry about that ugliness. Are you visiting New
York for the holidays?”

“I...” Maxie swallowed again. “I was suppose to spend
the holiday here with my father but he got called out of town on
business.”

Jason’s smile is sympathetic. “No one should be alone
on Christmas.”

“You are,” Maxie blurted out and then almost groaned.

She was direct. Shy but assertive also. He liked that
Jason thought to himself. “Then maybe we can be company for
each other.” He held out his hand. “My name is Jason Morgan.”

Tell him now Maxie. You can laugh about it and maybe
have a drink before you go separate ways.

She looked into his eyes and realized that she didn’t
want to go her separate way.

“I’m Maria.” She smiled at him. “Maria Smith. It’s a
pleasure to meet you Mr. Morgan.”

Oh God what had she done.

“It’s Jason.” He smiled. “Would you like to join me for
dinner this evening?”


“Maria,” she insisted. “And I’d love to.”

Her last thought as she looked into those blue eyes was
that not even BJ would have been idiotic enough to try to pull
a stunt like this.



Five hours, later Maxie is waiting while Jason opens the
door to his hotel room. She feels like she is walking in a dream
and just waiting for someone to wake her up. They had enjoyed
a long leisurely dinner at Tavern on The Green. Maxie had no
idea how Jason could manage to get reservations on Christmas
Eve and after a moment’s consideration decided that she wasn’t
going to think about it. But what had made the dinner special
hadn’t been the restaurant or the food or any of the other
details. It had been her companion. Jason. She smiled as she
leaned against the wall of the hotel hallway. She had never had
a guy, any guy, really listen to her like Jason had. She had found
herself tell him, in a roundabout way that concealed her identity,
what she was feeling and thinking about a thousand different
subjects. And although he spoke very little, she had the
strangest feeling that he understand exactly what she was
talking about. As if he was the only one who would ever
understand what she was talking about. Her feelings were
running ragged and she was having a hard time controlling him.
She had found herself reaching out throughout the evening to
touch him in seemingly casual caresses that set her heart
beating.

She looked at Jason’s broad shoulders as he punched in the
entrance code. She wanted him to make love to her she realized
in wonder. Even worse, she wanted so much to make love to
him. God or Robin or BJ or whoever is listening, she finds
herself thinking silently, if this is wrong send me a sign of some
kind...earthquake, flood, fire, bolt of lightening, just about
anything and I swear I’ll stop and go right back to being safe
and predictable Maxie.

She waited one moment. Nothing. She smiled.

“You look happy,” Jason smiled at the expression on
her face.

“I feel happy,” Maxie laughed and let him lead her into
the hotel room. “I feel like Cinderella at the ball.” She saw the
blank look on his face. “Never mind.” She looked up at him,
making no attempt to be cool or casual about how she was
feeling. “I’m just happy.”

“I’m glad,” he whispered as he pulled her close. “I like
to see your smile. It lights up your face.”

“What about you?” she said softly. “Are you happy?”

Jason expelled a deep breath. “I’d forgotten what it felt
like to feel like to feel like this.”

“I’m glad,” she echoes his earlier words. She hears the
stereo system softly playing in the background. “Do you want
to dance?” They are so close that their breath mingles. The feel
of him so close is driving her crazy.


Jason pulls her slender form into his arms and cradles
her there. She fits like she belongs. Holding her, he feels this
incredible sense of peace wash over him. He hasn’t felt like this
since....since Robin. He had thought his heart was dead. Instead
it had proven to simply be dormant, because it was definitely
alive at the moment.

Without conscious thought, he lifts her head up and
leans in to kiss her, his lips gently tugging at hers until she
opens her mouth. After a second of complete shock, she returns
his kiss with an intensity that surprises both of them. In a
moment, he has pulled her with a desperate hunger into his arms
as he pulls her down onto the bed on top of him.

“I’ve never done this before,” she whispers hesitantly.

“I want you. God I want you,” he gently nibbles on her
ear. “But won’t force you. Whatever you want, I’ll do.” Maxie
doesn’t hesitate. It’s not in her nature to play games. Especially
when want she wants is in her arms.

“Make love to me Jason Morgan,” her voice is low and
innocently provocative.

“I swear you won’t regret this,” he promises her
fervently and for the first time since in too many years to count,
Jason spends the night making passionate love to a beautiful
woman.

Somewhere near daybreak, they fall into an exhausted
sleep still tangled naked in each other’s arms.


It is well after noon when Maxie opens her eyes. Jason
is awake and watching her, a satisfied glint in his blue eyes, eyes
that darken when she returns his look.

“Hey beautiful,” he whispers softly. “How are you
feeling? Was I too rough I’ve never..”

“Shhh,” She cuts him off. “You were perfect. We were
perfect. In my wildest imaginations I’ve never imagined that it
would feel that good.”

“Good,” Jason heart is hammering rapidly in his chest.
He wants to stretch out this moment and make it last. “What do
you want to do today?” He traces a path down her arms and to
her breast where he gently begins swirl a thumb around a
nipple. Her breath catches. “We can do whatever your heart
wants to do...a movie..sightseeing..a carriage ride in the park...”

“Can we make love again?” Maxie whispers .

“God I was hoping you would choose that option,”
Jason acknowledges fervently as he covers her body with his
again.

The next time she wakes up it is almost three in the
afternoon.

“This is not good,” she whispers softly.

“What isn’t good?” Jason questions lazily playing with
her hair.

“Staying in bed like this all day. I can’t remember ever
being this lazy before.”

“I hope you are enjoying it because I was kind of hoping
we could repeat the experience often.”

Maxie closes her eyes. Now tell him. He’ll be angry but
he’ll understand. Maybe he’ll even want to see you again. Okay,
Mac will freak and you’re plans to go into law enforcement
might run into a snag if you sleep with a mob boss but.....What
was she saying? Did she honestly hope for a future with Jason
Morgan?

Yeah, she whispered in the deepest part of her heart.
She did.
“How about I take you sightseeing?” Jason suggested
punctuating each word with a kiss. “Rockefeller Center, Central
Park, all the Christmas things people do?

“That sounds lovely,” her whisper made him want her
again.”Let me take a shower first...” She began and then
stopped. “Damn.”

“What’s wrong?” He whispered in sudden concern.

“I have to leave.”

Why did his heart plummet at the thought. “Why? What
did I do wrong?”

She looked at him, startled, then laughed gently.
“Nothing. If you did anything more right I would have passed
out. But my clothes are at my hotel. Maybe I can meet you later
after I shower and change.”

“I was growing to like you naked,” Jason whispered and
watched her blush with a smile. “Take your shower. There’s a
robe in the bathroom. Tell me your hotel and I’ll have them
send your stuff over and you can spend the rest of your visit
here. If you want.”

Her eyes grew wide. “I want.”

“Me too.”

15 minutes later, Maxie is luxuriating in the strong pulsating
and hot water. She and Jason were lovers. Were in all
likelihood going to remain lovers. As long as he never found
out who she was, the possibilities were endless.

She would tell him someday. In a while. When her
feelings had grown less intense Maybe when she was 50. In her
mind, she was already making up a story that would hide their
relationship from everyone in Port Charles. Especially for Mac.
At least for now.

She rinsed her long golden hair. Everything would be fin
as long as Jason never discovered...

She stopped and shut off the shower with a sickening
feel to her stomach. The hotel. When he called for her
belongings they would tell him that there was no one there
under the name of ....She dried quickly and grabbed the robe
that was hanging on the hook. She walked quickly into the
bedroom and stopped.

Jason sat on the bed. The look in his eyes was cold and
distant. So at odds with the molten fire of a few minutes ago. In
his hand he held her wallet. Flipped open to her driver’s license.

She took a step backward from the cold disinterest in
his eyes.

“You know,” she whispered.

“They hadn’t heard of Maria Smith. But they recognized
the name Maxie Jones. Or is it Maxie Jones-Scorpio.”

“It’s just Jones. Mac wanted to adopt us, but my father
wouldn’t let him.” Maxie curses herself for rambling. She can
feel her legs begin to shake.”I was going to tell you.”

“When? After we made love again. After you had
enough dirt on me to go running back to your stepfather. God, I
knew Mac hated me but I never thought he would lower himself
enough to send a kid after me.”

“No!,” Maxie protested loudly. “What happened
between us, our making love, it had nothing to do with my
stepfather or your business or anything else. I wanted to make
love to you. It wasn’t part of a plan. It just happened.”

“Don’t call it that,” Jason snapped. “What happened
between us had nothing to do with love. It was sex. Just sex.”
Jason forces the words out even as he recognizes them for the
lie they are.

Maxie looks like he struck her. She lets the words hang
in the air a minute, waiting for him to take the words back. To
tell her that her name isn’t as important as what they discovered
together last night. How could her name destroy her world?
How can the man who took her virginity with such gentleness
last night be saying these things. When had the world turned
upside down and inside out? She felt like she was standing on
the edge of an abyss about to fall in.

“It wasn’t even very good sex,” Jason drawled,
hammering the last nail into the coffin. It would be so much
easier on both of them if she hated him.

She slaps him, hard across the face. He grabs her wrists
angrily. “I could kill you for that.” He whispers.

“That’s not your style,” She says the words with a bitter
and hard edge. “Aren’t you more likely to hire someone to do
your dirty work?” At this point she will say or do anything to
hurt him back.

He refuses to look at her.

“Ten minutes.” His voice is cold. “You have ten minutes
to get dressed and get the hell out of my hotel room. Before I
call the cops and have you arrested for trespassing.”

He walks out of the hotel room without looking at her
again.

She bites her lip and holds back the urge to go after him.
To try to explain. To beg him to tell her that it was just the
shock of finding out who she was. To beg him to hold her
again. To beg him to make her feel like that again.

She knows with a sad certainty that no one will ever
make her feel like that again. Ever.

Determined not to cry, she slowly picks up her clothing
where they scattered it across the floor the night before and
changes. Her eyes in the mirror look infinitely older. Holding
her head high, she manages to make it down the hallway, into
the elevator, though the lobby, and into a taxi before she breaks
down and starts crying.

“I’m sorry BJ,” she whispers to herself in a muffled
voice. “the heart you gave me just broke and I don’t think it will
ever be okay again.”


Jason doesn’t return to the hotel room for an hour. He
wants to take no chances on seeing Maxie again.

He finds it incomprehensible that he slept with Maxie
Jones. And enjoyed it. And wants very much to do it again. He
sits down heavily on the bed.

It has to be a cruel joke. After all these years he finally
found someone that made him feel alive again and it was
someone he could never have. It was like God had finally gotten
around to punishing him for taking Robin’s life. He thought he
had punished himself enough.


Maxie Jones. She was too young. She was Mac’s
daughter. She was Robin’s cousin. And it was all he could do to
stop himself from running after her and telling her that it didn’t
matter. That who she was didn’t matter as much as what they
had discovered together.

But he couldn’t. Because it did. The last thing he had
promised Robin was that he would look after her family. That
he would protect them from harm. That meant Maxie too. And
Jason knew he would harm her. He wouldn’t mean to, but he
would. That loving him would destroy her. Like it had
destroyed Robin.

He couldn’t do that to Maxie. He took a deep breath
and let it out on a shudder. He hoped she hated him. It would
be easier for her to get over him if he had managed to destroy
any feelings she might have for him. As for him, he would soon
see what happened in this hotel room for what it was- a pleasant
but meaningless experience.

At least that’s what he would keep telling himself until
someday he actually believed it.