Lu Lu reached for Jason’s arm.

Patrick paused for a moment. “I won’t lie to you. He’s in bad shape, the worst of it being the trauma to his head. I’m also concerned about how much blood he’s lost. The lack of oxygen to his brain could cause permanent damage if we can’t replace it ASAP. We’re trying, but his blood type is uncommon and his body appears to be rejecting the reserves we’re giving him.” Patrick ran his hand through his hair. “It’s a long shot, but do any of you happen to have B negative blood?”

Jason and Lu Lu shook their heads sadly.

“I do,” Claudia said, a look of shock on her face.

Patrick breathed a sigh of relief. “Care to be a hero today, Miss Zacchara?”

She glanced at Jason for a moment before silently following Patrick down the hall.

Jason stared after them in disbelief.

/>“That was weird,” Lu Lu commented. “It’s pretty much her fault Spinelli’s in here, but she might be the one to save his life?”

“Yeah… weird” Jason agreed.

---

Sam watched as a trauma team worked on Maxie. In a matter of seconds the girl had gone from feeling dizzy into full blown cardiac arrest.

“Sam, please wait outside,” Elizabeth said as she rushed into the cubicle with a crash cart.

Sam put a shaky hand to her forehead.

“Sam?” Lucky rushed to her side. “What are you doing here? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s Maxie. What about you?”

“I heard about Spinelli’s accident and came to question Lu Lu. Was Maxie involved, too?”

“No,” Sam breathed. “Heart attack.” She heard the doctor shout “Clear!” She peeked through the curtain. Maxie was given a jolt to her system and her heart monitor beeped a steady rhythm. Sam let out the breath she’d been holding. She stepped back as the nurses wheeled Maxie’s bed through the curtains and down the hall.

Elizabeth walked out and nodded to Lucky and Sam. “She’s being taken to a private room. I think she’ll be okay, though. Once she’s situated I’ll come find you.”

“Thanks, Elizabeth.” Sam watched her leave and leaned into Lucky for support.

“Hey, you heard her. Maxie will be fine.” He rubbed her arms gently.

“Until she wakes up and remembers why she came to the hospital in the first place. Why does this stuff keep happening to her? She had just found love again.”

“Really? With who?”

“Spinelli.”

“Excuse me?” Lucky looked at her like she was crazy.

Sam wiped away a tear and chuckled. “Yeah, believe it or not, those two have been inseparable since Georgie died. I guess they were brought together by grief, but became close friends. Spinelli has actually been in love with Maxie for months, but today he finally got the nerve to ask her out. And just last night Maxie came by all worried about her feelings for Spinelli, afraid that she would mess things up if she took a chance on love. She doesn’t have the best track record, ya know?”

“Yeah, I do… better than anybody. I just have a hard time believing she has feelings for Spinelli, of all people.” He shook his head.

“Why?” She looked up at him. “Spinelli’s a great guy!”

“I’ll take your word on that one. How’s he doing anyway?”

“I don’t know anything yet, other than he’s in surgery.”

Just then Lu Lu walked up. “Lucky,” she whimpered. Her big brother pulled her into a hug.

“Did you hear something?” Sam asked nervously.

Lu Lu nodded and sniffled. “He’s out of surgery, but he’s not doing well.”

“How bad is it?”

“Dr. Drake said there was a lot of trauma to his head and he lost too much blood and he’s reacting badly to the blood they gave him.”

“Oh, no. Isn’t there anything they can do?”

“You’re not gonna believe this. Claudia turned out to be a match for Spinelli’s rare blood type! She’s with Patrick right now.”

“That’s irony for you,” Sam sneered.

“What did I miss?” Lucky asked.

“You missed all the drama… the reason Maxie had a heart attack—“

“She had a heart attack?” Lu Lu asked. “Is she okay?”

“They got it under control. We’re waiting to find out her room number.”

“This is so awful. First Spinelli and now Maxie.”

“I didn’t know you and Maxie were friends,” Lucky said.

“Well, we’re not. Not really, but we have come to an understanding… sort of. Well, once I figured out what really happened with her and Johnny--”

“Is this the thing I missed earlier?” Lucky asked.

As if on cue, Johnny walked in and Lu Lu rushed into his arms. They walked off together, leaving Lucky and Sam alone. Lucky looked down at Sam, waiting for an explanation.

“Okay, from what I could glean from their conversation, apparently Claudia Zacchara coerced Maxie into seducing Johnny—or at least making it look like she seduced him—and Lu Lu was supposed to walk in on them. Unfortunately Spinelli showed up instead. He ran out before Maxie could explain.”

“Aw, man. Poor kid.”

“And now Maxie blames herself for what happened to him. She actually let Lu Lu hit her without even trying to tell her what happened. It was like she wanted to be punished or something. Later she got into a screaming match with Claudia. That’s when she collapsed.” Sam rubbed her hands over her face. “I am really worried about her. She honestly believes that she’s jinxed when it comes to love.”

“Can you blame her? I mean first Jesse, then Coop, and now Spinelli?”

“Hey, he’s not dead! We need to stay positive. And I need to make sure Maxie gets some therapy before she completely loses it.”

Lucky took out his phone. “I better call Mac and let him know what’s going on with his daughter.”

Sam nodded. “Oh my god, I forgot about Spinelli’s grandmother! I’m gonna go get the number from Jason.”

Jason sat in the waiting area just staring at the wall. He had seen Elizabeth earlier talking to Sam and Lucky, so he stayed where he was.

“Jason?”

He glanced up at Sam. “Hey, how are you? I’m sorry I didn’t ask before.”

“It’s okay. We were all worried about Spinelli. Speaking of which, did you happen to call his grandmother?”

Jason shook his head.

“I didn’t think so. I’ll call her if you like. Do you have her number?”

Jason scanned through his cell phone address book and found “Spin’s Granny”. He passed the phone to Sam. “Thanks. I don’t think she likes me very much.”

Sam chuckled. “Okay.” She dialed the number.

“Yes? What do ya want?” a gruff voice answered.

“Um, hi. Is this Mrs. Spinelli? Damian’s grandmother?”

“Yes. Who is this? Is Damian in some sort of trouble again? Because I am not responsible for that boy’s actions! I swear he has a habit of always being in the wrong place at the wrong--”

“Ma’am, I’m sorry,” Sam interrupted. “Damian’s in the hospital.” There was silence on the other end, so she continued. “He was hit by a car. I thought you might want to be here.”

“He… he’s gonna be okay, though. Right? He always bounces back. Every time, he does…” Her voice trailed off.

“He’s not doing so well, but if anybody can make it through this it’s him.” Sam paused. “Listen, I can help you with travel arrangements if you like or--”

“Thank you, but I can get there on my own. Port Charles, isn’t it?”

“Yes, ma’am. He’s at General Hospital.”

“Thank you, miss—“

“McCall. Samantha McCall. You can call me Sam.”

“Oh, you’re the goddess!”

Sam smirked. “Well, um, Damian used to call me that.”

“He still does. Thank you for being such a good friend to my boy, Sam. You tell Damian his granny is on the way. And I’m bringing him orange soda and barbeque chips. Make sure you tell him that last part, okay?”

“I sure will. I’ll see you when you get here.” She handed the phone back to Jason.

“She’s coming?” he asked.

“Yup. You didn’t think she would?”

“I don’t know. She wasn’t very motherly… or grandmotherly when I met her. It was as if Spinelli was some great burden to her or something.”

“Really? What makes you say that?”

“She yelled at him almost the entire time we were there, treating him like a little kid. She even grabbed him by the ear!”

Sam looked shocked. “I guess that explains some of his behavior. He can be very childlike at times. She did sound worried on the phone just now, so she must care about him.”

“I guess. I just hope her visit doesn’t cause more harm than good.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

-

Claudia lay on the hospital bed and watched her blood drip into the plastic bag. A tear trickled out the corner of her eye.

Leyla walked in. “Are you okay, Miss Zacchara? Are you in pain?”

“Not the physical kind,” she chuckled.

“Spinelli is very lucky you were here. His body is already responding to the new blood.”

“Yeah, it’s a freakin’ miracle,” Claudia murmured.

Leyla furrowed her brow and tended to Claudia’s arm. “We have enough for the moment. Are you willing to donate more should the need arise?”

“Absolutely. It’s the least I can do for the kid.”

“Spinelli is a very special person.” Leyla smiled.

“Yes, he is.” Claudia smiled back. “I’m glad he has a friend here.”

“Not just me. Everyone on the team is praying for him.”

“Can I see him?”

Leyla paused. “Maybe I can sneak you in for a minute, but he really shouldn’t be having visitors right now.”

“Thanks,” Claudia said sincerely.

Leyla helped Claudia into a wheelchair and took her to Spinelli’s room in ICU. They paused in the doorway. Spinelli had tubes sticking out of his mouth and a bandage wrapped around his head. There were all sorts of wires connecting his body to machines that blinked and beeped. He looked so small, buried under a sea of modern medical technology.

“I’m really sorry,” Claudia sobbed. She turned away. “Please get me out of here.”