“My doctor said that the second ones usually come pretty quick.”

“She’s beautiful, Maria,” Max sighed, gazing down at the blond haired baby thinking of his own son whom he’d never seen, never held.

Maria took one look at his face and knew exactly what he was thinking. “God, Max, I’m sorry. I’m such an insensitive clod, I never thought-,”

“Shh,” Max told her quietly, “Two words I would never use to describe you, Maria: insensitive and clod. Besides, this was marvelous, letting me be apart of Adrienne’s birth was one of the most giving things that you’ve ever done for me. It means a great deal.”

Maria laid her hand against his cheek. “It means a lot that you were here for me, too, boss.” Max smiled at her; warmed and embarrassed by the joy her simple touch gave him.

Maria’s nurse a few seconds interrupted their tender moment later. “Ms. DeLuca,” she said, “I didn’t know if you were aware of this but there is a mob of reporters camped outside for you.”

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Maria grabbed Max’s wrist and flipped it so she could read the time on his watch. “You mean I’ve been here a whole four hours and they just arrived,” Maria cried sarcastically, “My God, they’re slipping!”

The nurse gave her an odd look. Max offered her an embarrassed smile and shrugged. “She’s a little high-strung,” he offered as excuse.

Maria slapped his arm. “I am not high-strung!” she protested sharply, “I am merely vivacious and extremely animated.” She flashed Max a smile that destroyed any impression that she was truly upset with him.

The nurse laughed at their antics. “So how long have you two been married?”

Her question stilled them both. “Who? Us?” Maria exclaimed stiltedly, “No! This is my bud, my pal, my ace!”

“We’re just friends,” Max confirmed with an amused smile.

“Ooooh,” the nurse said, clearly not buying their story but willing to let the matter drop, “Well, you have family waiting to see you downstairs. Once we move you to a private room then you can visit.”

After she left Maria gave Max a horrified look. “’Are we married?’ What the hell kind of question is that? I mean, we don’t even act married. Do we?”

Max was never given the opportunity to answer her question. The nurse invaded the room again, this time accompanied by others. It was time to move Maria to her private room.

*******************************

“Adrienne Maxine…hmm. Well, we certainly know how you came up with that name,” Alex teased Maria as she cooed softly to her daughter.

Maria only lifted her head long enough to poke her tongue out at him and then went back to staring at her kid. They were alone in the room since Max and Isabel had decided to go down to the gift shop to buy a present for the baby. Alex saw their seclusion as the perfect moment for him to bring up some things that had been troubling him lately. Namely Maria’s ever-blossoming relationship with Max.

“Are you sleeping with him,” Alex asked her suddenly.

His question didn’t surprise Maria; in fact, she’d been expecting it. “Alex, I know I’m sex goddess and all, but I’ve been the Goodyear blimp for the last three months. Even I’m not that good.”

“But you admit you’re close?” Alex observed.

“Yeah. He’s my kids’ godfather so how can we not be?”

“Oh, come on, Maria!” Alex exclaimed in exasperation, “Don’t try to convince me that you don’t have feelings for Max.”

“Fine. I won’t.”

Alex glared at her in disappointment and anger. “Don’t you realize what you’re doing could destroy Liz?”

“I’m not doing anything besides being a good friend to Max,” Maria replied fiercely, “Besides that Liz can’t see past her own hurt to recognize anyone else’s!”

“And so that’s your excuse?”

“What?”

“For trying to steal her husband.”

Maria jerked her head towards Alex, her face reflecting open shock and hurt at his comment. “That was so not a nice thing to say to me, Alex.”

She was right and Alex knew it. He immediately apologized. She was still angry but she didn’t rebuff him when he settled beside her on the hospital bed. “Maria,” he began softly, “I know you. You’re getting too close and when you get too close your heart gets involved. You can’t be with Max. It would destroy everything.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” she whispered sadly, “But I care about Max, Alex. I love him.”

“We all do, Maria. But he’s for Liz.”

“And what if Liz isn’t for him?”

Alex gave her a sympathetic look. “Maria, you know better than that.”

Maria did know better than that. She’d asked herself over a hundred times just what she was doing with Max. Even if she didn’t admit it aloud Maria knew that there was a lot more to her and Max’s relationship than just friendship. However, to Maria’s credit she was doing her best to keep a cool head. It wasn’t as if she were making a blatant play for Max or anything. He was her best friend’s husband for crying out loud! No, Maria had no intention of taking her relationship with Max any further.

“Alex, trust me, I’m not going to let anything happen between Max and me.”

“Did you mean for something to happen between us?” Alex asked, chewing thoughtfully on his bottom lip.

“Alex! I was freaking seventeen years old! I didn’t know shit. All I knew is that I was hurt and I just wanted it to stop.”

“And that’s not the case now?”

“No!” Maria protested vehemently.

“Hey, knock, knock,” Max quipped as he and Isabel crept into the hospital room. They looked back and forth between Alex and Maria’s irate expressions in confusion. “Did we miss something?”

“Yeah, did you guys have a fight?” Isabel asked.

“No,” Maria denied with an overbright smile, “we just happen to be disagreeing….very loudly.”

“Oh, well, the nurse is on her way here to take Adrienne back to the nursery,” Max said.

“Yeah, and we should get going, Alex,” Isabel added, “We need to get back to the kids.” To Maria she said, “That nanny of yours: I wouldn’t trust her with a rubber duck. You need to fire her ass. Soon.”

“Alrighty then,” Maria laughed.

As Isabel and Alex exited Alex turned back to Maria and said, “Remember what we talked about.” And then he and Isabel were gone. After that the nurses quickly followed and in fluid motion checked Maria’s vital signs then whisked the baby off to the nursery. Max looked curiously from the door to Maria then back to the door again. “So what exactly did the two of you talk about?”

“You,” Maria replied honestly.

“Let me guess,” Max sighed, dragging his hands down his face in exhaustion, “he wanted to know if anything was going on between the two of us.”

“How did you know?”

“Because Isabel jumped me with the same question earlier this afternoon.”

“And what did you tell her?”

Max gave her an odd look. “I told her truth…..we’re friends, that’s all.”

“Is that all we are, Max?”

“Of-Of course,” Max stammered. He looked at Maria like she’d grown a second head.

Maria looked at him, her expression soft and sympathetic. “Well, I’ve got to admit to you, Max, I haven’t been feeling all that friendly towards you. And I think that you feel the same….and if that’s true, we really need to talk.”

At first Max looked as if he might brush the subject off completely, but for some unexplainable reason he found himself unable to do so. Folding his arms across his chest Max began to pace the room. “So what do you want to do about it?” he asked Maria in agitation.

“Nothing. I don’t want to do anything, okay.”

Max’s expression was one mixed with disbelief and relief. “So what? We just pretend like we don’t have the feelings?”

“We’ve done pretty well so far,” Maria pointed out matter-of-factly.

“So great! It’s agreed. We’re just friends.”