[author's note: after having set most of the stories in motion, I remembered a significant detail which could cause problems – Lorenzo and Maddie are first cousins. So I have decided to revise history, and pretend that Alex Devane is really Maddie's mother - not Maria Santos - and that Maddie was raised by her mother and her uncle Dimitri in Europe.]

Chapter 4

Pine Valley Hospital

Jet walked into the waiting room at the hospital and saw his mother, Skye sitting alone. He sat down beside her. "Is Aunt Hayley in with Lorenzo?" She nodded. "He is doing much better. The doctors say he will probably be able to leave tomorrow." Jet smiled in relief. "Where's dad?" Skye closed the magazine she was reading. "There's a crisis with one of the companies he's trying to buy. He went to deal with it. I'm a little disappointed because Adam gave us tickets to go see Colby perform in the ballet tonight. I don't want to go by myself." Jet looked thoughtful. "I'll go with you, if you like. I've never seen Colby perform." Skye's face brightened. "Oh that's wonderful! Thank you so much. I know you'll enjoy it. Ballet is not unlike martial arts when it comes to gracefulness and discipline of the body." Jet smiled in amusement. "I never thought about it before, but I suppose you are right."

Tempo Magazine

Sam sat at his desk, reviewing the advertising layout for the next issue. There was a timid knock at the door. "Come in!" A young woman shuffled in. Sam recognized her as one of the summer interns from the journalism school. He smiled. "Cathy, how may I help you?" She shyly extended her arm, a sheaf of papers clutched in her hand. "Maddie wanted me to give this to you. It's the final write up on the Enchantment article." Sam beamed. "Splendid! I've been waiting for this. Were you helping her work on this?" Cathy twisted her fingers nervously. She had done more than help Maddie with the article – she had finished it for her. But Sam wasn't supposed to know that. "Um…yeah, I helped some." Sam grinned. "I remember when I was an intern and I first helped out with an article. It felt really good. I felt like I was a part of something." Cathy smiled hesitantly. "Sure, a part of something. Well, I gotta go." She beat a hasty retreat from the office. Sam raised one eyebrow. The girl was definitely skittish. He glanced down at the article and started reading.

Llanview – The Manning Mansion

Blair sat on the sofa dejectedly. Todd looked up from his newspaper. "What's the matter with you?" She looked forlorn. "What do you think is the matter with me? Both of my babies are gone. Jack is back in school for the semester, and Starr is off on that spy mission. I can't believe you encouraged her to do that! And you accuse me of warping her." Todd shrugged. "Hey, look at it this way – with both of our kids in the same town, they'll be able to look after each other. I know you've been worrying about what kind of crowd Jack will get into at PCU. Though I have to wonder why – he's spent his whole life being the white sheep of the family. The little goody two shoes." Blair laughed. "Maybe he inherited the dogooder gene from his real parents." Todd paused in turning a page. "Uh, yeah. That's probably it." Blair stood up and paced. "I am glad that Starr will be in Port Charles to look after Jack. And Matt being there is a bonus. He's always been such a good boy." Todd made a face. "Please Blair, don't make me barf. Its almost lunchtime." Blair looked at her watch. "You're right. River should be arriving any minute." Todd's expression became more ugly. "You invited River Rat to lunch?" Blair glared at Todd. "If you call him that again I swear I will knock you upside the head. You are going to be nice to him, whether you like it or not."

The doorbell rang. Blair rushed to answer it. "River! How wonderful to see you!" She gave him a hug, and after a brief hesitation he returned it. "Hello, Aunt Blair." He looked up and saw Todd standing a few feet away. He nodded. "Todd. How are you?" Todd stared at him in contempt, and simply said, "Never better. Well, let's eat." He turned and headed for the dining room. The three sat down to lunch. Blair beamed at River. "Every time I see you, I just marvel at how much you've grown. You are so tall, and so good-looking. I bet you have to fight the girls off with a stick." There was silence as River tried to think of a nonsarcastic response, and Todd attempted to swallow his food so he wouldn't choke on it. River smiled politely at Blair. "Thank you for the compliment. I suppose I got it from my parents, whoever they are." Blair frowned. "Do you still think that Beth Garvey wasn't your real mother?" River shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose its possible. Whether she is or not, it doesn't change the fact that I don't know who my father is." Todd did choke on his food this time. He grabbed his glass of water. "Why are you so bent on this? What would be the point?" River looked at Todd curiously. "You don't think its natural for me to want to know who my real parents are? To know my origins?" Todd waved his hand. "Of course not! All that matters is who raised you. Jack never questions his origins. He's perfectly happy. Besides, good never comes from finding your real folks. I can think of dozens of examples where people totally regretted it. Its like turning over a log and seeing all the bugs and maggots." Blair put down her fork. "Todd! We're eating here! Leave River alone. You don't know what will make him happy or unhappy. Let him do what he wants." Todd shrugged. "Whatever. Just don't say I didn't warn you." He stood up, wiping his face with his napkin. "Look, uh…I have to go make a business call. Nice chatting with you, River."

Port Charles – Kelly's Diner

Matt, Jack, and Peter ordered their food and then sat down at a table. Matt slapped Pete on the back. "Man, I owe CC Collins big time for giving me your name. You are the most talented keyboard player I think I have ever heard." Pete smiled sheepishly. "Hey, I'm very impressed with your talent as well. You're a great singer, and Jack is amazing on the drums. I think this band is gonna rock." Jack grinned. "So this means you're in?" Pete nodded. "If you'll take me." Matt pumped his fist in the air. "Awesome! We are on our way." Pete stood up. "I need to go make a call. I'll be right back." He walked over to a quieter corner of the diner and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed the Glamorama, and smiled when his mother answered. "Mom, its me, Pete! I have some great news. The band liked my performance and invited me to join." He held the phone away from his ear as Opal squealed in delight. "Oh, I'm so happy for you, sweetie! I knew you would do well. Hank will be so proud, he's gonna bust."

Pete heard his mom repeat the news to someone in the background. "Pete, I was just telling Lu the news. You remember she was in the shop before you left? She's here getting her nails done. She has such gorgeous nails, I feel like I'm wasting my time working on them. Anyway, she says congratulations and she hopes you enjoy Port Charles. Where are you right now, honey?" Forgetting the name, Pete glanced at one of the menus. "Kelly's Diner. We were just about to have lunch." Opal repeated the intel to Lu. "Oh well, isn't it a small world. Lu tells me that her father co-owns that place with his sister. Great burgers, she says. Oh, and she also says…well, why don't I just let her tell you herself." There was some crackling noise. Pete heard Lu say something about her nails still drying, and Opal said she would hold the phone to her ear. "Uh….Pete? Are you there?" Pete tried not to laugh. "Yeah, I'm here." Lu cleared her throat. "I just wanted to say that if your band wants a place to perform in front of an audience, my dad's club is a great place to start. Its called Luke's. I can put in a good word for you." Pete smiled. "That would be great, Lu, thanks. I'll tell the guys." There was some more crackling and Opal came back on the line. "Petey, you be sure to tell me when you give your first performance. Hank and I will want to be there for it. Okay?" Pete glanced at his table. "Yeah, sure, mom. I don't know when that will be, they're still looking for a guitarist. I gotta go, our food has arrived. Love you." He hung up and went back to the table. The three men wolfed their food down with great enthusiasm. Pete had to agree, the burgers were fantastic.

Lucas and Georgie walked into the diner and sat down at the table next to the band's. Lucas glanced at the menu, and then stood up. "I'll go order for us, Georgie. What do you want?" Georgie grinned at him. "The usual, of course." Lucas smiled slightly. "Of course." He went over to the counter to give the cook their order. Georgie leaned back in her chair and eavesdropped on the conversation behind her. The three occupants had just finished their food and Matt leaned his elbows on the table, looking purposeful. "Okay guys, our band is almost complete. All we need now is a guitarist. Pete, I don't suppose you know of any?" Pete shook his head. "I know several, but they all have commitments right now." Jack drummed his fingers on the table. "What if I put some advertisements up around campus? I'm sure there are a lot of aspiring guitarists at PCU." Matt snorted. "And most of them are probably terrible. There's gotta be a way to get introduced to a quality musician." A voice behind him piped up. "There is a way. Just turn around and say 'Hi!'" Startled, Matt turned around and gazed into the most gorgeous pair of blue eyes that he had ever seen. The gorgeous eyes accompanied a gorgeous face and an even more gorgeous body. The gorgeous woman was smiling at him. Matt didn't have to glance over at his compadres to know that they were probably just as thunderstruck as he was. The gorgeous woman extended her gorgeous hand. "My name is Georgie Jones, and I'm a very good guitarist. I would be happy to audition for your band." Matt felt like he was dreaming. Was this apparition really telling him that she was a guitarist? And was her name seriously Georgie Jones?

Matt snapped back to reality when a man in a business suit sat down next to gorgeous Georgie and scowled in his direction. She turned to the man and grabbed his sleeve. "Lucas! Guess what? I'm going to audition for a band! Isn't that exciting? I'm excited." She giggled. The man named Lucas shook his head, as if in a fog. Matt could sympathize. "Georgie, why would you audition for a band? You have a modeling career." Matt heard a finger snap behind him. He turned and saw Pete pointing at Georgie. "That's it! Now I remember where I saw you before! You're one of the models for Deception perfumes!" Georgie giggled and nodded enthusiastically. "That's right! You know my work?" Pete shrugged self- consciously. "My mother owns a beauty parlor and she's best friends with the owner of Enchantment cosmetics. She's always pointing out magazine ads from the competition." Georgie gasped. "I know someone who works at Enchantment. Have you ever met Lu Spencer?" Pete smiled and nodded. "As a matter of fact I was just speaking to her on the phone. I called my mom to tell her the news about me joining a band, and Lu was getting her nails done. She told me that we should try and get a gig at her father's club. I believe its called Luke's." Georgie laughed. "What a small world. So when do I get to audition?" Lucas broke in. "Georgie, do you even know these people?" Matt cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, you told us your name, but we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Matt Rappaport, I'm the lead singer. This is Jack Manning, the drummer. And our newest member is Pete Cortlandt, the keyboard player." Georgie leaned on the back of her chair. "So what's the name of your band?" Matt leaned on his. "Its called Dream Weaver." Georgie sighed her approval. "Oh, I like it. That's a great name." She took a pen out of her purse and wrote on a napkin. "Here's my phone number. Call me when you want me to audition." She handed it to Matt. Lucas rubbed his face with his hands. The tornado that was Georgie had struck again.