If the Fates Allow

December 26, 9:00 am

Nathan West was exhausted. After almost two full days on duty, he was ready to crawl into his own bed and sleep for a week. Crime in Port Charles certainly didn't take a holiday. It seemed to escalate on Christmas Day just to spite him. If he didn't know better, he would think the criminals were conspiring against him personally just to keep him from going home to Maxie.

Since leaving her with Georgie on Christmas Eve, Nathan had received numerous texts from Mac filled with pictures of Maxie and Georgie. Maxie sent one text but it meant more to him than all the pictures combined. He reached for his phone to read it for the tenth time.

Wishing you were here. Waiting for you to come home.

It was just a text and he might be reading too much into it but it gave him a ray of hope for a future with Maxie. He rubbed at his eyes trying to revive himself. One more hour and he was away from the PCPD for three days. One more hour and he would be heading home to Maxie. He looked up just as Dante Falconeri threw himself in the chair opposite Nathan. He grinned at Nathan, casually turning the chair in half circles.

"What?" Nathan asked after a moment.

Dante scooted his chair closer to his desk and leaned his arms against it. "Dude, you have got my wife completely snowed. She thinks you are a real life Prince Charming."

"And why does she think that?" Nathan asked returning the grin.

"Oh come on, West! She was on the phone with Maxie for an hour practically planning your wedding!"

Nathan arched an eyebrow in question. "My wedding?"

"Stop being dumb. After your Christmas Eve miracle, you have swept my wife off her feet. Maxie too from the sounds of it."

"So, Maxie's happy?"

"Dude, of course she is! Who wouldn't be after that?" Dante frowned. "Haven't you talked to Maxie yet? She is over the moon with happiness."

"I haven't as a matter of fact." He motioned toward his desk and the pile of files he was still working on finishing before the end of his shift. "I've been here. This town went nuts yesterday."

"Yeah, I heard." Dante looked around the squad room at the relative calm. "It's quiet now. Why don't you get out of here?"

Nathan shook his head. "Still have another hour. And I've got paperwork to finish."

Dante waved off his protest. "Get outta here. Paperwork can wait. You've been on duty for 48 hours. I got this."

Nathan stopped arguing. Every inch of him was ready to leave. With a nod of thanks, he grabbed his phone and keys ready to bolt. He barely had time to reach for his jacket when a flurry of activity erupted. Commissioner Devane strode into the room, her face set with grim purpose. She signaled Nathan and Dante to join her and turned on her heel to the conference room. The two detectives exchanged a brief look and followed without a word.

"We have a situation at the courthouse," Anna said closing the door behind them. "We currently have a hostage situation involving a judge. Here is what we know so far." She opened a file and read out some of the contents. "The suspect is a woman who was attending a custody hearing in courtroom eight. The outcome was not favorable for her. According to one witness, she ran out of the room in tears and returned a moment later with a gun."

Anna looked up from the notes. "She attacked a security guard, rendered her unconscious and stole her weapon. From there she returned to the courtroom and fired two shots. The first was to clear the room. The second hit one of the security guards." She paused to remove her glasses. "She forced the judge to remain in the courtroom at gunpoint and is currently locked inside with him as a hostage. We have not been able to make contact yet." She glanced at Nathan. "I'm sorry Nathan. I need you here. It's all hands."

Nathan nodded. He wasn't so tired anymore. He looked at Dante who nodded in return. "We're heading over there now."

"Good. Make contact with the suspect. Get that judge and the suspect out of there safely."

Nathan made a move to leave but Dante paused with a frown on his face. "Courtroom eight?" He asked, eyeing Anna. "Isn't that-"

"Judge David Walters, Family Court," Anna finished for him.