maxine is a health care worker and she is highly ambitious. when her elderly parents can no longer cope with the responsibility of caring for her brother's two children, maxine refuses to take over. she lives in a single room at the hospital where she works and makes it clear that her career is more important. she tries to persuade carmel to take the children in and when she initially refuses, maxine threatens to put them into care. carmel believes that her niece and nephew should live with her, despite her husband's opposition and it causes many arguments. when carmel's father has a stroke, maxine brings the children, junior roberts (aaron carrington) and aisha roberts (aisha jacob) to the jacksons, insisting that they take them immediately. matthew is furious but he eventually relents.