Mac was wavering in that zone between deep sleep and
consciousness, resisting the urge to open his eyes and
awaken. After viewing channel 7's scathing report on
his relationship with Dara, he spent the remainder of
the night in a fitful restless sleep. However now,
after sleeping only a few hours, Mac knew that he was
dreaming because of the warm, pleasant sensation he
was experiencing, and he wanted to prolong it as long
as possible. Light, feathery kisses and the tinge of a
warm breath moved from his face to his neck to his
chest. For some time two soft hands gently played with
his curly hair and caressed his face. Now they teased
him, sliding to his shoulders and chest lightly
touching him. Instinctively he reached out with his
right hand but Dara's quickly reached up to restrict
his movement. As his eyes started to flutter open Dara
moved her body over Mac's and he heard her whisper
into his ear, "Don't move. Let me do this, let me make
love to you."
Never before, no matter how much she wanted to be with
Mac, had she initiated their lovemaking. Dara saw the
night before how angry and hurt Mac had been by the
television report, knowing that most of his distress
was on her behalf and due to how the report depicted
their love. The couple said very few words for the
remainder of the night and later Dara had felt Mac
toss and turn in the bed until early in the morning.
Nothing could really take away the momentary pain
experienced that night, but Dara wanted to show Mac
that the report or whatever Felicia said or could do
would not affect what she felt for him. Tightly
gripping the sheets, Mac held in a groan as Dara's
warm body moved over his. Slowly, methodically and
with incredible tenderness, Dara completely focused on
giving Mac pleasure. Only towards the end of their
lovemaking after their bodies had became one did Dara
urge Mac to join her in an intimate dance that
spiraled them both towards ecstasy.
~~~~*~~~~~~
Long ago Marcus Taggert first admired Dara's skill as
a district attorney, but today watching her give her
closing argument in Moreno's trial, he believed he had
witnessed her best professional work. Dara's closing
argument was perfect, emphasizing all of the strengths
of her case and skewing the defense's strained
attempts at generating reasonable doubt. When
countering the defense team's disparaging comments
regarding the character of key prosecution witnesses,
Dara deftly reminded the jury of Moreno's character
and what it said about him that these witnesses were
close associates of his. Yep, Taggert thought, Dara
ought to be pretty proud of herself today. Or she
would be if everyone weren't talking about that news
report broadcast. Understanding Dara as he did Taggert
knew that she despised having her private life made
public and that news report was a doozy. He wasn't
going to bring it up first but he would be there for
her if she wanted to talk about it. Leaving his seat
in the rear of the courtroom Taggert quickly strode to
the prosecution's table just at the court adjourned
for lunch. "You did good today," he praised Dara,
gently touched her arm. "I need to go out now and get
some champagne to celebrate. Want to come along with
me?"
"Oh no." Dara shook her head as she flashed an
incredibly attractive smile. "I'm not going to jinx
this by getting overconfident. How about going to
lunch instead?"
"I haven't had a better offer today." Placing his hand
at Dara's waist, Taggert escorted her from the
courtroom and the two friends enjoyed their lunch
date.
Meanwhile, in the 6th floor GH open lounge area, Lucy
Coe cornered Ellen for an impromptu meeting regarding
her wedding plans. Ellen was not successful in
completely suppressing her skeptical expression as
Lucy chattered on. "Ellen, we can do so much more to
make your wedding THE event of the year in Port
Charles if only you'd consider some of my
suggestions." Lucy was doing her best to convince
Ellen to "spice up" her wedding. "Think how romantic
it would be to release a dozen white doves just as you
and Matt leave the church for the reception. And my
new boutique can provide ALL of your bridesmaid
dresses. Can't you picture how chic the wedding party
will be if my team works with all of you on the
wardrobe? Plus, you and I need to get together to
start on your trousseau for the honeymoon."
Those doves would have shortened lives if there were
released outdoors in early March, Ellen mused.
Fighting mightily to hide a smile as she imagined how
Lucy would dress her bridesmaids, Ellen did her best
to gently refuse Lucy's good-hearted gestures. "Lucy,
this is my second marriage, not my first. And even
though my first wedding was not a 'dream' wedding, I
certainly don't want my wedding to Matt to be an
extravaganza."
Exasperated, Lucy pouted. "I thought that you promised
to change your mode of operation after our adventure
in the woods?" Bringing out that long-ago promise
might be a way of getting Ellen to agree to Lucy's
plans for the wedding. Ellen was saved from responding
when she spied help, in the form of Kevin Collins, on
the way to aid her in dealing with whirlwind Lucy.
"Hi Kevin!" Ellen said enthusiastically. "Come and
join us for a minute." Being so caught up in escaping
Lucy's proposals Ellen almost missed the slight scowl
on Kevin's face as he approached them. But she knew
that something was going on when Kevin asked to speak
to Lucy alone for a few minutes. Ellen quickly excused
herself and headed to the nurse's station while Kevin
sat down on the couch.
"You're a difficult man to catch, Doc," Lucy teased as
she gazed lovingly at Kevin. She truly missed having
Kevin in her life and Lucy was on a mission to get him
back.
Kevin took in a deep breath and prepared himself to
hear Lucy's explanation. "Lucy, what were you thinking
when you agreed to take part in the news interview I
saw last night? Felicia wasn't on screen but that was
no doubt her handiwork. How could you do that to Mac?"
Silently Lucy cursed for agreeing to help Felicia. She
didn't want the first words for Kevin to say to her
after weeks of silence to be criticisms and
chastisements. Then, upon reflection, Lucy didn't
think that she really did anything wrong and proceeded
to tell Kevin so. "Hold on a minute Kevin. I don't
need to apologize for anything. The interviewer asked
me about public servants' responsibilities when it
came to their personal life and I gave a reasonable,
fair answer. Mac is my friend too but if he isn't seen
in a positive light after that news report then it's
due to his actions, not mine."
Lucy never ceased to amaze Kevin with the
justifications she gave for her actions, and this time
was no different. "Are you going to sit here in front
of me and say that you didn't give that interview to
help Felicia? Why would the reporter pick you to give
an opinion on public servants and morality?" an
incredulous Kevin inquired.
"I gave the interview as a favor to Felicia, just like
you did when you escorted her to the New Years Eve
party," retorted Lucy. Arching a well-shaped eyebrow
she asked in a challenging tone of voice, "And why
shouldn't the reporter pick me for such an interview?
I'm a prominent person in Port Charles and it makes
sense that they would want to interview me on this
topic."
Wisely, Kevin cautioned himself NOT to go there and
state how ludicrous it was to consider Lucy the Port
Charles authority on morality. Instead he warned,
"Lucy, I'm doing my best not to get sucked into this
mess between Mac and Felicia. Let them work it out
alone and between themselves. I'm just giving you some
advice as a friend not to get involved."
Somehow, in this strange moment, Lucy would have
infinitely preferred for Kevin to be passionately
enraged by her actions, rather than giving her
friendly advice. Biting her bottom lip, Lucy swallowed
her disappointment on how her encounter with Kevin was
unfolding. It didn't go unnoticed by Lucy that
something was different about Kevin in his reaction to
her, but she couldn't pinpoint what was different.
Hoping to get more insight into his state of mind
about their relationship she offered, "Doc, I really
don't want to talk about Mac or Felicia now; I'd
really like to talk about us and our relationship. Can
we go somewhere now and talk in private?"
Kevin knew that it wasn't fair of him to keep putting
off Lucy's advances without being honest with her and
telling her how he felt. But there were a few things
that he wanted to do before he had that fateful
conversation. Rising from the couch Kevin made a
suggestion. "I can't meet right now Lucy. But maybe we
can get together on Saturday or Sunday and talk. Can I
call you Saturday morning and let you know?" Upon
obtaining Lucy's agreement to meet later, Kevin went
to catch up with Ellen who was just leaving the
nurse's station. Ellen was heading for a meeting with
Alan Quartermaine and Kevin informed her that he was
going the same way, so maybe they could talk. He first
mentioned Mac's dinner invitation and Ellen
immediately acquiesced to the plan that they go
together to Dara's apartment. Ellen noticed that
Kevin's meeting with Lucy was unusually brief and she
quizzed her friend about it.
"I saw that you didn't draw any blood." Giving a
full-dimpled smile to Kevin's puzzled look, Ellen
explained." You didn't look too pleased with Lucy when
you first approached us."
"Did you overhear any of the conversation?"
"Kevin, I was at the nurse's station. Of course I
heard everything!" They both laughed at the obvious
truth in that statement. Ellen's laughter gave way to
somberness. "I saw the news report last night," she
confided. "It was pretty brutal on Mac and Dara."
Running his hand through his hair in a sign of
frustration, Kevin pointed out, "Lucy, in her typical
fashion, feels that she didn't do anything wrong of
course."
When they arrived at Alan Quartermaine's office, Ellen
stopped walking and turned her back against the wall
to face Kevin. "Of course she feels that way,"
agreeing with Kevin's assessment, "but in this case
she may be technically correct."
Astonishment registered on Kevin's face as Ellen
defended Lucy. "Keeping away from the fact that you
and Dara are now friends, would you have given that
interview, no matter how innocent your words may have
been?"
Ellen didn't have to think at all to respond,
immediately replying, "No, I wouldn't have done it."
Unexpectedly pleased to receive the response he had
anticipated from Ellen, Kevin smiled. "I didn't think
so. Neither would I." Noting Ellen didn't seem
inclined to rush into Alan's office, Kevin decided to
continue talking. He moved very close to her and
asked, "Hey, how are the wedding plans going? The date
is coming up pretty soon. Are you nervous?"
Ellen had to tilt her head up a bit to look at Kevin
directly since he was standing so close to her now.
"Nervous? No, it's not like I'm a blushing bride of
twenty."
"I know, but you don't have any reservations? I mean,
Matt is the only man that you've dated since Sam's
death. Do you wonder if he is really the right man for
you or that you're with him because he was the first
person to make his feelings known to you?" Kevin knew
that Ellen sometimes saw him in the role of a
confident, but he anxiously hoped she'd be open to
seeing him in another way, perhaps soon.
Smiling broadly, Ellen was somewhat amused by Kevin's
line of questioning. "Oh right Kevin. I've really had
to beat that long line of suitors off with a stick."
"Don't sell yourself short Ellen." Speaking slowly and
deliberately, Kevin continued, "I'm sure that there
are a number of men who want to have a closer
relationship with you, especially if they thought they
had a chance to do so." Wanting to touch her but
knowing that it would be foolhardy to do so now,
especially in such a public area, Kevin placed his
hand on the wall a few inches from Ellen's hair. He
leaned in even closer and inquired, gazing at her
intensely, "Have you ever opened your eyes to such a
possibility?"
Slowly perceiving the undercurrent of his words,
Ellen's eyes widened in shock and a gasp escaped her
lips. She involuntarily pressed herself further
against the wall. She was completely taken aback as to
what was unfolding and found that she had trouble
breathing. Kevin was excellent when it came to reading
people. He saw surprise, confusion, and possibly even
fear in her face, but he was thrilled not to see
outright rejection. "Ellen..."
Upon hearing Alan's door open, Kevin quickly moved
back from Ellen. "I thought I heard voices out here.
Hi Kevin, Ellen." Speaking directly to Ellen, Alan
said, "I'm ready to meet with you now Dr. Burgess, if
you're ready."
Still at a loss for words, Ellen finally broke her
gaze with Kevin?s and turned to enter Alan's office.
Pull yourself together, she thought. Ellen briefly
glanced back as she entered the office and she heard
Kevin's voice remind her, "I'll pick you up at 7:30 on
Friday night for dinner."
