Work-related issues kept both Dara and Mac very busy
all day on Thursday as they wrapped up things for
their extended holiday break. They modified their
travel plans so that they would leave Port Charles on
the morning of Friday February 14 and spend Friday and
Saturday nights in Buffalo with Dara's friends, leave
Buffalo Sunday morning and Mac's surprise would begin,
and they planned to return to Port Charles on Monday
evening.
After meeting with an officer whose testimony was
needed for an upcoming trial, Dara encountered Marcus
Taggert in the 4th floor hallway of the police
station. They both had a few spare minutes and they
walked leisurely to the coffee break area for a chat.
Leaning against a vending machine, Taggert asked Dara
if she and Mac would be at the Valentine Day's
celebration at Luke's tomorrow night.
Dara sat on a stool along the wall, stirring sugar and
cream into her coffee. "No, Mac and I will be in
Buffalo visiting my best friend, Janice Williams, and
her family," Dara explained.
Envy surged through Taggert as he thought Mac's next
step after visiting the best friend would be visiting
Dara's family. Realistically, Taggert knew that there
was no reason for him to be jealous. He had his
chance with Dara and he blew it. Now it was time to
be mature (ha!) and wish the best for his friends.
Giving a somewhat strained smile, Taggert remarked,
"Good luck with the weather. They're forecasting a
winter storm starting Sunday. I'll be sticking close
to home this weekend and plan to drop by Luke's
tomorrow night."
When Dara asked if he was going alone to Luke he told
her that Donna Richards would be his date for the
evening. Dara rightly didn't picture the handsome
lieutenant as someone sitting around having trouble
finding a date. Yet she was inexplicably happy that
he was going to the Valentine Day bash. Maybe having
a very active social life would keep her friend from
making negative comments about her relationship with
Mac.
"I've only gotten to know Donna recently but she seems
really nice," Dara said generously. "Plus, she's a
stunning beauty, even in a police uniform," Dara added
teasingly.
"Yeah, " Taggert agreed, with an embarrassed smile. He
admitted to himself that he was looking forward to his
night out with Donna and had no reason to begrudge Mac
and Dara their getaway weekend. "We should have a
good time tomorrow night. You and Mac have a great
time this weekend, too."
~~~*~~~
"They're here! They're here!" Patrick Williams had
been watching all morning on Friday for the arrival of
his godmother Dara and her friend when he finally saw
Mac's SUV enter their driveway. After obeying his
parents by buttoning his winter coat and putting on
his boots, Patrick raced out of the front door to
greet them.
Laughing at his son's excitement, Robert joked, "Dara
must think that Patrick wants to bring the town crier
back as a profession because he certainly acts like
one every time she comes here." Glancing at his wife
he continued, "Janice, I'll go out and welcome them
first. Leave everything and come out as soon as you
can." Robert turned off the flame under the saucepan
and prepared to leave the kitchen. After hearing his
wife vent for weeks about Dara and her new boyfriend,
Robert attempted to give Janice one final warning
before meeting their guests. "Remember, Dara and Mac
drove up here to spend an enjoyable Valentine weekend
with us, and that's exactly what I expect to happen.
So let's get into our gracious host mode, O.K.?"
Janice widened her already big brown eyes and said in
a mockingly shocked voice, "Why would I be anything
but that darling?" Her husband let out of whoop of
laughter as he shook his head and left the kitchen.
Janice took off her apron and was only a few steps
behind Robert when Mac, Dara, and Patrick entered the
house. When everyone finished exchanging greetings,
Janice led Mac and Dara upstairs so they could unpack
and freshen up before dinner. Janice had a
mischievous smirk on her face when she opened the door
to a bedroom at the end of the hallway. "Dara, this
is your room." The bedroom was large and was
furnished with a canopy queen-sized bed, a chest of
drawers, and a dresser with a lovely mirror on it.
The bedroom also had its own private bathroom.
Turning to Mac, Janice smoothly said, "Mac, I hope you
don't mind, but there is an extra twin bed in
Patrick's room down the hall and you'll have to share
the room with him tonight. But tomorrow he'll be
sleeping over at a neighbor's house and you will have
the room all to yourself."
Dara hadn't been in the house for 10 minutes and she
was on the verge of exploding. Of course it was
Janice's prerogative to insist on separate bedroom for
unmarried guests, especially since Patrick was in the
house. However Dara silently noted Janice's opinion
on sleeping arrangements had changed considerably
since their college days. But what aggravated Dara
most was that Janice gave no hint that there would be
an issue with the sleeping accommodations and she
sprung this unpleasant surprise. She was ready to
pick up her bags and head with Mac to a nearby hotel
when Mac unexpectedly clasped Dara's hand and caressed
the back of her hand with his thumb.
Mac remarked, "You have a lovely home Janice. Thanks
for putting us up tonight and tomorrow night. Let me
head on to Patrick's room now and we'll meet you
downstairs in about 10 minutes." No doubt about it,
both Dara and Mac caught the look of amazement and a
hint of reluctant admiration on Janice's face. She
left Dara to show Mac the location of Patrick's
bedroom and the guest bathroom. Alone now, Dara
sighed, hoping that her best friend wouldn't pull any
more childish pranks or make any catty remarks this
weekend, and proceeded to unpack. Ten minutes later,
just as she finished washing her face, someone knocked
three times on her bedroom door. Knowing it was Mac,
Dara grinned broadly and opened the door.
"Is that the secret knock?" teased Dara, as she
literally pulled Mac into the room.
"You know it beautiful. No one other than me gets in
with that signal," Mac replied, wrapping his arms
around Dara and capturing her lips for a searing kiss.
He smiled when he broke the kiss. Mac was so happy
to spend Valentine weekend with Dara and have a reason
to celebrate he wasn't about to let anything annoy him
this weekend.
As Mac continued to hold her and gently stroke her
cheek with his fingertips, Dara apologized for the
sleeping accommodations. Mac winked at Dara as he
took her hand and led her downstairs to join everyone.
"Don't worry," he promised, "you'll need the rest
because you won't get any we're on our own Sunday
night." Dara's jaw dropped; she was unexpectedly
shocked by Mac's suggestive reply. But she quickly
recovered her aplomb and murmured wistfully,
"Promises, promises..."
~~~*~~~
Nervousness wracked Ellen's being as she sat stiffly
in the lounge chair in her apartment and waited for
Matt's arrival. In a few minutes they would be on
their way to meet Kevin and Lucy at Luke's. For the
last few days Ellen seriously thought of feigning
illness at the last minute and not going tonight.
However, in the end, she felt if she and Kevin could
make it through the evening without any mishaps, then
the tension between them would be eased tremendously.
No matter what happened, Ellen planned to talk to Matt
sometime this weekend and tell him about her changed
relationship with Kevin. Strangely that fateful
discussion worried her more than anything that could
happen tonight at Luke's. Ellen herself didn't
understand her feelings for Kevin so how could she
explain them to Matt and hope that he would understand
and accept them? Ellen knew that she loved Matt. Of
that she had no doubt. But she also strongly felt
something for Kevin, and this was what she found so
totally frustrating and unbelievable. This was so
unlike her. Regardless how much she tried to wish
them away she couldn't get rid of those feelings for
Kevin. Ellen jumped slightly when she heard a key in
the lock of the apartment door. Realizing that Matt
had arrived, she stood up and had just reached the
door as it swung open. Matt was looking as handsome
as ever, and on his lap was a bouquet of red roses.
"Hello sweetheart, happy Valentine's Day," Matt said
as he rolled himself into the apartment. After
closing the door, Ellen turned around and leaned
toward Matt.
"Happy Valentine's Day to you too." Matt gently
pulled Ellen's face to his as they kissed
passionately. Coming up for air, Ellen caught her
breath, smiled seductively at Matt, and said, "Are you
sure you really want to go out tonight? I can call
Luke's right now and give our apologies to Lucy."
"Don't tempt me," Matt replied with a gaze filled with
desire. First he had been away for more than a week
in New York City and this past week he had a very busy
schedule at General Hospital. During the last two
weeks he had seen very little of Ellen and he longed
to spend an extended period of time with her alone.
Kissing her once again, he whispered, "We'll put in
our appearance for an hour or two and will head back
here for our own private celebration." For a fleeting
moment Matt thought a brief look of dismay marred
Ellen's lovely face. "I must have imagined it," he
reflected as he watched her place the roses in a vase.
No, there was something wrong. Watching Ellen
closely he saw her hand shake as she placed each rose
in the vase. Moving towards her Matt clasped both of
her hands within his and held them to his lips.
Kissing them softly he raised his eyes to look in
Ellen's eyes and asked, "Ellen, what is it? Is
something wrong?"
Ellen blinked her eyes and contemplated talking to
Matt now. But what would she say? What would she say
about her feelings for Kevin? With a slightly
strained smile Ellen returned Matt's gaze and said,
"No, nothing's wrong. We just need to spend some time
together and talk this weekend. We'll talk after we
get back from Luke's tonight." Ellen gathered her
coat and the engaged couple headed to the Valentine
party.