Tropical Convergence

Chapter Sixteen

DAR BUMPED THE door open with her elbow and proceeded inside. Hans was still hunched over his laptop cursing in German, and the sun was slanting inside the tinted windows to a far more radical degree. She set one cup down next to the programmer and went back to her own seat, settling into it and leaning back. "How's it going?"

"Like crap. Do you know how much I have to change in this to do your foolish test?"

Dar sipped her cappuccino. "Want me to take a look at it?"

"No."

Programmers. Dar cheerfully acknowledged her own species. "Yeah, I'd give you the same answer," she admitted. "Keep your paws out of my code."

Hans glanced up at her briefly, then went back to his screen. "Do you program?"

"I used to," Dar admitted. "Before I went into design and engineering. I still mess with it a little bit sometimes."

"Hmph."

Dar pulled out her PDA and opened it, seeing the stuttering light. She tapped on Kerry's message.

Hi sweetie.

Quest just chucked up strained peas on the conference table. He wants all of us to do one of his old ships and whoever comes in best value wins his fleet contract. I complimented him on getting his ships done for free, but I'm sending the contract down to legal now. Is it worth doing?

K

Oh, ps -- I snapped my fingers and the power came on. I think your geek genes are leaking into me.

Dar snickered. "Oh, that's rich." She shook her head. "Slimy bastard."

"Eh?" Hans glanced at her again.

"Another company." Dar started scribing. "My partner's handling it."

Ker --

My geek what? Glad the power's on. Least I know you'll be comfortable tonight while I sit here babysitting a cranky programmer--must be paybacks.

Quest is a slick operator. I wish I could tell you to drop it, but with the coverage Telegenics has started, we'd look like crap if we gave up now. They'll say we're afraid of them. So we'll suck it up and participate unless you find something in the contract you don't like.

Dar hesitated, and then continued.

I think I found the problem up here. This guy's trying to fix it, and then we'll test. If it's what I think it is, he'll have to rewrite half the program code. He's pissed off. I half want to open the pipes even if it's not the problem. I want to go home.

D

She hit send, and then waited a little. However her PDA remained silent and she set it down on her leg, reasoning that Kerry might be busy. Bored, she pulled her laptop over and set it on her knees, minimizing the network sessions she had open and clicking to her personal storage icon instead.

She had several folders there, but she opened her favorite one, which had pictures of Kerry, her family, and scenes of home in it. They were set in date order, and she occasionally amused herself by just letting her eyes linger over this visible record of their relationship.

One of the ones she liked the best was the one that had caused Kerry the most problems when she went home that first thanksgiving. It was of the two of them, sitting on the couch together. Kerry had one leg slung over hers and they were leaning against each other, grinning at Colleen's camera.

She shifted her eyes to a picture of the two of them dressed for her high school reunion. She was standing behind Kerry in this one, her arms wrapped around her partner's bare middle. The sight of Kerry's mildly embarrassed expression at her skimpy gear always brought a smile to her face. But she looked adorable in her leather bikini, and Dar was always trying to find an excuse to have her wear it since then.

Maybe next Halloween.

She went on to a picture taken by her mother of the two of them relaxing on the offshore island during one of their picnics. Kerry was curled up on her side, asleep in Dar's lap. They were both covered in sand and blown by the wind and the sea, and were totally zonked, but Dar liked the picture mainly for the smile of pure joy plainly visible on Kerry's face.

It was amazing to her to know she'd put that look there. Or the look in the next picture, a single picture of Kerry that she'd taken on the boat, just at sunset after they'd come up from diving and were resting before going in for dinner. With reddish gold light surrounding her, Kerry gazed not into the lens, but into Dar's eyes past it, a warm and gentle love fairly glowing from her.

Dar exhaled softly.

"Fizzing crap," Hans cursed. "All right. Are you ready to do this test?"

Dar flexed her fingers and maximized the network session, logging into her local routers and keying up the monitor. She set several parameters, and then reviewed the results. "Okay." She rattled more keys. "Let me...that's a test database you're using, right?"

"Of course."

"Okay...let me give you a subinterface...hang on." Dar quickly set up the port. "Change your default gateway to the .2."

Hans muttered something under his breath, but set to work on his computer anyway. "It is done."

Dar set up a graph of the existing port, and her new one, and arranged them side by side. "Okay, start up your database...wait. You got someone on the other side who can hit it?'

Hans paused in mid key, then he looked up at Dar.

Dar didn't even wait for him to speak. She leaned over and picked up the phone, hitting some buttons. "Stewart? We need someone at a remote site to work with us. They'll have to have enough brain cells to change their application database source."

"Ah..." Godson's voice trickled through the speakerphone. "I think I can find someone for that...give me a few minutes, Dar. Okay?"

"Okay," Dar agreed, and hung up. She drummed her fingers on her keyboard, then retrieved the PDA that had slipped off her lap and opened it when it started flashing.

Ah. Note from Kerry. Dar tapped on it.

Hey Dardar.

Honey, no one wants you home more than me--but don't tank the Northeast, please? I'll come up and keep you company if it doesn't work. We can find some little Italian place and get drunk on Chianti and cheesecake.

Dar scowled.

Michelle and Shari want to take me out to dinner. I get to pick where. I'm going to take them to the place we go after kickboxing, and not give them a chance to change out of their suits. Think they'll refuse to talk to me after that?

Hope so.

Love you, K.

The scowl edged into a reluctant grin, which then faded out to a pensive stillness. She spent a moment thinking about Kerry spending the evening with Michelle and Shari, dive or no dive, and unexpectedly felt her blood start to boil.

The phone rang next to her elbow, and she had to tear herself back from a descent into furious jealously to answer it. "Yes?" Her voice came out a growl.

"Ah...Dar?"

Dar cleared her throat. "Yes?" she repeated, in a more reasonable tone.

"I've got someone from Tucson who'll work with you...ah, is that okay?" Godson said, a trifle hesitantly. "I've got her on the line, I can conference her in."

Focus. Dar felt the muscles in her thighs twitch, a leaking of the nervous energy that suddenly filled her. "That's fine. Thanks." She heard a click, then background noise came on the line. "Hello?"

"Um...hello?" A voice came through timidly. "This is Angie. Did you need me to do something?"

Dar had an overwhelming urge to hang up and walk out. Go somewhere private and give Kerry a call and tell her...

Tell her what? That you don't trust her? Dar took in a slightly ragged breath. "Ah, yeah." she answered Angie. "We need you to open up your booking engine, but we need you to make some changes in the setup first. You know where that is?"

"Yes." The woman's voice became blessedly confident. "I sure do. What do you need me to change?"

Dar looked at Hans. "Settings?" she asked in German. "For the database?"

He gruffly gave them to her. Dar repeated them in English for Angie's benefit. While the girl in Tucson was making the changes, Dar half decided she was going to force the ports to show what she needed them to show, and the hell with it.

Get on a plane home, tonight. If she was coming in, Kerry would surely toss up the dinner and come get her, right?

Of course. Dar stared at the screen, unable to suppress the churning emotion.

"Okay, I'm done. Want me to open the program now?" Angie asked.

I don't care. Dar forced her attention to the screen. I swear I don't care. I don't give a shit about any of this. "Go ahead." She looked up as Hans got up and came to peer over her shoulder at the monitor. On it, she had the production port, which was saturated and blinking red, and the test port, a benign green.

"Now we will see that I am right," Hans stated calmly. "I am sure of it."

I don't care. But Dar called up the router config anyway, making sure the buffers were set to take advantage of the changes, and her priority lists were in place. She watched as the new port showed activity, the traffic statistics building as Angie started it up.

All mechanical. She was hardly aware of what her fingertips were doing.

"Hey!" Angie's voice erupted through the phone.

The port stayed a placid green. Dar exhaled, her vindication meaningless at the moment.

"That was really fast!" the girl from Tucson blurted, in an amazed tone. "What the heck did you do?"

"Shit." Hans turned and walked away, taking a stack of printouts and throwing them against the wall with shocking violence. He got to the door and yanked it open, slamming it behind with such force the certificates hanging on the wall jumped and crashed to the floor.

"Hello?" Angie repeated. "Are you there?"

"Sorry." Dar laid her fingers on the keyboard, noticing now that they were shaking. "I'm here," she answered briefly. "We made some changes. Guess you can see the difference."

"Wow! I sure can!" Angie sounded very enthusiastic. "It used to take me twenty seconds to move from page one to page two on this database, and now I just clicked it, and it was right there! Fantastic!"

Dar measured the traffic. It had made a difference, no doubt. However, it was only one session, and she realized under full load, it would need more than that. It was a perfect opportunity for her to try out her new intelligent algorithms.

Damn it. But that meant she had to stay here. Just the thought made her want to scream in outrage.

"Are you going to do that with the real system?" Angie sounded excited. "Like, now?"

Dar's cell phone rang. "Hold on." She pressed the hold button and unclipped her cell, flipping it open and putting it to her ear without looking at the caller id. "Hello?"

"Hey, sweetie."

The angry, buzzing bees in her head settled suddenly. "Hi," Dar replied. "What's up?"

"Did you get my note?"

Dar settled back in her seat, pushing her laptop back and out of her view. "Yeah."

"Mm." Kerry's voice dropped a note. "You sound pissed. What's wrong? Didn't your idea work out?"

She'd only said three words. Could Kerry really tell how she felt based on that? Dar exhaled a little. "Matter of fact, it did," she admitted. "But goddamn it, to make it work in production, I need to throw my beta program in this fucking router after that goddamn programmer fixes the whole fucking thing."

Kerry was silent for a moment. "And...that means you can't come home," she ventured. "Is that what I'm hearing?"

"Fuck."

"Sweetheart."

Dar sighed heavily. "Sorry," she muttered. "I'm just so damn frustrated. I don't want to be here," she admitted. "That bastard Meyer...I think he set us up for this."

"Really?"

"He told me they knew it was a problem from the start. No one wanted to admit it because it would take too long to fix." Dar lowered her voice, even though she was alone in the room. "I think he figured to have Godson squeeze us for a bigger pipe as part of the new contract."

"Wow," Kerry murmured. "Would that fix the problem?"

"Actually, no." Dar exhaled. "I had the programmer here make one fix, and we tested it, and it flew. He's torked. I don't know if he's even going to come back and I..." She stopped talking. "Damn it I just want to kick something."

The frustration was achingly evident. "How about I ask Col to stay at the house and I hop up there?" Kerry asked. "Tell you what, I'll make the reservations. What hotel are you in again? The Hyatt, right?"

Strange, but all of a sudden, the bid and everything else she had to do went rolling into the bit bucket, overshadowed by the overwhelming need to respond to that note in Dar's voice.

"And miss dinner with Michelle and Shari?" Dar asked.

Kerry laughed. "Oh, would I love to not only get them down to the burger shack, but stand their obnoxious pig fart butts up in the bargain. Maybe I'll even call the guys and have them come harass the two of them."

Dar picked at the seam along the inside of her knee. "Rather have you here than out with them, that's for sure," she finally said. "But I can't ask you to."

"Why not?" Kerry cut her off. "Do you know how many times you've dropped everything and gotten on a plane for me?" she said. "Jesus, Dar. Give me a break!"

Dar chewed the inside of her lip. She was saved from answering by the door slamming back open, as Hans reappeared and stomped across the carpet toward the table. "Hang on," she told Kerry quietly. "You finished sulking yet?" she asked Hans in German. "Because frankly, I hate sore losers, and I'd really like you to grow the hell up and just do your damn job."

"Oo...that sounds nasty," Kerry whispered into her ear. "I have no idea what you're saying, but that language sounded like you're cursing."

"I am," Dar replied in English to her. "Well?" she barked at Hans.

Fuming, he sat down across from her and let his arms drop into his lap. His pale eyes smoldered as he met her gaze, his frustration written clearly across his face. "Damn you," he finally said. "I would like to smack you right across the face."

Dar leaned forward slightly, her own inner turmoil rising back to the surface. "Ohh...please try it," she growled out in English. "I am so in the mood to kick someone's ass."

"Okay. One flight to New York, coming right up," Kerry said, briskly. "See you in a few hours, sweetie. Keep the sheets warm for me, will you?"

Dar jerked her attention back. "Kerry, you don't have to..."

"Too late. It's done." Kerry cut her off again. "You're stuck with me. Gotta go pack. Talk to you later, okay?"

"B..."

"Love you." Kerry's smile made it easily through the cellular connection. "Call me when you're finished yelling. I'll be on the way home."

"You must think much of yourself," Hans said. "But I do not hit ladies."

Torn between two conversations, Dar decided to abandon one of them. She half turned and focused on her cell phone. "Kerry..."

"Yeess?" her partner's voice warbled back at her. "Please don't tell me not to come there, Dar. I really want to," she added gently. "I miss you so much."

The words died on her lips. Dar swallowed, and felt a smile tugging at her lips instead. "See you soon," she got out. "Thanks."

"Okay. Love you. My flight's at eight...so have the hot chocolate waiting, huh?"

"I will," Dar promised. "Bye."She closed the phone and held it a minute, then she sat up and turned the chair around to face Hans.

They looked at each other for a long moment. Then Dar exhaled. "Listen," she said. "I don't like being wrong either," she said in German. "Can we please just get it done?"

Hans leaned forward. "If," he pointed one long finger at her, "you buy me an expensive dinner, I will consider it."

Her heart was settling back into its normal rhythm, and her body was relaxing again, under a wave of lethargy that followed the easing emotion. "Sure," Dar agreed. "Buy you a whole damn side of beef if you want. Let's go." She stood up, surprised when her knees shook under her. "We can start with a beer."

"Ah." Hans shut down his laptop. "Now we are again speaking the same language. It will also help me drown my ego. Let us go, indeed."

Dar found herself smiling, through a sense of vague embarrassment. She felt very mixed up, and somewhat off balance, but all in all, she didn't really care.

Kerry was flying to New York.

That's what mattered.

KERRY LEANED BACK in her chair and studied the hiking boots she once again had planted on her desk. She knew she had to get moving home shortly, but she took a moment to bask in the sense of pure happiness she felt knowing how her night was going to end.

She had no idea what was going on with her partner. But she knew stress when she heard it, and caution went out the window. Besides, Dar had, in fact, dropped the world several times on her behalf and paybacks in this case were certainly justified.

Now. Kerry folded her hands over her stomach and reviewed her altered agenda. She had to go home, of course, and pack. Colleen had already responded to her email and agreed to come over and sit with Chino, and she'd double checked her inbox to make sure all the creepies were chased out of it.

Not that it would have mattered if they hadn't been. Kerry eyed her ceiling thoughtfully. Her head turned as her door opened, and Mayte stuck her head inside. "Hey, Mayte. C'mon in."

"Kerry." Mayte almost trotted across the floor over to her desk. "They said at Legal they are working on the documents I brought them. They will try to work quickly, but it is much to review."

"Good," Kerry said. "Since I won't be here tomorrow anyway." A grin appeared. "So Mr. Quest will get his executed copy next week and the hell with it." She felt a sense of relief. "If he doesn't want us to bid, then he doesn't."

"No?" Mayte watched her face closely. "Are you going to New York, maybe? I think you are."

"How can you tell?" Kerry inquired, feeling the skin around her eyes crinkle up as her grin grew broader. "Yeah, I am. Tonight, as a matter of fact," she added. "So, since I've got to get out of here and go pack, I declare the office closed. Go home."

"Really?"

"Yep." Kerry got up and closed her laptop case. "Power's on, crisis is over, and I've got a plane to catch."

"You are happy," Mayte said, shyly.

Kerry lifted her eyes from her case. "Does it show?" she asked in a wry tone.

"Oh yes."

"Well, I am." Kerry finished latching the leather catch and hoisted the bag to her shoulder. "Dar's having some problems with that programmer up there, so I'm going to go up and give her some moral support," she explained. "Or that's what my official story is. The truth is, I just miss her and I want to go up there."

"That is so sweet," Mayte said. "La jefa must miss you too."

"Mm." Kerry started for the door. "I know it sounds a little crazy, since she's only been gone a few days, but..."

"No, not crazy." Mayte opened the door for her. "It is beautiful."

Kerry walked to the outer entrance and paused, leaning a hand on the wall and turning to face Mayte. "You know, it is," she said. "People say all sorts of things about being in love, but you almost never hear anyone say how beautiful it is when it happens to you." With a faint shake of her head, she turned and left, heading for the elevator.

Mayte went to her desk and perched on the edge, jumping a little as her mother joined her unexpectedly from Dar's office. "Oh, Mama!"

"It is me, yes. At last they have stopped calling for Dar's office with the power and I will have some peace," Maria said. "Where is Kerrista going? Home I am hoping? She did not get much rest yesterday."

"No, Mama." Mayte solemnly shook her head. "She is going to New York."

"Ahhhh!" Maria smiled broadly. "It is about time! I was worried about poor Dar up there in that nasty place all by herself. I am glad Kerrisita is going to be with her."

"Si," Mayte agreed. "But Mama, I think Kerry forgot something before she left. She was supposed to go with those women to a dinner, and she did not tell them she was going away."

"Tcha." Maria folded her hands. "Is this those two perras?"

"Mama!" The younger woman affected to be shocked. "What would Papa say?"

Her mother expressed a sound very much like a sneeze. "I do not like those women, Mayte. They cause bad problems for us, and they were not nice to Kerrisita and Dar. I am glad there will be no nice dinner with them. They do not deserve it."

Mayte merely blinked, giving the solemn pronouncement it's just due.

Maria folded her arms over her chest. "Where was Kerrisita taking them?" she asked, almost as an afterthought.

"Tail of the Pig," her daughter supplied promptly.

"Como?"

"Si." Mayte shrugged. "That is what Kerry said."

Maria frowned. "I have not heard of this one. Have you?"

For an answer, Mayte circled her desk and sat down at her computer, accessing her screen with efficient fingers. "No, Mama, but I am sure we can find it on the Internet. There is everything on the Internet."

Obligingly, her mother followed her around and peered over her shoulder. After a moment, they both straightened right up. "Dios Mio," Maria spluttered. "I do not think Kerrisita is going to THAT place, Mayte. She is very the open minded, but...what are those two men doing?'

Mayte hastily clicked off it. "I think that is the wrong one, Mama." She continued hunting. "Here is one...oh." She frowned. "That does not look nice at all, but it is not too far from here."

Maria looked at the address. "That is near the place where they have their hatboxing lessons."

"Kickboxing, Mama," Mayte murmured. "Do you think Kerry was going there? The other women were dressed so nice."

Maria chuckled. "Come, Mayte. I have not yet had lunch. It is time for us to go get the burgers." She headed for the hallway at a purposeful trot.

"But Mama..."

"Vamanos!"

Mayte hurriedly locked her screen and grabbed her backpack, hoping Mama wasn't going to cause too much trouble. "I am too young to be arrested, I hope," she lamented, flipping off the office light as she headed for the elevator.

KERRY WHISTLED SOFTLY under her breath as she punched her door code in, and pushed the condo door open. "Hey Chi!" She eased inside. "How are you, sweetie?" She reached down to give her pet a hug. "Chi, you're going to be very upset with me, because I've got to leave tonight but I promise you when I come back, I'll have your mommy with me. How's that?"

"Growf!" Chino whirled around in a circle, her ears flying.

"That's how I feel too." Kerry confided, dropping her briefcase and jumping around in a circle herself. "Whoo!" She hopped up and down along with Chino, dancing across the floor with her. "Yeah baby. I'm gonna go get your mommy. You like that?"

"Groouf!" Chino bucked around Kerry and retrieved a stuffed toy, presenting it gleefully to her.

"Gimme that cow." Kerry grabbed the toy and cocked her arm, waiting until Chino scrambled over near the dining room table before she let it fly, clapping when the dog caught it in mid-air. "Good girl! Good catch!" She chuckled, continuing on past the Labrador and opening the back door for her. "Go on." She waited for Chino to go outside, then she leaned against the kitchen counter, glad the condo had already cooled down.

It felt very nice to be comfortable, and not sweaty. Kerry opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of tea, popping the top and taking a sip of it. Inside the box, containers of dry ice thoughtfully provided by the island staff had kept the contents acceptably chilled through the power outage They'd even left a covered plate of fruit, which she removed and uncovered, attracted by the big strawberry in the center.

"Mm." Kerry glanced at the clock. It was only five thirty, and her flight was at eight. Still plenty of time. She figured to leave for the airport at six thirty. With only her overnight bag getting on the plane shouldn't be a problem. "Okay." She waited for Chino to come back in, then headed for the bedroom.

Chino accompanied her, but when she saw Kerry take out the leather overnighter, she gave her owner a pitiful look and went to go lay down on her bed. "Aww." Kerry put the bag on the waterbed. "You know what this is, don't you?"

Chino whined.

"Now, I told you I'd be bringing your mommy back. Don't I get points for that?" Kerry unzipped the bag and retrieved her traveling sundry kit, tucking it into one side. "Wish I could put you in here too, Chi...I bet mommy Dar would like to see you, huh??"

"Growf."

Kerry chuckled as she put three pairs of jeans into the bag, neatly folded, and added a few T-shirts and one long sleeve silk that refused to wrinkle just in case she needed something a little jazzy. A pair of leather flats along with it, then some socks and a handful of underwear. "There." She put her hands on her hips and reviewed her choices. "I think that'll do...unless Dar decides to take me to a Broadway show."

The thought rambled around in her head, bumping into her other random thoughts. Hm. Kerry wondered if Dar would like to go see a show...maybe she could find something really cool and entertaining to keep her restless partner occupied for a few hours. "And if we do..." She observed thoughtfully. "and it requires spiffy duds, well then, we'll go buy 'em." She snapped the catch on the bag handle. "Right, Chi?"

"Whine."

Kerry walked over and crouched down next to the dog bed. "Aw, c'mon, Chino...it's only a few days. Your mommy needs me." She stroked the Lab's soft head. "You know how important mommy Dar is to me, right?"

Chino wagged her tail.

"You know how much I love mommy Dar, right?" Kerry added, in a soft voice. "I can't wait till I get there, Chi. I can't wait till I see her, and I can give her a great big hug." She leaned over and hugged the dog. "Just like that, and I'll give her one for you too, okay?"

"Grrr."

"You know what? I think we might have a good time in New York. Maybe we can go to Central Park, and take a carriage ride." Kerry straightened a little. "I'd like that."

Stifling a yawn, she got up and headed back into the living room. Figuring the chances of being fed on an eight p.m. flight were slim and none, she decided to see what she could toss together for a quick dinner before she left. "C'mon, Chi...come get food."

She gave the dog a bowl of mixed kibble with some shredded chicken and got herself a cup of yogurt, a banana, some peanut butter, and the rest of her iced tea. "Mm." She surveyed her banquet. "But what I'm getting for dessert is worth it."

Cheerfully, she took the items into the living room and settled on the couch, flipping the television on to the news as she put her feet up and popped the top off her yogurt.

Now, at last, she listened as the power outage and it's restoration was explained. "Holy cow," she muttered around a mouthful of vanilla yogurt. "Look at that thing." A helicopter view of the Turkey Point nuclear plant showed the transformer building that had disintegrated, sending surges in all directions and causing the problem in the first place.

They'd been lucky. Only the transformer building had been affected by the explosion, as yet of unknown origin. Nothing had touched the nuclear part of the facility, but to say the authorities were nervous would be the biggest understatement of the fiscal year.

It was scary to think of what might have happened otherwise. Kerry felt a chill go down the back of her neck. "Tell you what, Chi," she murmured to the Labrador, who had finished her dinner and was now hopping on the couch to curl up next to Kerry. "I know where I'd like to be if the world blows up."

"Growf?"

"Mm." Kerry removed the cell phone from her belt and speed dialed, tossing her head to move her hair out of the way before she pressed the phone to her ear. "Hey, sweetie."

"Hey." Dar's voice sounded a half ton lighter than it had. "What's up? You leaving?"

"Just about. I'm having a banana first," Kerry told her. "Just wanted to know if you needed anything from here."

"You."

Kerry grinned at the ceiling. "Besides that," she said. "More undies? Shirts? Anything? I got a little room in my bag."

"Just you."

Kerry wriggled on the couch. "Okay. I'm heading out to the airport. See you in a few hours."

"I'll be there," Dar promised. "Hey...what'd you tell the terrible twosome?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" A laugh. "You stood them up? Really?"

"Sure did," Kerry agreed. "Fuck 'em. Hope they get run over by the guys on their bikes, and end up head over keister in Snake Creek canal."

"Kerrison." Dar laughed. "You little demon."

"Yeah." Kerry said. "Wait till you see my horns. You at dinner?"

"Yeah."

"See you in a few, hon."

Dar chuckled again. "Will do. See you later."

Kerry folded her phone and hauled herself off the couch, grabbing her banana as she headed for the bedroom. "Little demon," she repeated to herself, with a slight laugh. "Yeah, what a rebel I'm turning out to be. Dar, you don't know the half of it."

The sun twinkled placidly on her bag as she grabbed the handles and headed on out.

THEY'D FOUND THEIR way down to Mulberry Street, and into what was, for Manhattan, a relatively spacious and great smelling Italian restaurant by the time the sun was going down.

Dar settled into a seat near the window, eyeing the colorfully decorated walls with a bemused expression. "My partner would love this place."

Hans flipped the menu over and then tossed it aside. "I will take your word for it. Do they have something with fish here?"

Dar investigated. "Yes. Grilled salmon or snapper francese," she reported. "What's your poison?"

"If I were French, that would be an excellent joke," he replied. "I will have the snapper, and if they can please give me the noodles with just some olive oil. I do not like tomatoes."

Dar leaned back and extended her legs, crossing them at the ankles under the table. She didn't mind the restaurant, but already her body was twitching with impatience, willing the minutes to go by faster. "You still mad at me?" she inquired.

"Yes," Hans said. "You have made me too much work."

Dar merely grinned and played with her fork.

"Why could you not have said this when this program was being written?"

"I wasn't asked."

Hans made a face. "This client, yes? He is not so bright." He grumbled.

The waiter breezed by and simply looked at Dar with a raised eyebrow. "Bier?" Dar guessed, getting a nod from Hans. "Two of whatever import you have on tap, the appetizer sampler, one snapper with no sauce on the pasta, one veal the same way, and a side of olive oil."

"Awright," the waiter grunted, putting down a basket of bread and walking off.

"Very nice." Hans chuckled wryly. "It is so wonderful to be here in the friendly United States."

"This is Manhattan," Dar advised him. "You're lucky he didn't throw the bread at you." She took a piece and nibbled it. "Godson's all right. He's no technical genius, but he's pretty good on the financial side. I thought it was his VP who pushed the project through."

"Meyer?" Hans frowned. "He came late to the table on it. I think he has not been here that long." He selected a bread stick and broke it in half, placing one half on the table and chewing the other. "He does not care for you."

Dar shrugged. "He's at the end of a very long line." She watched the waiter as he returned and put down two frosty looking mugs, dribbling foam down their sides and onto the table. "Thanks."

"No problem." The waiter turned and left again.

"He's got his own agenda." Dar continued, taking a sip of her beer. "He's got an interest in a competitor of mine. Wanted to bring them in to save the day."

"Pah." Hans snorted. "Yes, I thought he was something like a player." He chewed his breadstick thoughtfully. "It could be he knew this was a problem, and did not want to change it. However, he does not understand technical matters which did indeed surprise me."

Dar tilted her head. "You mean he didn't understand programming?"

Hans waggled his index finger. "He does not understand technology in the least," he said. "He says...how do you say it here, he uses buzz words?"

"Huh."

"But if you question him closely, as I did, he has no understanding. I used this to my advantage, I do admit. I learned I could tell him anything and he would go along," Hans went on, in a mild tone. "His background, maybe, was business, not computers?"

"Mm. Could be," Dar agreed. "He kept telling me that we would have to take care of the problem ourselves. He didn't think you would cooperate."

"Me? I am a businessman," Hans objected. "I keep to my contract, and the contract says yes, we will make this program work. I do not have to like it, and I do not have to be pleased with having to do so much work, but I am a fair man." He took a gulp of beer and set the mug down. "If he says anything else, it is not true."

Dar nodded slightly. "I don't think he counted on me speaking German."

"Well, I did not either," Hans chuckled abruptly. "To be honest. I have used this to my advantage in this situation many times as well. It is easier to just accept what is given, and not have to struggle to communicate." He leaned back. "But, when I arrived, and we spoke, I rearranged my plans, and so here we are."

"Here we are," Dar agreed. "And, for the record, I really didn't want to make you change your whole damn program."

"I am not," Hans replied in an unruffled tone. "I have sent the damn thing back in pieces to Germany, and six young healthy boys are right now sweating over changing it while I sit here having reasonably good beer and horrible service in the good old US."

Dar started laughing. "You fraud."

"I am not." He maintained a dignified air.

Dar's cell phone rang, interrupting their debate. She pulled it out and opened it. "Yeah?"

"Well, hello Dar!" Alastair answered. "How are things? Sounds busy there!"

"I'm in an Italian restaurant," she answered dryly. "So yeah, it is. Things are all right. We found the problem."

"Did you? Great!" her boss said. "Not that I'm surprised. Listen, something's come up."

Damn. "Yeah?" Dar responded warily.

"Don't worry, it's not a disaster," Alastair chuckled. "Matter of fact, it's good news for a change. Bob Alexander just gave me a call. He's my opposite number for Allied Cruising."

"Ah."

"He's been watching the action around our little bid war. He's interested."

"In?" Dar inquired. "He wants to buy out those little stinkers, and put me out of my misery with the whole damn thing?"

The CEO snorted. "Nothing that simple. He's been thinking about upgrading his fleet. Eighty-seven ships. He says he's going to look hard at going with whoever wins the little one."

Dar blinked. "Holy crap."

"Uh huh," Alastair agreed smugly. "So those peanuts could turn into gold leaf peanut butter, lady. I knew the big boys were keeping an eye on this whole little circus, but Alexander sounds serious."

"That's a big contract," Dar uttered. "Jesus, Alastair, that's..."

"This quarter's catch up. Yep," he agreed. "And you know what? He called me because he thinks we've got a good chance to nail it. So do me a favor, huh? Nail it?"

As if it were that easy. Dar exhaled. "He just put the proposal out. It's down in legal being reviewed. He wants each company to do one ship. Whichever comes out best value wins."

"Yeap, Ham called me," Alastair said. "After he finished calling Quest a skunk, and an ape, and a skunk ape, he cleared it. I had him send it back on down to Kerry's office."

"Okay." Dar gathered her wits. "We'll talk about it tonight then. She's on her way here."

Alastair made a small sound of surprise. "Is she? Thought you said you had everything squared away there...more problems?"

"No," Dar said. "I mean, we've got the problem here isolated, but it'll take some work to fix it, but no. She's just coming up to keep me company." She knew the words sounded a trifle odd, but Alastair didn't even miss a beat.

"Good for her. You two take in a show or something, willya? Hey! Wait a minute...Bea! Bea!"

Dar pulled the phone away a little giving Hans a mildly apologetic look as the waiter returned with their appetizer platter and set it down on the table, along with some small plates.

"Business is business." Hans half shrugged, taking a mozzarella triangle and putting it onto a plate for himself. "It is nice for me, yes? I left my cellular phone in Germany."

Dar picked up a deep fried stick of something or other and took a cautious bite. She could hear the faint sound of the main office soothing music in her ear, and made a mental note to have someone hack into the phone switch and change it. After a minute, she checked her watch, wondering if Kerry was at the airport already, and if everything was all right with her flight, and if it was on time, and...

"Dar!" Alastair picked up the line. "Listen, I have in my hot little hands a pair of tickets to Radio City Music Hall. Can I send 'em up to you?"

Radio City Music Hall? Dar stared quizzically at the phone, ready to refuse. Then she paused. Well, redneck, maybe Kerry would like to go there, you think? "Ah...sure," she replied. "Sure, Alastair. I'd love that."

"Great!" Her boss fairly chortled. "Bea's sending them now."

"Hi Dar!" Bea's voice filtered through. "Have a great time!"

"Thanks," Dar responded.

"Well, I'll let you get back to dinner, Dar. Talk to you later," Alastair said. "Say hi to Kerry for me."

"Okay." Dar listened to the click as the phone hung up. "I'll do that." She folded the cell up and clipped it back onto her belt. "I'll certainly do that."

"Everything well?" Hans inquired.

Dar picked up her beer and took a healthy swallow. "Yeah," she said. "Pretty much, and the rest will be good in a few hours."

"When this partner of yours gets here?" Hans hazarded.

Dar nodded.

"Hm. I see." The programmer helped himself to another appetizer. "I am much looking forward to meeting this partner of yours. I think my horizons will be very broadened."

Dar checked her watch again, and drummed her heels on the linoleum floor.

Night was getting longer every damn minute.

KERRY FLIPPED THROUGH her magazine for the second time, glancing up as the flight attendant stopped at her side. "Hi."

"Hi. Can I get you anything? Another drink?" the man asked, with a smile.

"Faster airplane," Kerry requested seriously. "Can you ask the pilot to speed it up a little?"

The flight attendant chuckled. "It won't be that long now. It's just a three hour flight."

"This plane's call sign isn't 'Minnow' is it?" Kerry joked. "I'll have another orange juice, sure." She handed back her glass, then leaned back as the attendant strolled up the mostly empty first class cabin toward the service area.

Three hours really wasn't long. But she'd been at the airport for an hour that had seemed like forever. Now she just wanted the ride to end. She wondered if Dar would be at the airport to meet her, since her statement about being around wasn't really specific, and there really wasn't any need for her to ride all the way out to meet the plane, was there?

No, not really. Kerry hitched her foot up over her knee and smoothed the denim fabric over it with her fingers. No real reason, but she hoped Dar was there anyway. Airports were noisy, depressing places and she really, really wanted to see that tall, lanky frame and those pretty blue eyes waiting for her when she cleared the gangway.

Selfish?

Yeah, maybe. Kerry accepted the new glass of juice and sipped at it. She'd had enough time for a beer and some appetizers at the Chili's to Go in the airport, but the selection on the plane wasn't enough to entice her further.

Ah. Kerry paused, waiting. The ghost of a pressure she'd thought she'd felt on her ears returned, and increased slightly. They were going down. She only barely resisted the urge to hop up and down in her seat to make the plane drop faster.

"Jesus, Kerry," she muttered to herself. "What is up with you? Dar's only been gone a couple days. You'd think you'd been away from her for six weeks." She wasted a little time trying to imagine that, being gone for six weeks from her partner, and immediately switched to thinking about something else just from the sheer discomfort of it.

And wasn't that strange? Two married people should be able to be separate from each other without going crazy, shouldn't they?

Kerry welcomed the popping in her ears like an old friend. Okay, so she was strange. She was strange, and weird, and through all of it she wanted to be down on the ground and walking out that ramp and falling into those arms.

Because Dar would be there.

For sure.

DAR LEANED AGAINST the window, peering out into the taxiway area with enough intensity to hopefully force a large Boeing airplane into existence without further delay. Her breath fogged the glass and she backed off, wiping the moisture off with impatient fingers.

A small cart scooted across the concrete, and she leaned back in, watching it alertly as it parked itself under the jet way connected to the gate she was standing in. A man got out, and he pulled from the back of his belt a pair of reflective wands.

Ah. Good sign. Dar smiled happily. Her attention was caught by her reflection in the glass and she drew back, blinking at the brilliant blue eyes sparkling back at her. "Look like a kid at Christmas," she accused herself. "C'mon, knock it off."

A soft whine heard in the darkness drew her attention and she peered out again as a number of other little buggies drew up near the jet way. Her undignified glee embarrassed her. What would Kerry think? They'd only been apart for a few days, and now...

Jesus. Dar forced herself to pull back as she spotted the nose of a large white aircraft meandering in. She walked back around in front of the gate agent's pedestal and took a seat in the front row of chairs, folding her hands over one knee and affecting an air of unconcern.

The agents paid her little attention, being busy with paperwork. One turned and opened the jet way door, propping it wide with a metal stop before going back to checking something against his computer.

Dar watched the nose of the plane bounce to a halt, and heard the whine of the jet engines as the jet way moved out to meet it. Unaccountably, her heart started to pound, and she took several deep breaths to calm it without much success.

What if Kerry wasn't on the plane?

The thought suddenly struck her, bringing a sense of shock that made the room fade out just a little. "Don't be stupid," she muttered aloud. "Of course she's there, or she'd have called me." Dar firmly crossed her arms over her chest and refused to look at the cell phone clipped to her belt. Instead, she fixed her eyes on the opening in the jet way.

Of course Kerry was there. Probably right in front, taking her bags down from the overhead, and trying politely not to get in anyone's way.

Twitching her jeans straight, and running her hand through her hair as she took an impatient breath, waiting to get out.

Dar could almost see her if she closed her eyes, edging past the seats and heading for the door, head a little down.

She opened her eyes and stared at the empty opening, sensing motion approaching.

Hearing the scuff of soft soled shoes on the carpet, in a gentle rhythm she recognized, moments before the opening was filled with Kerry's familiar sturdy form, her head already moving around as her eyes searched the space before her.

"LET ME OFF this darn plane." Kerry suppressed the urge to give the flight attendant a poke, and adjusted the shoulder strap on her carry-on instead. They'd finally taxied up to the gate, and it seemed like forever to her before they moved the gangplank in and started to open the door.

She was in front. Usually, she patiently waited her turn, and let everyone else go before her, but not tonight. She'd scooted up past the two other flyers in first class and claimed a spot near the exit, watching impatiently as the attendant worked the door lock and pushed the big door open.

Bounce bounce. Kerry waited for the man to move back, then headed for the opening without hesitation. She'd been watching out her window as they'd pulled up, and she'd sworn she'd seen Dar standing there waiting.

Just a brief glimpse, but that had been enough for her to recognize that tall figure, hands pressed firmly against the glass, watching out for Kerry's arrival.

"Thanks! Have a great time in New York," the flight attendant told her, as she whisked on by.

"Oh, I will," Kerry promised, heading up the slanting ramp toward the terminal. It was musty smelling and rank inside, and she grimaced as she passed a dark spot in the carpet that stank to high heaven.

Hadn't Dar said the city smelled? Well, here she was, and boy, did it. Kerry saw light at the end of the tunnel and came around the last bend in the jet way, clearing the threshold and looking around her.

Her eyes locked with pale blue ones at once. Dar was sitting not ten feet from the entrance, and Kerry let out a whoop as she bolted across the floor, dropping her bag and throwing her arms around her partner as Dar stood and took a step forward.

"Eeeeyow!!" Kerry let out a soft yodel. "Am I glad to see you!" She buried her face into Dar's chest and wiggled.

Dar wrapped her arms around Kerry and lifted her off her feet, holding her tight without answering. The warmth of her body felt almost shocking, and before she knew it Kerry had a snug hold around her neck and was leaning up to kiss her.

Spectacle at the airport. Ah well. Worse they could do is toss them out and they were going anyway. Dar shrugged off the concern and responded, brushing her lips lightly across Kerry's before she made a longer, sweeter contact.

It felt familiar and wonderful, and the tension coiled inside her body relaxed as if by magic as Kerry pulled her head back a little and looked up into Dar's eyes again.

"Hey, sweetie." Kerry gazed at her with unmistakable adoration. "Are you ever a sight for sore eyes."

Dar grinned like an idiot. "Hey." She cleared her throat slightly. "Want to move out of the way of those folks?" She picked up Kerry's bag and shouldered it.

"Sure." Kerry wrapped her arm around Dar's waist as they moved down the aisle of seats, and away from the gate. She caught a look of disgust from one woman. "Something wrong?" she asked politely.

"Disgusting," the woman answered, drawing away.

"Thank you," Kerry replied graciously. "Have a great night. I know I will." She gave Dar a squeeze, and grinned unrepentantly as the woman hurried past and left them behind. "What a creep!"

"Her loss." Dar circled Kerry's shoulders with one arm and rested her cheek against her partner's soft, fair hair briefly. "How was the flight?"

"Took forever," Kerry admitted. "I just wanted to get here. It was okay, I guess." She craned her head. "Oh, I like those. Are they new?" She plucked at the waistband of Dar's jeans. "Very sexy."

"Mmhm." Dar felt herself relaxing further at the casual banter. "Thanks...you hungry? We can stop for something..."

Kerry looked around. "Not in here, honey. I've seen scrungier airports, but not by much," she remarked. "Can we get something at the hotel? I've got a headache Bayer would pay for."

"You got it." Dar shifted her arm, switching the casual drape for a light grip on the back of Kerry's neck. She kneaded the tenseness there as they walked, producing a half grin at the little sounds of contentment it drew from her partner. "Long day?"

"Ungh," she exhaled. "Long couple of days, and with as little sleep as I got last night, I'm raisin toast."

"With cream cheese?" Dar nibbled her hair a little. "Glad you're here," she whispered, seeing the shift of muscle under skin as Kerry smiled.

"I'm glad I'm here too." Kerry leaned against her as they walked through the door to the outside, and were greeted with a sultry New York night. "Hm. Almost as muggy as home, but with much nastier scenery." She wrinkled her nose. "We taking a taxi?"

Dar spotted an alternative, a long, plush looking town car with a diffident looking driver leaning against the side. "Got a better idea." She steered Kerry toward the car. "You go to Manhattan?" she asked the driver.

The man looked at them, head cocked to one side. "Do I go to Manhattan? Whaddaya think, this thing look like a tour bus? Sure I go to Manhattan. Where ya goin?"

"East side Hyatt." Dar felt slightly sheepish. "Sorry, it's late."

"You got it." The man opened the door with a flourish, and removed Kerry's bag from Dar's shoulder. "Gwan, get in there. I got better places to be than LaGuardia, that's for damn sure."

Kerry scooted in first, and waited for Dar to join her and shut the door before she edged back across the seat and snuggled against her partner with a contented sigh. There was a faint scent of oregano and garlic clinging to Dar's T-shirt, along with the touch of spice that was their mutual body wash. "You smell good," she commented, resting her head against Dar's shoulder. "Damn, I missed you. I thought I was going nuts. You've only been here a couple days, but I feel like it's been forever."

Dar was startled to have her own feelings articulated so precisely. "Yeah," she uttered. "Just real stressful days, I guess."

"Mm." Kerry rubbed her thumb lightly over Dar's belly. "You know, they really were. So much crap, and that damn power outage. Jesus."

Dar watched the lights of the city flash by, the driver surprisingly silent up front. It was amazing how much friendlier New York looked from inside the car with its present occupant wrapped around her. "Well, it's over," she said. "And who knows? Maybe we can have a little fun here."

"I'm having fun now." Kerry closed her eyes. "Dar?"

"Yeah?"

"We're a little nuts, y'know."

"Yeah, I know."

"Do you care?"

"Hell no," Dar said. "Do you?"

Kerry drew in a lungful of air infused with cotton, spice and love. "Oh no," she whispered, a smile pulling at the muscles of her face. "I'll take crazy any day."

They both fell silent, the restrained classical music becoming audible for the first time as the car raced toward a tunnel and the skyline of Manhattan spread out before them.

KERRY FINISHED ADDING her bathroom doodads to the sink shelf as she listened to Dar ordering them something from room service. The hotel room was big and very nice, but she could really have cared less as long as it had Dar in it, a shower, and someplace for them to sleep.

Even the second thing wasn't really a requirement, if she was honest.

With a smile, Kerry ducked back into the main room, pausing to lean in the door way and watch Dar as she paced idly back and forth in front of the desk.

"Thanks." Dar put the phone down and turned. "Twenty minutes. Did you get Advil?"

Kerry held up the small bottle she'd taken from Dar's kit. She uncapped it and removed a couple of the brownish pills, crossing to the pitcher of water sitting on the side table and pouring herself a half glassful. "That's a nice looking bed there, Paladar."

"Mm." Dar came over to her. "Too big for one person, though," she said. "Had a tough time getting to sleep in it," she admitted.

"Guess we've got the solution to that problem." Kerry swallowed her pills, dropping her head forward as Dar's hands gently kneaded her neck. It felt incredibly good, and not just from the warmth. "Know what?"

"What?" Dar's breath tickled the edge of her ear.

"My life suddenly got really good again." Kerry's tone was quietly serious.

Dar leaned against Kerry's back. "Mine too," she replied. "I missed you."

"I felt really lousy when I woke up this morning," Kerry mused. "I'm glad I'm here."

"So am I." Dar sounded just as serious. "So." She wanted to get this out of the way first, to untie that one knot of uncertainty deep in her guts so she could deal with whatever it was, and get past it. "Kerry."

"So, Kerry what?" her partner asked curiously.

"So. What is this thing you did that I'm going to kill you for?" Dar got the words out in a stolid rush, chasing the last one out of her mouth and clamping her jaws down after it.

Kerry turned, letting her hands rest on Dar's hips as she looked up. "Huh?" she queried. "What did I do now?"

A wrinkle appeared in the skin above Dar's eyes. "Ah...you...said you...the other day?"

"The other day." Kerry's gaze slid to one side, as she thought. Abruptly her expression cleared, then took on an immediate look of embarrassed chagrin. "Oh." She lifted a hand and half covered her eyes. "Yeah, that."

"That," Dar repeated, reassured. If Kerry had forgotten all about the damn thing, how bad could it have been? "Which is...what?" she asked, a touch hesitant.

Kerry had completely forgotten 'that', and now she felt like an idiot. With a sigh, she took Dar's hand and led her over to the bed, sitting down and waiting for her partner to take a seat next to her. "You really are going to think I'm a nut."

Dar's eyes fastened on her partner's expressive face intently. "I am?"

"Yeah." Kerry rubbed her nose. "I think you are."

Dar waited, but nothing more seemed forthcoming. "Well." She cleared her throat gently. "Why don't you give me a try and see? I mean..." She examined her partner. "You don't usually do nutty things."

Kerry took a deep breath, and looked Dar squarely in the eye. "I did this time," she admitted. "I...um..." She took another breath. "I got a tattoo."

Dar's face remained very still for a long, long moment. Then she blinked several times. "You did?"

Watching her face anxiously, Kerry nodded. "Yep, I did." She didn't see the little signals she'd learned were disapproval from her partner, and it gave her the courage to continue on. "You know I've been sorta thinking about it..."

"I know," Dar finally managed to get a few words out of her shocked throat. "You said a few times, but I um...a tattoo?"

"A tattoo," Kerry confirmed, peeking sheepishly up through her bangs. "It was a spur of the moment thing."

"Wow."

"Anyway, after that night with the gang, I was talking to one of the guys about it and he said his friend was a great tattoo artist, so..." Kerry grimaced a bit, half shrugging one shoulder. "So I went to talk to him and I saw his stuff."

"Nice?" Dar asked.

"Gorgeous," Kerry admitted. "We got to talking, and I told him what my ideas were and he drew this thing and..." She let the words trail off, sneaking another look at Dar's face. The pale blue eyes were focused on her face, a look of mild intrigue mixed with curiosity in them.

Not disgust. Not disapproval. Kerry felt a little better. "I guess I decided to do it before I thought about it and chickened out."

Dar absorbed this. Of all the possible things Kerry could have thought she was going to kill her for, this was by far the least of anything she could have imagined. Why would Kerry have thought she'd be upset anyway? "Ker, it's your body," she said. "You could paint it orange and I'd be fine with it."

Kerry didn't respond to that for a moment. She took Dar's hands in hers and squeezed them, her eyes fastened on their tangled fingers. "I just thought it was a pretty radical thing for me to do."

"Nah," Dar disagreed. "If you'd gotten your face pierced, I might have freaked out. But tattoos...hell, I wanted one when I was a punk. Why not?" She watched a smile appear on Kerry's face. "So...um..." The green eyes lifted to hers. "You going to let me see it?"

Kerry nodded. "Absolutely."

"Where'd you get it??

Slowly, Kerry released one hand and lifted it, tapping her chest lightly.

Dar winced. "That must have hurt."

"Eh." Kerry exhaled, responding to a gentle pressure on her shoulder and lying down on her back on the bed. "This is where I'm supposed to carry on the grand tradition and prove my primal womanhood by telling you it didn't"

"Ah." Dar brushed Kerry's hand aside and unbuttoned her shirt, reclining next to her as she started to pull the fabric back.

"But it's not true." She forced herself to relax, letting her arm fall to the bed and focusing on Dar's face as that warm touch brushed across the skin under her shirt. "It hurt like hell, and I betrayed tough chicks everywhere by screaming like a weasel when he did it."

Dar chuckled softly, finishing her unbuttoning and pulling aside the left side of Kerry's shirt, exposing her shoulder and chest. A flash of color met her eyes, and she leaned closer staring at this new and very different thing with intense curiosity.

Kerry held her breath.

"Wow," Dar murmured. "It's...beautiful." She edged a bit closer. "Is that a rope or..."

"No, it's a...um...it's a snake," Kerry uttered softly. "You know, it's that Celtic thing, the one with its tail in its mouth?" She hesitated just an instant. "The one that means eternity?"

"Oh...yeah!" Dar now found the pattern. Each scale of the snake's body had been outlined and done in a different color, and the effect was truly striking. The snake was winding itself in and out of a darker pattern and Dar had to stare at it for several seconds before her mind resolved what the pattern was.

It was her name. Dar put the word 'eternity' and those letters together and slowly lifted her head to stare into Kerry's eyes.

After a moment of utter silence, Kerry managed a smile. "No offense, sweetheart, but I'm really glad you shortened it. I don't think I could have handled the long version of your name."

It was stunning. Dar felt short of breath. It was overwhelming. She blinked and felt the surprising sting of tears. Her head jerked a little, and the droplets scattered over Kerry's bare skin, trembling as Kerry drew in a shaky breath.

With a little sigh, Dar just buried her face into Kerry's belly, giving her mind a little space to absorb this most explicit of messages.

Well, I don't think she's mad. Kerry reached up and ran her fingers through the dark hair draping over her middle, scratching Dar's scalp with her fingertips.

In truth, she'd forgotten completely about her anxiety over the damn thing, too, and the sudden stress after the long day was leaving her feeling totally wasted. But it had gone off rather better than she'd expected, so maybe not preparing for it was the way to go.

Anyway. "I know you know how I feel about you," Kerry ventured. "So it's not a big shocker, but..." She felt Dar exhale against her skin. "Now I want to find an excuse to wear a strapless gown so everyone can see it."

Dar's body twitched as a tiny chuckle emerged.

Kerry stroked Dar's hair gently, loving the feel of it against her skin. The pain, she decided now, had indeed been worth it, and her last doubt drifted away as Dar turned her head finally and their eyes met, and she saw the wonder and the tears there.

Definitely worth it.