Eve frantically ran around her apartment, getting ready to go meet Scott.
She had waited for this day for so long now; well, it had been over a year since Serena's accident. And she'd waited ever since they'd broken up for them to be back together.
Eve stood in front of the full-length mirror, smoothing out her sundress.
She then went out on the balcony and leaned against the railing.
"Dom, I hope that you're up there, watching over us. You said it would all be alright, I hope this is what you meant."
Eve felt a soft, cool, sweet smelling breeze. It was uncommon in the humid August air. She smiled to herself; maybe Dom really was going to make things right for her and Scott and Serena.
From her balcony, she could see to the edge of Port Charles; she was near the end of the really big buildings. She knew it was no coincidence that she could see the run-down shack on 152nd Street that she used to call home. There was something about that little house that drew her attention. But why? There had to be a reason, a subconscious reason, for why she had picked this apartment, where she could see her childhood home.
Eve snapped back to the present and realized it was time for her to leave. She had promised to meet Scott at seven.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Chris, I need to talk to you," Raegan said to him that night.
"What about?" he asked.
"Us."
"Us? What do you mean?"
"Well, me, living here, I've never done a guy/girl roommate kind of situation, I think we need to talk abut this."
"There's really nothing to talk about it. At least I don't think so."
"I mean, what are the expectations?"
"Expectations?" Chris looked at her weird.
"I don't know..."
"Do you mean, like can I behave myself?" Chris laughed.
"Well, sort of."
"You can ask Eve, I'm a perfectly good little boy," Chris flashed her a smile.
"How did you and Eve do it? I mean, you two lived here together for a while didn't you? And you two never were more than friends?"
"Raegan, you don't have to worry about anything. I know it's only been a little over a week since you lost Adrian, and I will respect your space. But I do want you to know that I am here for you, if you want to talk."
"Thank you, Chris."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Serena waited with her friends while one of the grown-ups waited in line for their tickets. She could see her daddy from where she was standing. She could tell he was waiting for someone, but he hadn't told her that he was meeting anyone there.
Then she saw Eve.
"Hey, isn't that your daddy's friend Eve?" Serena's friend Meredith asked. "I thought they didn't really like each other anymore."
"Yup, that's Eve!" Serena said, excited. "They broke up last year because of my accident, Daddy blamed her, sort of, even though I said it wasn't her fault, and then Daddy was with Lucy, and Eve and Lucy don't get along at all. But, Eve came over the other night, and we had bunches of fun playing cards and watching movies."
"So you like Eve?" Meredith's twin sister Becca asked.
"Eve is the coolest," Serena said.
"Cool," Meredith and Becca giggled.
"Hi Scott," Eve said, coming up to him.
"Hi Eve," Scott said.
Eve waved to Serena who was jumping up and down waving at her.
"Thank you for inviting me, Scott," Eve still wondered why he had invited her.
"You're welcome," he said, he was acting really weird. "C'mon, I already got our tickets, let's go in."
They went into the movie theatre and sat down after buying some popcorn and drinks. Scott plopped the popcorn down between them.
"I guess popcorn's getting to be our regular, isn't it?" Scott said, remembering the other night.
Eve just laughed.
Eve settled down into her seat as the movie began. The situation was kind of weird, Scott still hadn't offered an explanation for this.
The movie that Scott had picked was kind of scary. Something startled Eve, and Scott tenderly put his arm around her shoulders. She relaxed under his arm and lay her head on his shoulder. She reached down for some popcorn, just as Scott did. She looked up at him as he put the popcorn in her mouth.
Now she was really confused! For the first half of the movie, Scott had sat there like she wasn't sitting next to him, and now he was feeding her popcorn?
The rest of the movie was pretty uneventful, the movie turned out pretty lame, and so had the date. When Eve parted from Scott outside the theatre, she was even more confused than when she had come there.
"Eve, wait!" Scott yelled after her.
Eve whirled around to see him running after her.
"What, Scott?" she asked.
"Well, Serena's going to spend the night with her friends Meredith and Becca, so that means I'll be all alone at the firehouse, so I was thinking that maybe you could come over for a while, I think we need to talk."
"That's for sure," she said with a sigh. She thought to herself that Scott sounded just like a nervous teenager.
"Did you drive here?" he asked.
"Yeah, I guess I'll meet you at the firehouse," Eve said.
Scott just sorta nodded, and headed off to his truck.
Eve got in her car and started off towards the firehouse, deep in thought. She sure hoped that Scott would try to explain things to her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Scott got back home before Eve arrived there. He brought out some drinks and sat them on the coffee table just as she knocked on the door.
He went over and opened the door. The muggy day had turned very windy, he could tell as he opened the door that it was about to storm.
"Hi Eve, come on in."
"Thanks for inviting me over, Scott."
"Come and sit down."
They both sat down on the couch, tensely, not saying anything.
"Scott, is something wrong?" Eve asked, noticing he was almost quieter than he'd been at the movie.
"Uhh...Eve, I don't really know what to say, this is all so confusing."
"Scott, it doesn't have to be if you'd just say what you're thinking."
"I don't know what I'm thinking! The past two months, my whole life has just turned upside down! Forget the past two months, take the past two years! Just a little over two years ago, I was happily living in Canada with Serena. Then I come back to Port Charles and everything in my life changes. I haven't had a second to rest ever since I've come back. It's been one thing after another. And then Lucy leaving, Eve, I thought Lucy was the one, really, I did, but I was wrong, I was so wrong. I tried to listen...." He thought twice before telling her that he had been hearing his dead wife.
"You tried to listen to what? To who?" Eve asked, remembering her visit from Dominique.
"No, then you'd think I was crazy," he said with a little laugh, standing up, walking around to the other side of the couch.
"C'mon Scott, you know I think you're crazy!" Eve laughed, breaking the tension of the room a bit.
"Last year, before we started seeing each other..." Scott began to tell Eve. "Eve, I had a dream, about Dominique. I know this sounds weird, but she showed me how the future would be, how Serena would be, if I never learned to love another after Dominique. Since then, I've tried to change things in my life so that things would not end up as Dom showed me they would. So I went ahead with our relationship last spring and when that didn't work out, I was with Lucy, trying to show Serena love. But, that didn't work out either, obviously, she's off with Kevin now! So, you see why I'm confused? I tried to listen to Dominique and go on with my life, but it just hasn't worked."
"So, why did you invite me to a movie today?" Eve asked.
"I thought, maybe I gave up on us too soon. You are so great with Serena, and I do enjoy being with you. I realize now that the accident was not your fault, Serena convinced me of that, and I want to apologize to you for blaming you."
"Thank you, Scott. That means a lot to me, I know it must be hard for you to say that."
"So, you forgive me?"
"Yes Scott, I forgive you."
"Sooooooooooo..." Scott rocked back and forth on his heels.
Eve looked up and gave him a little smile.
"What do you think?" Scott asked.
"Well, I miss you, and of course I miss Serena, I miss all the fun we used to have..." Eve said.
"You wanna give this another try?" Scott asked, sitting back beside Eve on the couch.
"Yes, Scott, I'd like that," Eve said, taking his hand.
Scott pulled Eve into a big hug.
'Well, it's a start,' Eve thought to herself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kiss Me Now Performed by Lila McCann on her Something In the Air CD (Written by: Mark Spiro/Gary Burr)
You picked me up at seven I could see it in your eyes And halfway through the movie It was still on both our minds So why put it off one minute more Let's do what we wanted to When I first opened the door
Kiss me now... cause you know you will Kiss me now... why wait until The end of the night when it's awkward and shy And there's so much at stake that we're too scared to try Kiss me now... why go on like this Kiss me now... get it over with I'll make it easy on you I want you to kiss me now
The way we're both distracted It makes it hard to talk This ice is easily broken If we trust in what we got
Kiss me now... cause you know you will Kiss me now... why wait until The end of the night when it's awkward and shy And there's so much at stake that we're too scared to try Kiss me now... why go on like this Kiss me now... get it over with I'll make it easy on you I want you to kiss me now
You don't have to ask You know what I'll say And who knows what will happen next If we get it out of the way
Kiss me now... why go on like this Kiss me now... get it over with I'll make it easy on you I want you to kiss me now
"Into the Heart" Chapter 7 "Carry On"
There was fog everywhere.
Raegan could see someone coming toward her.
"Adrian?" she called out.
She couldn't hear a thing. And she couldn't tell who it was. It was only a wish that it could be Adrian.
She heard the person's soft footsteps as he came nearer to her.
"Who is it?" she asked, looking around frantically, he had disappeared into the fog again. "Who's there?!?"
She kept yelling, but no one answered her.
"Where did you go?" Raegan felt so confused. "Who's there? Who is there?"
"Raegan?" Chris tried to wake her. "Rae? Wake up, you're having a nightmare."
Raegan struggled to free herself from the blankets she was tangled up in. Chris could tell that she was still in her nightmare.
"Rae? Wake up, it's okay," Chris said, trying to help her.
Raegan opened her eyes and just stared up at Chris. She looked so frightened and lost.
Chris cupped her head in his hand and pulled her close to him. He held her tight until she stopped trembling.
When he felt her relax, he layed her back onto the pillow.
"Are you okay?" he asked, gently brushing aside a lock of her red hair that was in her face.
Raegan slowly nodded her head, "because you're here."
Raegan layed her hand on top of Chris's. He held her hand as she fell back asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Eve sat out on the balcony. The only time it was cool enough to enjoy being outside was at this time in the morning as the sun had just peeked over the horizon, before it had become too hot.
It had only been a few weeks since her talk with Scott. They'd gone out on a few more casual dates, nothing serious yet.
Of course, Eve knew that Scott is the only man for her. It wasn't that that was bothering her that morning.
Eve stood up and leaned against the railing. She spotted that dilapidated shack again.
"What is it about that house?" she asked herself.
In the middle of all the buildings around it, it seemed to stand out to her. How could something like that, a place she never wanted to go to again, feel so powerful over her?
Eve shivered as she turned away from the balcony and got ready for work.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
[The next morning]
Chris was sitting on the couch feeding Kaitlyn when Raegan came into the living room.
"Good morning, Chris," Raegan said, sitting down beside him.
"Good morning, Rae," Chris said, looking up from Kaitlyn. "Did you sleep alright?"
"Yes, after you came in, I did."
"So, what are your plans for today?"
"I'm supposed to meet Lark at Kelly's for lunch later, I was wondering if you'd watch Kaitlyn for me."
"Sure, I can, I don't have to be at the hospital until two. Don't forget that Kaitlyn has an appointment with her pediatrician at 2:30 this afternoon, I can give you two a ride to the hospital when I go in."
"Yes, Chris, I remember that she has an appointment. I'll be back in plenty of time to take my little Kate to get her check-up."
"You'd better go get ready to meet Lark, sleepyhead, it's after 11:00 already."
"I didn't realize it was so late! Thanks, Chris, I do need to get a shower!"
Raegan left the room; Chris looked back down at Kaitlyn. She had fallen back asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
[At Kelly's]
Raegan opened the door to Kelly's and looked around for her sister.
When she didn't see her, she sat down at a table to wait for her.
Raegan was glancing over the menu when Liz came up to her table and sat down.
"Hi...Liz, right?" Raegan asked.
Liz nodded and told Raegan, "Lark called and told me that you'd be meeting her here, but she had to do something for Frank and she won't be able to make it."
"Oh, that's too bad, I was looking forward to spending more time with her. We've been away from each other for so long, well, six years, I've missed her so much."
"I miss my sister sometimes, too. She moved away from Port Charles about a year and a half ago."
"Is she close to your age? I always wondered what it'd be like to have a sister close to my age, since me and Lark are so far apart."
"Yeah, she's about a year older than me. Of course, being so close in age isn't always an advantage."
"Boys?"
Liz laughed, "Yeah, when we came to Port Charles about two years ago, I had a crush on a guy who had a humongous crush on Sarah. But, she liked his older brother."
"Gosh, I could really see some sibling rivalry coming out of that one!"
"Yeah, Sarah and I didn't get along all that well, and at the time, Lucky and Nikolas hated each other. Lucky couldn't stand that Sarah wanted to be with his brother."
"Lark told me about Lucky, I'm so sorry, Liz."
Liz gave Raegan a little smile, "It's okay, I'm getting through it, I think."
"Did Lark tell you anything about me?" Raegan asked.
"No, we haven't seen each other since when you came in here with her a few weeks ago."
"Liz, my husband Adrian, he was killed in a plane crash, the night before Kaitlyn was born."
"Raegan, that's awful. I'm so sorry, how are you doing? That's a stupid question, I know how you're doing, I've been through it, it must be so hard, especially with a newborn."
"Really, Liz, I'm doing okay. It helps that I have Kaitlyn to take care of and Chris and Lark have been so supportive."
"If you ever need someone to talk to, know that you can come to me."
"Thanks, Liz. Any advice?"
"Just listen to the people who love you. They've taught me more than I could ever imagine."
"Like what?"
"Emily and Nikolas, they've been right by my side ever since the fire. Emily was Lucky's best friend for years, and Nikolas had finally gotten close to his brother. They'd both been through hard times in their lives before. They helped to remind me that life does go on, everything that happens to us happens for a reason and it just makes us stronger. We have to find a way through the pain and find the other side."
"If I didn't have Lark and Chris, I don't know where I'd be now. If I hadn't of met Chris, there's no way I could've taken care of Kaitlyn by myself, Chris saved us."
"That's sort of how me and Lucky started. Lucky saved me. About a year and a half ago, on Valentine's Day, I was raped in the park. Lucky found me and brought me back to his house. If I wouldn't have had him then, I don't know what would've happened. I doubt I'd be here right now."
"Liz, you've had such a rough time these past few years."
"Yes, I have, but I'm getting through it. And so will you. Just keep going, it will all make sense eventually."
"I sure hope so."
"Well, I have to get back to work, my break's up. Well, it has been up, but I have it in with Tammy, she lets me bend the rules."
Liz got up and returned to the counter.
Scott looked down at his coffee in front of him. He had listened to this whole exchange between Liz and Raegan from the next table. As Raegan gathered her things, Scott got up and left the restaurant.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
[On Call room, 2:00]
"Do you like working at General Hospital?" Raegan asked Chris as he went over some patient charts.
Chris smiled and replied, "As long as there isn't a wealthy surgeon trying to ruin your career or a serial killer on the loose or a crazed doctor who's mad about not getting an internship, yeah, it's a pretty nice place to work. Why do you ask?"
"Well, about three months before Kaitlyn was born, I finished nursing school, but I didn't start work because I wanted to wait until after she was born. Do you know if there's any positions open here?"
"I don't know, but I can look into it for you. Did Lark tell you that she worked here for a while last year? She had to do some community service, so she was a candy-striper here."
"No, she didn't tell me that. She really hasn't been all that open about anything that's happened with her since I left Port Charles. Everything she's told me I had to pry out of her."
"It's almost time for Kaitlyn's appointment, you'd better get going."
"Yeah, it is. Thanks in advance for asking about a job here for me."
"No problem," Chris flashed that smile of his again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Just keep going, everything will work out, everything happens for a reason, those sound like things you'd tell me, Dominique," Scott said that nite as he sat on his porch staring at the sky.
The breeze blew through the trees.
"That girl, Liz, she knows a lot about life, for being so young. She reminds me of you, sort of. She seems to know how to find the good things in life and not dwell on the bad things. I hope that I can learn to be like that. I'm trying my hardest. I really think I'm doing the right thing, now. I really enjoy being with Eve, and I don't want to spoil it. Eve's a good thing in my life."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Carry On Tim McGraw
Mama went to sleep one nite and never woke up Daddy cried a tear into her old coffee cup Now all he wants to do is drink the hurt all away If mama was here I know what mama would say
Carry on Carry on What don't kill us makes us strong Carry on
Little sister's husband ran off with her best friend Left her and the babies all alone again It hurts to know the hurt that she's going through I know that she'll do what she's gotta do
Carry on Carry on What don't kill us makes us strong Carry on
Nobody ever said that life was gonna be fair You're never gonna get nowhere by running scared If you look deep inside you'll find the faith to make you strong, ohhh Carry on
I try to walk the sunny side of the street Don't let no shadows tangle up my feet There aren't no troubles that we can't rise above With a handful of faith and a heart full of love
Carry on Carry on What don't kill us makes us strong Carry on
Carry on What don't kill us makes us strong, mmmmm Carry on
Carry on Carry on Ooooooooooo Mmmmm, carry on
"Into the Heart" Chapter 8 "Her Man"
It was now the end of September, 1999. Scott and Eve had "officially" been "retrying" their relationship for about a month and a half.
But Scott still didn't feel right about it.
The more he thought about it, the more he thought he was unfair to Eve the year before. Before he went any farther (not that they had gone far at all! They were taking it at a snail's pace, making sure not to ruin it like before.), he wanted to make sure things were right between them.
He'd had several talks with Dominique in the past two months. She hadn't told him much else, just been a supportive presence. He was pretty sure that what he was doing, being with Eve, was the right thing. He always enjoyed himself when they were together.
But he knew that he had hurt her in the past. He didn't know if he could ever repair the damage, but he would try his hardest.
He picked up the phone and dialed the number for the sixth floor at the hospital.
He asked for Eve and waited for her to come.
"Dr. Eve Lambert speaking," she said, picking it up.
"Hello Dr. Eve," Scott said.
"Scott! Hey!"
"What are you doing tonight?"
"Ah, not much, I thought I'd go home and watch some old movies and pig out on some junk, nothing important, why, you wanna go do something?" she asked.
"Well, not *go* do anything."
"Something at your place?"
"Yeah, Serena's over at Meredith and Becca's house, they're having a sleepover, so she won't be home till the morning, so I was thinking we could get together here, eight o'clock?"
"Sure, sounds great!
"So, I'll see you then?"
"Yeah, I get off at six thirty, so I'll be there by eight. See ya then!"
"I'll be waiting."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Chris asked Raegan as they got off the elevator at the sixth floor.
"Yes Chris! I've told you that a zillion times already!" she said.
"Raegan, it hasn't even been two months since Kaitlyn was born."
"Most mothers go back after six weeks."
"You're not just going back, you're starting, and it wasn't just Kaitlyn that I was thinking about."
"Chris! Would you stop worrying about me? It's sweet, I know you're just trying to help, but I'm fine! I promise!"
"If you need anything, anything at all, you just page me. I'll be here until your shift is over."
"Okay, Chris, now get to your patients!" Raegan laughed as she made him go to work. He worried over her too much; she knew that he thought that she was too fragile after losing Adrian and having Kaitlyn to be at work now. But, she knew it was going to be okay, she'd get through this time like she had everything else in her life, Liz was right, she needed to carry on, everything would be okay.
"Nurse, could you go and give Mr. Evans in room 615 his meds?" Raegan heard a doctor say from behind her as she stood at the sixth floor nurses' station.
"Oh, yeah, sure," Raegan fumbled, her first official duty!
Raegan turned around to see who had talked to her.
Eve.
"Oh, hi, Raegan, right?" Eve said, too sweetly, Raegan thought.
"Yeah," Raegan said, starting to leave.
"So, how are things going at Chris's? How's your baby? Kaitlyn, right?"
"Yeah, Kaitlyn's fine, we're fine at Chris's," Raegan didn't want to talk to Eve for one more minute than she had to, there was just something about her that she didn't like.
"Well, you better get going," Eve said like it was Raegan that had delayed her from Mr. Evans.
"Yes, I better get to work," Raegan said, smiling fakely at Eve. "Ugh!" she muttered to herself as she walked down the hall. "She gets on my last nerve!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Eve went home that afternoon after work and showered and dressed. She put on a cute little dress with a sweater cardigan thingy on over it since it had suddenly gotten cooler; summer was leaving.
She quickly drove over to the firehouse, she was curious about what Scott had planned.
She knocked on the door and waited for him to open it.
"Who is it?" Scott asked.
"What, how many women did you invite over here? Who else are you expecting?" Eve joked.
"Only you, Eve," Scott said, opening the door.
"Well, that's a good thing," Eve smiled.
"So, you ready?" Scott asked.
"For what?" she asked, puzzled.
Scott led her through the kitchen to the back door. He stopped at the door to the terrace and said to her, "Now, close your eyes."
"Close my eyes? Should I trust you, Baldwin?"
"Trust me," he said tenderly.
"Okay," she closed her eyes and gave him her hands.
He opened the door and led her out.
"Now, open your eyes," he said softly.
"Wow, Scott," she said, looking around at the white candles glowing in the night. It was so romantic! The round table in the middle of the terrace hosted two plates with sterling covers on them and two glasses of wine. "What's this for?"
"Can't you just go along with anything?" he teased. "Must you always question?"
"Scott Baldwin, you don't ever do anything without a purpose."
"Well, you got me there."
"So?"
"Sit down first."
"Okay."
Scott held out Eve's chair for her and then took the seat across from her.
"So? What's this about?"
"You know, I've been thinking-"
"Oh, no," Eve joked.
"I'm serious, Eve," Scott said.
"Okay, go on," she said, willing and waiting to listen.
"I've been thinking about last year-"
"Scott, not again, we've been through this, I'm okay with it."
"Would you let me just say what I have to say?"
"Yes, Scott, okay, but I'm telling you right now, I'm okay."
"It's not okay, Eve, I was awful to you. I wouldn't listen to you; you told me it wasn't your fault, that it was an accident, and did I listen? No, I believed what I wanted to. You went and found out the truth and I got even madder at you."
"Scott, that was mostly my fault, I shouldn't have told everyone at Lucy and Kevin's wedding. If I'd have gotten the proof any earlier, I'd of come forward with it, but I didn't get it till too late, I thought at the time that you needed to know right then, but I should have waited."
"No, Eve, that still doesn't excuse my actions. When I think of how I yelled at you and how I treated you after Serena's accident, it makes me sick. And then you waited for months, seeing if I was going to come to my senses and I didn't, I ran off with Lucy on that Florida adventure, even though, we were looking for you at the time, what happened then, I can't hardly believe that I would do that!"
"Scott, really, I don't want to get into what you and Lucy did in Florida, it really has nothing to do with us."
"Well, it does, Eve, I forgave her so quickly, just because we were trapped there together, and the whole accident was really her fault. I still blamed you after I knew that it was Lucy's fault that you were even there on the side of the road."
"But Serena was under my care, Lucy didn't know that any of that was going to happen, she just wanted to make me look irresponsible, and that was partly my fault because I hadn't done anything to stop the animosity between us."
"Eve, will you just let me apologize?"
"Scott, don't you get it? I don't need for you to apologize, I know that you're sorry. I have already forgiven you."
"Thank you, Eve, that's important to me," he said, smiling and taking her hand from across the table. "I have a sort of proposition for you."
"A proposition?" she asked. "Yes, I guess that's the word for it. Eve, will you..."
Eve's head started spinning, what was he going to ask?
"Would you like it if you were..."
'What!?! What!?!?!' she thought, Eve couldn't stand the suspense!
"Would you like to be my girlfriend, again?"
Eve got a big smile on her face when Scott said this.
"Yes, Scott, I'd like that very much."
They stood up and hugged, then kissed tenderly.
As he held her close, Eve whispered to him, "You don't know how long I've been waiting for this."
"I can guess can't I?" he said, holding Eve's hands between the two of them. "Let's see...one year and three months, to the day?"
"Don't flatter yourself, Baldwin," Eve said laughing.
Scott reached down for the remote control sitting on the table and pointed it through the window at the stereo. A beautiful melody soon sounded on the terrace.
"Hey! It worked!" Scott said lightly. "Would you like to dance?"
"Most certainly," she said, pulling in close to him.
They dance throughout the night, not realizing how late it was. They were having the time of their life, no cares, they were back together, they were perfect.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Her Man (Written by: Kent M. Robbins) Gary Allan
I'm gonna change my way Of doin` things around here Well I'm turnin` over a new leaf, gonna get myself in gear Cause I've made a mess of her plans Startin` today, all I'm gonna be is her man
'Cause I've been a wild catter, and a go-go getter Been an S.O.B. right down to the letter I've had misadventures, I've even got pictures I'm even more than I can stand But startin` today, all I'm gonna be is her man
I'm gonna give it all back, cause all I've done is take Well I've put her on the back burner while I was out on the make But I've got a woman who's good enough to give me A second chance again And startin` today, all I'm gonna be is her man
I'm a little bit late but I'm wisin` up Now I'm takin` her by the hand And startin` today, all I'm gonna be is her man
Into the Heart Chapter 9 "The Riverside"
Eve sat on the couch watching the 6 o'clock news. She had to get going soon, Scott had called yesterday and invited her to spend Halloween down at the river, to get away for the night. Karen had already volunteered to take Serena out trick-or-treating, so he was free. He gave her short list of things to bring and said no more, but promised that she'd love it.
She picked up the remote and turned the TV off. Her room was dark when she entered it, but she flicked on the light and went over to the closet. The doors creaked like always as she opened them and knelt down to look for a bag.
She picked up a bright blue book bag and stood up looking at the row of clothes. She flipped through them for a few minutes before selecting a pair of worn jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt. Scott had acted like tonight would be a night just for them, as in no one else would be around, so she figured she could dress casual. She grabbed an old, warm sweatshirt and threw it in the bag.
Eve went in the bathroom, got dressed, and ran a brush through her hair quickly, also throwing the brush in the bag. She left the bathroom, grabbing her purse off the door and tossing that in the book bag. She then took a bottle of water from the refrigerator. After dropping that in, she zipped it up just as there was a knock on the door.
"Coming!" she called, slipping her feet into an old pair of Nikes. She ran over to the door and threw it open.
"Hey Scott!" she said, smiling.
"Hi Eve, you look...err...dressed up!" Scott joked.
Eve surveyed his attire, noticing it was about as relaxed as her's and asked, "Is this okay? You look pretty casual yourself!"
"Of course it's okay!" he assured her. "You'd look beautiful no matter what you were wearing." He kissed her quickly and said, "C'mon, let's go!
He took her hand and led her downstairs and out to his truck.
"So, what exactly are we doing?" Eve asked once they were on the road.
"You'll see," Scott said with a little grin.
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"Aw!! She's so cute!" Lark exclaimed over Kaitlyn's Halloween costume. They were at the Scanlon's.
"Thanks for getting this for us," Raegan said. Three month old Kaitlyn was wearing a pea pod costume.
"Can another mommy and baby join the party?" Julie asked coming downstairs with Christina. Julie had come home about two weeks ago after being declared sane and because of the mind control that Greg had had over her she had been cleared of all charges.
"She's adorable, Julie!" Raegan said, fingering Christina's princess dress.
Julie smiled and thanked her, laying Christina down on the blanket next to Kaitlyn.
"You know, Christina and Kaitlyn are sort of related, Christina's sort of my sister, since she's my adoptive father's daughter and Kaitlyn is my niece, so then does that make Christina Kaitlyn's aunt?" Lark laughed.
"Something like that," Julie said, smiling.
"Whatever their relation is, we'll just call them family," Raegan smiled down at the adorable babies. They were so close in age they looked like they could be twins.
The doorbell rang. Lark jumped up to answer it.
"Hey Karen!" she said, letting Karen and Serena come in.
"Hi Lark, are Neil and Joe ready?" she asked.
"Yeah, just about, I think, I'll go get them," Lark ran upstairs.
"Hi Julie," Karen said.
"Hello, Karen, do you want to come here and see my little princess?" Julie asked.
Karen kneeled down on the floor next to the babies and cooed over how cute they were.
"I've seen you at the hospital, you're a nurse, right? You're Chris's friend?" Karen asked.
"Yeah, I started at GH about a month ago. I've lived with Chris since Kaitlyn was born," Raegan told her.
"Oh, yeah, I remember seeing Chris with you, I guess it was when Kaitlyn was born. I never hear much from him lately, he's always in a rush to get home after his shifts," Karen said.
"He's really taken to Kaitlyn, he's so good with her. They're so cute, last night when I got off work and came home, they were both on the couch asleep, Chris had a towel over his shoulder and Kaitlyn was laying with her head on it and a pink blanket was spread over her," Raegan smiled at the picture of that scene.
"Awww!" Karen said as Joe and Neil bounded down the stairs.
"You ready?" Joe asked Karen.
"If I can tear myself away from these munchkinettes down here!" Karen laughed as she stood up.
"Someday you'll have one or two or twenty of your own!" Joe said with a quick kiss.
Serena and Neil were giving them anxious looks. "Come on!" they both said.
Raegan, Lark, and Julie laughed as Joe and Karen obediently followed Serena and Neil out the door.
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"Okay, Scott, where are we going?" Eve asked after they'd been driving for about an hour.
"You'll see," he smiled and patted her hand on the seat beside him. A few minutes later he slowed down and turned down a dirt road. He went about two miles down it before stopping completely.
"Where are we?" Eve asked skeptically. She couldn't see a thing, it was so dark, but she could hear the water rushing over the rocks.
"I told you we were coming down to the river," he said. The clouds shifted and the moonlight lit the bank. "Come on."
Scott led her down onto the rocks and sat down. Eve sat down next to him and he put his arm around her.
They sat there in silence for probably twenty minutes or more, just sitting there close to each other, watching the water flow by their feet.
"This is so peaceful," Eve said, smiling, breaking the silence.
"That's why I like this place, I've never seen anyone else out here. When I come down here, it's like I'm the only person in the world."
"You come her a lot?" she asked, surprised.
"I wouldn't say a lot, but, yeah, I've been here before," Scott smiled at her and held her closer. Eve shivered as the wind picked up. "You know, I do have a blanket in the truck, I'll go get that."
Scott jumped up the bank and came back within a minute with an old, warm blanket, and Eve's sweatshirt from her bag. He gently helped her into her shirt and then draped the blanket around both of their shoulders, kissing her as he drew the blanket tighter. They laid back against the rock and stared at the stars.
"You know what this reminds me of?" she asked.
"No, what?"
"When I was in med-school, this was after Shelley's accident and all that, so that was just a few years ago, this guy friend of mine and I, we snuck off campus one night and went down by the lake in the park. It's not like we were required to stay there or anything, but our professors always advised us to get a good night's sleep while we could since once we became real doctors, we'd wish we'd taken advantage of it while we could've."
"So you're saying that me bringing you down here reminds you of a little adventure you had with your ex-boyfriend?" Scott laughed.
"Well, sort of. Except we were only there for about a half-hour before we remembered we had this humongous test first thing the next morning. We got back in his car and got as fast as we could back to our dorms to cram for it!"
"Not very romantic, huh?" Scott observed.
"Not a bit!" she laughed. "This is much better."
She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.
Scott looked down at her face as she closed her eyes. The moonlight seemed to shine directly on her as she breathed deeply. He had never felt more in love with her than at that moment. He held her closer as he watched her rest.
They sat there for hours, just being right there together. Eventually, Scott also fell asleep, with Eve still leaning on him.
The wind picked up again and Eve stirred. She looked over at Scott as he slept; he looked so peaceful. This was like her greatest dream to be sitting here, perfectly happy, with the man that she loves.
They were next awakened by the sun as it peeked over the horizon. Even though nothing had actually "happened," they felt closer than the had ever been before.
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The Riverside Jessica Andrews (Written by: John Scott Sherill and Cathy Majeski)
We spent all night down by the riverside Laughin' at nothin' and talkin' too much And the moonlight was so bright in your eyes Before I knew it, I was fallin' in love
It was too cold to swim, so we just laid there On the bank 'til the break of day Though we never went in the water We were swept away And the river rolled And the night got cold But you held me close And you warmed my soul We spent all night down by the riverside
Wonderin' how it happened so fast And it sure did take us by surprise When that mornin' sun came up at last
It was too cold to swim, so we just laid there On the bank 'til the break of day Though we never went in the water We were swept away
And the river rolled And the night got cold But you held me close And you warmed my soul
We spent all night down by the riverside It was too cold to swim, so we just laid there On the bank 'til the break of day Though we never went in the water We were swept away
And the river rolled And the night got cold But you held me close And you warmed my soul
And the river rolled And the night got cold But you held me close And you warmed my soul
We spent all night down by the riverside
"Getting Over You" Chapter 10 INTO THE HEART
"Chris!" Raegan yelled from the couch at his apartment. "Are you ready YET?"
"Me? Yeah, I've been ready to go, it's your little angel here who's holding me up!" Chris said, coming into the room holding Kaitlyn. "Next stinky one is your's!"
Raegan smiled taking her daughter, "It's just that Lark and the Scanlons were nice enough to invite us, I don't want to be late."
"The Scanlons's is the place to be on Thanksgiving," Chris told her.
"You've spent Thanksgiving there before?" she asked.
"Yep, sure have! I went there both years I've lived here," he said, opening the door for her and Kaitlyn. "They do this thing called a Ceili..."
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Eve knocked on the door at the firehouse.
"EVE!!!" Serena said, flinging open the door.
"Hey girlfriend!" she said, coming in.
"Brrrrrr! It's getting cold out there," Serena remarked, closing the door after Eve.
"Sure is!" Eve said.
"I bet we'll get lots of snow this year," Serena commented.
"It has turned cold early, hasn't it?"
"Yup!"
"Hey, girls, are we going to spend the whole night staring out the window, or are we going to have ourselves this feast I've slaved all day making?" Scott asked, coming into the living room from the kitchen.
"Hey Scott!" Eve smiled, crossing the room to him and giving him a small peck on the cheek. "I'm starving!"
"Me too!" Serena added. "C'mon." She took her father and Eve, one in each of her hands and led them into the kitchen. Scott had already sat out all the dishes and bowls of food, so they sat down to eat.
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At the Scanlon's, they were all going around the huge table saying what they were grateful for. It had already circled the majority of the table, and it was Neil's turn.
"I am thankful for my sister Christina was able to give me the bone marrow I needed to get better," he said.
"I am grateful to have my beautiful Julie and I am thankful for the birth of my daughter Christina," Frank smiled at Chris.
"I am thankful for all of you, my friends and family, who have supported me in the worst year of my life," Julie clasped Frank's hand on her lap.
"I am thankful for the wonderful family that I now have, and for the family I always had," Lark looked to Raegan at her side.
"I am grateful for having been reunited with my little sister, and of course for the birth of my Kaitlyn, but most of all for Chris. Without him, I don't know how I could be here today."
Raegan was last in the circle, so as soon as she was done, they all ate. Afterwards, they all gathered in the den for the Ceili.
Neil did a cute magic trick for everyone, and then Julie played a short song on the piano.
"Hey, Chris, I think it's your turn," Lark said to him.
"You know I have no problem doing this, Lark, I'm an old pro at this Ceili thing!" Chris told her. "I need just one prop." He turned to Raegan who was holding Kaitlyn. Understanding, she handed the baby to him. He held her in his arm as he sang:
I've got sunshine On a cloudy day And when it's cold outside I've got the month of May Oh I guess you'd say What can make me feel this way My girl, talkin bout my girl My girl
I've got so much honey The bees envy me I've got a sweeter song baby Than the birds in the trees Well I guess you'd say What can make me feel this way My girl My girl, my girl, talkin bout my girl My girl
"That was beautiful, Chris," Raegan said, as he sat back down beside her. Everyone clapped for him and they looked around for who was next.
"Joe, Karen, either one of you want to take a turn?" Frank asked.
"Actually, we have something for you all, but it's not any kind of act or performance," Joe said, smiling.
"Yeah, but we do have something," Karen smiled even bigger.
They held hands, smiling at each other, so excited they were about to burst. Finally, they practically screamed, "We're pregnant!!!"
"Congratulations!!" Mary said, hugging and kissing them both. Everyone congratulated them, but Raegan refrained from the crowd. Chris was watching her as she backed away and then suddenly bolted for the door. Chris quickly excused himself and went after her.
"Raegan?" he came up behind her as she stood against the railing on the porch.
She didn't answer; she stood there sobbing silently. He gently put his hands on her arms. At this touch, she turned around and laid her head on his chest, her tears being soaked up by his shirt.
"Just when I think," she sniffed and wiped her face with the sleeves of her sweater, "just when I think I'm doing okay, in a moment, I'm reduced to this."
"Raegan, it's going to be okay," he reassured her, hugging her. They sat down together on the steps.
"Joe and Karen in there, that was me and Adrian, when we found out we were going to have Kaitlyn. We were so happy and excited. And in an instant, it was all gone. We'd only been married two years, but he was my life. No matter what I do or where I am, I'm constantly reminded of him, the littlest things. Well, I guess seeing Joe and Karen so happy about their baby isn't exactly a little thing," she stood up and walked back and forth on the porch. "What's wrong with me, Chris? I can't even be happy for them!"
He stood up and went over to her and in an instant she dissolved into his arms again.
"Nothing's wrong with you, Rae, you're just still hurting," he told her.
"I don't want to hurt any more. I want the pain to just all go away, I mean, there's nothing I can do about it, Adrian's gone, I can't bring him back by being miserable! And he wouldn't want me to be like this."
"In time, Rae, everything will get better, I've never lost anyone that I really cared about, so I don't know what you're going through, maybe nothing I can say will help."
"Chris, it does, believe me, having you here for me is the only reason I've made it through these past four months."
They turned around at the sound of door opening and people saying goodbye. Joe and Karen come out onto the porch.
Raegan wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Joe, Karen, congratulations, I wish you and your baby the very best."
"Thank you," Karen said. "I'm sorry that we upset you."
"No, no, it's okay," Raegan forced a smile.
"Well, we have to get to my father's to break the news to him, I'll see you around, okay?"
"Bye," Raegan said. Everyone else said goodbye and Joe and Karen left to their car.
"Thank you," Raegan said after they were gone.
"For what?" Chris asked.
"Listening to me, for being my sounding board."
"I've had practice," he smiled.
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Eve, Scott, and Serena were sitting on the couch after dinner, playing Scrabble, when there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" Serena said, jumping up.
"Hey sis!" Karen said as Serena opened the door for her and Joe.
Everyone greeted each other as Joe and Karen came in.
"I thought you were spending the evening and the Scanlon's," Scott said to them.
"Well, we were, we just came from there, but we have something we need to tell you, and we wanted to tell you tonight," Karen smiled.
"Okay! What is it? Don't keep us in suspense!" he said.
"In about eight months or so," she grinned putting her hand to her belly, "you're going to be a granddaddy!"
"Me?" he asked, pointing to himself. "You? You're pregnant?"
Joe and Karen nodded.
"Congratulations!" Scott hugged Karen with excitement and shook Joe's hand.
"I'm going to be an aunt?" Serena asked.
"Yep, you sure are," Karen told her.
"Cool!" Serena smiled.
While Karen and Serena gabbed about the baby, Eve pulled Scott aside.
"Um, I just remembered something I have to do, I need to get home, thanks for dinner," she said, giving him a kiss.
She grabbed her purse and left before he could protest.
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Eve slammed the door after her as she entered her apartment, throwing off her shoes and going into the bedroom. She knelt down by the bed and reached under it, pulling out a worn cardboard box.
She picked up the box and placed it on the bed, sitting next to it cross-legged. Carefully, Eve opened the top of it and pulled out the first item.
She held the tiny t-shirt to her face, it had long lost the scent that she wanted to smell. She laid the shirt out on the bed.
The next item was a tiny hospital bracelet with the writing "Baby Girl Lambert." Eve held this up and read those words aloud, her tears falling.
Next in the box was an envelope that she hadn't opened in nine years, she couldn't bear to read the words stipulated by those documents. She knew that at the bottom of them she would see her signature, the signature that gave some other family the right to raise her little girl.
After removing the papers, she found the one photograph she had of her baby. Taking this, she laid down on her pillow and held the picture in front of her.
"I love you," she whispered, tracing the baby's outline on the picture.
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Getting Over You Words and Music By Cary Lynn Rutledge
Wish I had just one more chance to hold you close and say I love you. Can't believe that our romance was just beginning. Now its through. I'm looking for tomorrow to start a new life on my own. And all I see is sorrow. You're all I lived for. Now you're gone. I can't seem to get you off my mind no matter what I do. I'm trying to wipe you from my eyes, but the tears keep fallin' through. The hardest thing that love has put me through is gettin' over you, gettin' over you. I can't seem to get you off my mind no matter what I do. I'm trying to wipe you from my eyes, but the tears keep fallin' through. The hardest thing that love has put me through is gettin' over you, gettin' over you, over you, over you.