This is immediately where my mind went when I saw Johnny was coming back. I'm assuming he's only showing up so Lulu can have her own ill-advised revenge fling before she and Dante inevitably repair their broken, boring-ass marriage, but I want him for Valerie dammit. (Also I wanted jealous Dante and jealous Lulu.)
After a few very long, very hectic months, it finally seemed like Lulu's life was finally returning to some semblance of normal. She and Rocco had finally moved back into the loft with Dante, and they were trying to get their marriage back on track. In fact, Dante and Lulu had started seeing a marriage counselor and Dante had been talking about cashing in some of his vacation time so the two of them could take a romantic getaway for Valentine's Day in a few months.
Valerie had made herself scarce at work, at least around Dante, preferring instead to communicate with him through the PCPD's new secretary, or Nathan. Lulu didn't mind this development at all, not one bit.
It really felt like it was time: time for Lulu to leave the past firmly where it belonged and make amends with her cousin. Maxie didn't quite see it this way, convinced that Valerie was a snake in the grass just waiting to strike again, but Lulu wasn't seeking Maxie's advice or opinions in this matter. Lulu was going to do things her way, and her way started with forgiving her cousin.
Lulu marched into the PCPD headquarters and glanced about, searching for Valerie. The last she'd heard, Valerie had left her post as secretary to join the police academy. Lulu almost felt bad for not keeping up with Valerie's life after news of her affair with Dante exploded and Lulu's own life fell apart, but she could hardly be blamed for that.
For months, Lulu honestly, sincerely hoped Valerie was feeling as low and miserable as she was—or worse. It wasn't until she and Dante began to work on their communication and honesty issues and attempted fix their marriage that she realized she needed to let go of the betrayal and try to move on.
Lulu spotted the new secretary, Lainey, sitting behind her desk and approached her. Lainey was cute, petite and blonde, and for a moment Lulu let her mind stray to Dante, whether or not he liked her. But Lulu couldn't let herself go there. If she traveled down that path, she might not come back from it
"Excuse me, Lainey," Lulu called out, giving a little wave, "is Valerie here?"
Lainey gaped at Lulu, her mouth dropping open in shock. "Lulu! I'm not sure that would be a good idea—"
"I'm not here for a confrontation," Lulu said, offering her a reassuring smile. "I just wanted to talk to Valerie and thought maybe you could help me out."
"Lainey, it's fine." Valerie stepped out of an office, letting the door hiss shut gently behind her, and acknowledged Lulu with a curt nod.
Valerie looked different, Lulu realized, but she couldn't quite put a finger on what, exactly, had changed. Her cousin's hair was sleek, pulled back in a tight bun, she had minimal makeup on, and wore nothing but a simple power blue button-down shirt and gray slacks, but she still looked stunningly beautiful.
Lulu felt the dying embers of resentment flare anew in her chest, flush her cheeks, before she tamped the feeling down. It wasn't Valerie's fault she was beautiful, and Lulu had worked so, so hard at forgiving her husband, moving on, and putting the past where it belonged. She refused to allow herself to get derailed.
"How can I help you?" Valerie asked, slipping her hands in the pockets of her slacks. When she did, Lulu noticed the shiny new police badge clipped to her waist.
"I was wondering when you went on your lunch break," Lulu said, tearing her eyes away from the badge. She smiled nervously. "I wanted to talk."
"I can spare a few minutes right now, actually," Valerie said, motioning to Lulu. "Let's go to the break room."
Nodding, Lulu tucked her purse under her arm and followed after Valerie. Valerie reached up and flipped open a cupboard, pulling down two ceramic mugs. She poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Lulu.
"I don't know how you take your coffee, but there's cream and sugar over there," Valerie said, gesturing to the table behind her.
"Thanks. This is fine." Lulu sipped on her coffee and worked at gathering her thoughts, arranging them in an order that made them make sense. She decided just diving right in was the best course of action. "So, I'm actually here to talk about you and Dante."
"Lulu," Valerie began, lowering her mug, but Lulu waved off her protests.
"I'm not here to accuse you of anything," Lulu said, putting her mug down. "In fact, I'm here because… I'm ready to put these past few months in the rearview mirror. I—I miss having you in my life, to be quite honest. We were just getting to a good place in our relationship when everything blew up."
"I know. You don't know how sorry I was—and still am—about everything. About how it all went down," Valerie said.
"I know. I just wanted to tell you that I forgive you. I don't hate you. Not anymore," Lulu admitted.
"What brought on this change of heart, if you don't mind my asking?" Valerie inquired.
"Well… Dante and I have started seeing a marriage counselor," Lulu said, shifting her eyes away at the mention of her husband. She didn't want to see if Valerie still had lingering feelings for Dante. "The counselor talked about trying to forgive and move on. Improving communication, working at being honest with one another. And I realized he didn't mean just me and Dante. He meant you and me, as well."
"Lulu, I don't know what to say."
"I want to try and get my life back on track. Not just with Dante, but with you too," Lulu said. She finally brought herself to look Valerie in the eyes. "What do you say, cousin?"
Valerie smiled and held out her arms to Lulu. "I'd love that."
Lulu smiled and pulled Valerie into a hug.
Everything was finally falling back into place. She and Dante were working hard at their marriage, working at loving each other without the shadows of the past encroaching on them, and she'd finally repaired her broken relationship with her cousin.
But why couldn't Lulu shake this nagging feeling that something else was about to go horribly wrong?
After Lulu went home, Valerie left the break room and headed for her desk. Lulu's visit had been most unexpected, though not wholly unwelcome.
They hadn't spoken in months, not since an exchange of strained words and awkward, uncomfortable glances when they ran into each other at the grocery store a few weeks after that disaster of a Halloween party. As far as Valerie had known, Lulu still hated her and blamed her for her failed marriage.
But, apparently, it wasn't a failed marriage anymore. Dante and Lulu were back together and working on their relationship.
Valerie settled behind her desk and let her eyes come to rest on a framed photograph of her mom. She sighed heavily and rubbed at her temples. Valerie wanted to be happy for Dante and Lulu, she really did, but she couldn't fight off the dull ache in her chest.
She was ashamed to admit—even to herself—that she still cared for Dante. Yes, she still had feelings for him, but they were laced with regret and pain now. Thinking about Dante hurt, though not as acutely as it once did. Valerie supposed she could thank the passage of time for that.
Valerie worked on composing herself when a shadow fell across her desk. A hand came down and rapped gently on it to get her attention.
"Can I help you," she asked, hastily wiping at her eyes and reaching back to fix her bun.
Valerie lifted her head to find Dante standing in front of her desk, looking awkward and out of place.
"I was wondering—hey, are you okay? The commish told me Lulu stopped by… Is everything alright?"
"No, it's fine," Valerie said, offering Dante a small smile. "Actually, your wife just wanted to share the news that you two are back together. And that she wants to fix our relationship too."
"That's fantastic," Dante said, smiling back at her. He didn't come any closer to her desk, though, and he twisted the ends of his shirt nervously between his fingers. "She's been making some noise the last couple days. About talking to you. I thought she was still kinda mad, so I'm glad you guys were able to work things out."
"Me too. I missed having her in my life."
"We missed having you in our lives too," Dante said.
"So… Is there anything I can do for you? Or is that all you wanted to talk about?" Valerie asked.
"Actually, I had something else I needed to run by you," Dante said. He started twisting his shirttail savagely. If he wasn't careful, he was going to tear a hole in his shirt, Valerie thought. "Lulu's planning a family Christmas party and I was wondering… Do you have plans yet?"
Valerie smiled. "No, not really. I was probably just going to stay in and have a quiet night to myself."
Dante's expression tightened briefly at that. "The Spencer clan still giving you the cold shoulder?" he asked.
Nodding, Valerie sighed, "Aunt Bobbie's the only one who still gives me the time of day. Carly and Lucas actively avoid me now. Maybe now that Lulu's decided to forgive me, the rest of them will too."
"I'm sorry," Dante said, plaintively.
"It's not your fault," Valerie said. "And I'd be honored to join you, Lulu, and Rocco for Christmas."
Dante grinned and leaned over to chuck her on the shoulder, as if they were great pals. The gesture struck her as decidedly odd. "Great. Glad to hear it, Valerie."
After Dante left, Valerie sat back and pressed her hands over her face and sighed. She had a feeling Christmas with the Spencer-Falconeri family wasn't going to go as smoothly as Dante and Lulu were probably hoping.
Valerie walked into Kelly's and spotted Dillon sitting with his back to the entrance, sipping at a steaming cup of hot chocolate. She walked up behind him and tapped him gently on the shoulder. Dillon set his cup down and turned in his seat, grinning when he saw her.
"Long time, no see." Dillon got up and greeted Valerie with a hug.
"Hello, stranger. How's life been treating you?" Valerie sat herself across from Dillon and tugged off her leather gloves.
"Probably better than I deserve," Dillon said. "After the Halloween debacle, my backers pulled out and it really looked like the movie was never going to be made. Thankfully, Lulu contacted an old friend of hers and he stepped up to fund the project for a cut of the box office."
"That's great," Valerie said, genuinely happy to hear that Dillon's movie would be made after all. "This friend of Lulu's sounds like a pretty generous guy."
"Apparently he and Dante have a feud or something, but Lulu insists he's a really good friend of hers and he can be trusted." Dillon shrugged. "Johnny Zacchara, she said his name is."
Valerie nodded. "I'm glad something's going right for one of us, at least," she said.
"Life hasn't been treating you kindly?" Dillon inquired.
"Oh, just the fact all but one of the Spencers have shut me out since the Halloween party," Valerie said, rolling her eyes. "That might be changing though. Lulu extended an olive branch today and Dante invited me to their Christmas party."
"Wow," Dillon exclaimed. "That's great! You know, Johnny and I are gonna be there too. Maybe the three of us can go together. I imagine it might still be awkward between you, Dante, and Lulu. We can be your backup in case the scene gets nasty."
Valerie laughed. "I don't think I'll need backup, but that's a nice thought. Thank you for the offer," she said.
"Actually, I'm supposed to meet Johnny here in a few. I should introduce you two. I bet you'd really hit it off," Dillon said, studying Valerie with what could be considered a mischievous look.
"I don't trust that look on your face," she said.
"What? I'm completely trustworthy!"
"I'm sure you believe that, Quartermaine," Valerie said.
"In fact, there he is right now." Dillon pointed behind Valerie and she turned, looking over her shoulder for the man Dillon was apparently trying to set her up with.
Johnny stood off just to the side of the entrance and broke into a wide grin when he spotted Dillon. He made his way over to the two of them and when Dillon stood up to greet him, Johnny bypassed Dillon's offering of a handshake for a hearty hug.
Johnny was dressed in a long black coat, black pants, black boots, and absolutely exuded charm. He was probably quite the ladykiller, Valerie mused, as Johnny turned his attention fully on her.
"You didn't introduce me to your…girlfriend?" Johnny questioned, flicking his eyes from Dillon over to Valerie. He extended a hand to her. "John Zacchara. And you are…?"
"Valerie Spencer," she said, accepting his hand.
"Spencer? You're not related to Lulu, are you?" Johnny asked.
"I'm her cousin, actually."
"Cousin! She never mentioned a cousin Valerie to me," Johnny said, with a laugh. "Lulu and I are old friends. We go way back."
"Lulu and I have actually been estranged for a few months," Valerie explained. "But we're trying to rebuild our relationship."
Dillon coughed gently and Valerie glanced over at him; he shifted his eyes to her hand, which was still holding onto Johnny's. Dillon hiked his eyebrows at her and Valerie swallowed back a frustrated groan. She just barely managed to resist the urge to flip Dillon the bird.
Johnny pulled away first, settling across from Valerie and Dillon. "So, what brings you to Port Charles, cousin Valerie?"
"Well, it's a long story. I'm not sure we have enough time to go over everything," she laughed.
"I've got all the time in the world for you," Johnny said, smirking at her.
Valerie squirmed a bit in her seat; Johnny's intense gaze felt oddly probing, as if he could see inside her mind.
Dillon whacked Johnny gently in the shoulder. "C'mon, man. That's awful."
"You jealous Johnny's paying attention to me and not you, Quartermaine?" Valerie teased, reaching out and whacking him on the shoulder.
"Just saying," Dillon said, with a laugh.
Lulu was at the dinner table, trying to get Rocco to eat strained peas to no avail while Dante cleaned up their empty dinner plates, when the doorbell chimed. Lulu looked up, spoon hovering inches away from Rocco's mouth.
"Who could that be? We weren't expecting any guests, were we?" Lulu turned her attention back to Rocco and switched to her high-pitched 'Mommy' voice. "Come on, Rocco, darling. Peas are yummy! Mmm!" She swooped the spoon through the air toward his mouth, but Rocco remained disinterested.
Dante wiped his hands off on a towel and headed to answer the door. Lulu sighed and dropped the spoon back in the bowl of strained peas. Some of the gooey green mess splattered on her shirt and Lulu let out a frustrated groan.
"Hey, Lulu, look who it is!" Dante announced.
Lulu looked up as she fussed with the spoon and tried once again to get Rocco to eat. Dante had his hands on his hips and his lips were pulled back in a tight, unhappy smile. Their unexpected guest stepped into the loft and, for a second time that night, Lulu ended up with strained peas on her shirt.
"Johnny!" Lulu gasped.
Johnny let his eyes come to rest on Rocco in his high-chair. "The little guy's your spitting image," Johnny said, shrugging off his long black coat.
"Oh, gosh, I'm a mess right now," Lulu said, looking down at the peas splattered on her shirt.
"You still look absolutely lovely," Johnny said, slinging his coat over his arm.
Dante thumped loudly back into the kitchen. "You want a beer?" He threw open the refrigerator door and started knocking bottles around noisily.
"Thanks, but no thanks," Johnny said, waving off Dante's offer graciously. "I just came from Kelly's. Had some beers with Dillon and Valerie, actually."
"You've met my cousin Valerie?" Lulu asked.
"Where've you been hiding that one, Lulu?" Johnny teased, coming over to the dinner table where Lulu was still sitting with Rocco. "I think I'm in love."
Dante grabbed a bottle opener out of a drawer and slammed it loud enough that both Lulu and Johnny looked over at him.
"Is our wedding invitation in the mail?" Dante twisted off his bottle cap and tossed the opener back in the drawer.
Johnny laughed. "I wouldn't go that far. But I'm seeing more and more reasons to stick around in Port Charles the longer I'm here," he said.
Lulu got up and lifted Rocco out of the high-chair. "I should change him. How long are you going to be sticking around?"
"In general? Or here, at your place?" Johnny asked, smiling up at Lulu and Rocco. He reached out and tugged gently on one of Rocco's toes.
"Uh, both, I guess?" Lulu bounced Rocco against her hip.
"I actually should be going in a few," Johnny said. "I've got dinner plans."
"Thank god for small miracles," Dante muttered.
Johnny rolled his eyes, but gave no other indication that he'd heard. "As for how long I'll be staying in Port Charles, who knows? I didn't have any concrete plans, but I'm thinking I might be sticking around for a while."
After Lulu left to take care of Rocco, Johnny sat back and put his feet on the table with a thump. Dante didn't move to push them off; he'd only be giving Johnny what he was looking for, which was a confrontation. And he didn't need that, not now, not where Rocco could hear.
"So, you and Valerie, huh?" Dante asked.
"I wouldn't exactly say that just yet, but I'm definitely interested in getting to know her," Johnny said, with a little smirk.
Dante sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. "Just… Don't hurt her. That girl, she's been through a lot, and you don't exactly have the best track record with women."
"You're not really in position to be warning me off or threatening me, are you?" Johnny asked.
"I don't know what you're getting at, but I'm just saying. You hurt Valerie and I'll make you wish you'd never come back to Port Charles," Dante said.
Johnny rolled his eyes. "Can it with the 'bad cop' act, Falconeri. Valerie's an adult. She can handle herself, make her own decisions." He paused, regarding Dante with a thoughtful look. "Maybe I'm exactly what she needs."
Dante tightened his hands briefly on the tablecloth. "I highly doubt that."
"Oh, because you'd know what she needs," Johnny said. It wasn't exactly phrased like a question.
The air suddenly felt dangerous, full of crackling energy.
Dante closed his hands into fists. "She's a friend of mine, and I'd hate for her to get tangled up with the likes of you. But as you said, she can make her own decisions."
"Good, glad we're on the same page then." Johnny sounded thoughtful.
"Well, gentlemen, Rocco's finally settled for the evening," Lulu announced as she came back from hers and Dante's bedroom.
"I guess that's my cue to leave," Johnny said, getting up and retrieving his coat. "I have some errands to run."
"Well, it was good to see you again." Lulu leaned in and gave Johnny a quick hug.
"Good to see you too, Lulu." Johnny lingered for a moment, held her against his chest and patted her soft blonde hair.
Dante looked back down at the backs of his hands. He wasn't jealous. He was protective of the ones he loved, but he sure as hell wasn't jealous.
"See you and Valerie at the Christmas party, then?" Lulu asked, stepping out of Johnny's embrace.
"Absolutely," Johnny said, grinning at her.
Dante couldn't help but laugh. "Great. Can't wait."
"Excellent. See you then." Lulu hooked her arm with Johnny's and ushered him to the door.
Dante got up and went into the bedroom to observe a sleeping Rocco, who was napping on a blanket spread out over their bed. He had a stuffed teddy bear clutched to his chest and was slurping away at his thumb.
Dante sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He could see Johnny, weaseling his way into Valerie's life just as easily as he found his way into Lulu's. The thought of Johnny manipulating Valerie and taking advantage of her loneliness made Dante feel sick to his stomach.
He was probably crossing a hundred lines here, but he was going to have to have a chat with her about Johnny Zacchara.