A/N: Another long wait between postings. I am so sorry. Health and life have been complicated. That is no excuse, but it is reality. All I can do is hope that life gets better for all of us and offer this chapter as a bit of an olive branch. And mention that the next chapter is already half-written. I love you all and hope you are all safe and well. Marbo, don't worry, the next chapter holds a surprise I think you will enjoy…

~51~

Geenie's Apartment

Geenie Eddleton heard the doorbell chime and answered it, trying to calm the butterflies rioting in her stomach. She smiled as she opened the door, then her smile widened as she took in John's appearance. He had obviously taken the time to dress nicely and had even brought her flowers. He had chosen to dress all in black, sporting a black turtleneck under nicely tailored suitcoat and trousers, but foregoing a tie. His dress shoes were polished to within an inch of their lives, and he had even tucked a rose into his collar button. Tears sprang to her eyes when she realized he was taking this date seriously, though he had not seemed happy about the prospect at the auction. She knew then that John Gage was a good and honest man. He had just scored a ton of points in her book before he ever opened his mouth.

For his part, John grew a bit uncomfortable at the long silence that greeted him after Geenie had opened the door. He could tell it was her, because of her lightly scented perfume. He had noticed it before and suspected she must have it specially blended. That was not something many women did anymore, and he loved that about her. It told him she was not a trend-setter and yet didn't worry about following the latest trends either. She was definitely her own woman.

Gathering his stray thoughts, he held out the bouquet of roses to her. "Good evenin', Miss Geenie, how are you?" he drawled in a slightly exaggerated southern accent. "I brought you a few posies." He grinned, having no idea of the effect that smile had on his date.

Geenie's eyes widened and the butterflies suddenly exploded into dinosaurs. "I-I'm fine, kind sir. L-let me go put those in some water. They-they're beautiful!" She took the flowers from him and rushed into the kitchen feeling like an idiot. She had gotten completely tongue tied staring at John. For that moment, she was glad he couldn't see her blush. Because she had realized that though it had been years since she had felt attracted to anyone, she was definitely attracted to this difficult, hard-headed, and completely desirable man. Heaven help her!

John listened as her skirts swirled around her as she moved away from him to put away the flowers. He guessed she was wearing a formal gown, possibly chiffon or silk. He had no real idea, but it sounded soft, and from what little he could see, it suited her coloring nicely. She was a lovely girl and he hoped they would hit it off. Though he wasn't looking for anything permanent, for obvious reasons, it would still be nice to have someone in his life again. He was still confused about why she had paid so much for this date, though. That was one issue he intended to clear up before the evening was over. He really wanted to know what she expected out of him. He just hoped he could live up to those expectations.

~51~

Mike Stoker watched as John stood on the porch waiting for Geenie. He chuckled as Gennie flew from the door, flowers in hand. He had urged John to wear a tie but had known it was a lost cause from the very start. He just wasn't that kind of a guy. But, the no tie thing didn't seem to bother the lady, and things seemed to be going well. Mike grinned when the couple stepped off the porch after Geenie had locked her door and she had seen him standing by the car. Her mouth dropped when he tipped his hat to her and stepped next to the door and opened it. He nodded and said "Good evening, Miss." Johnny simply chuckled, looking like the cat who had gotten the cream and the canary.

Paris France

Roy felt the first few days in Paris flew by in a blur. All he remembered later of that time was checking into their hotel and enduring a whirlwind of doctor's appointments and tests. Before he knew it, he found himself lying in a hospital bed surrounded by several pieces of ominous looking monitoring equipment, and a very sweet nurse named Louise, who not only spoke fluent English and French, but was fluent in ASL as well. She proved to be a godsend during his hospital stay. He was pleased that his skill in reading lips helped him greatly as most of the people he encountered spoke English, which was a great relief. Of course, Jo was with him as much as she could be, but he was concerned for her and tried to get her to take time for herself as well. A mysterious benefactor in the States had made arrangements with the concierge at their hotel for Jo to have access to a full care spa and salon. Roy was pretty sure Dixie had something to do with that particular gift. It had been a thoughtful and very much needed escape for JoAnne. The last year had been extremely hard on her, though she would never admit it.

~51~

Los Angeles, CA

Mike was quiet on the drive to the restaurant. He knew he could blackmail John if he wanted to with the fact that the man was acting more like a 15 year old boy on his first date. The man had barely even managed to introduce Mike when he had opened the door for them. Mike, on the other hand had been extremely impressed by the way Geenie had unobtrusively placed her hand on John's arm to keep him steady and help guide him into the car without his even realizing what she was doing. Oh, Johnny, he thought to himself, this one is definitely a keeper!

Unfortunately, Geenie was basically a shy person, especially around someone she didn't know well, and the conversation in the back seat stuttered to a stop after a few attempts on both her and John's parts. Mike realized he was going to have to step in, or this date was going to fizzle out before it ever got a chance to get going. He pulled into an overlook, startling John, who knew they couldn't have reached their destination that quickly.

Mike chuckled when he realized John had forgotten the champagne. He had asked Mike to fix them up with a toast before they reached the restaurant. He pulled out the glasses and poured the couple two flutes. He handed them to John and Geenie, smiling quietly.

"Thought you might like to toast your first date. My wife picked the vintage."

Geenie smiled in genuine surprise after she and John tasted the wine. It was really good and an excellent vintage. She didn't know much about wine herself, but one of her brothers had married into a family of vintners and he was prone to share the bounty whenever he came home to visit. She caught Mike's eye in the mirror. "Your wife has good taste." Mike simply nodded in silent thanks, especially appreciating the fact that John kept his normal zingers to himself.

The couple enjoyed the toast and Mike pulled into the restaurant, enjoying the look of surprise on Geenie's face as she took in the name of the finest Indian restaurant in town. John had asked Mike to do some detective work for him and find out what sort of food Geenie liked.

It had taken some doing, but the normally taciturn engineer had chatted up one of Geenie's teacher friends and discovered that this was one of the places the two friends liked to go whenever they got the chance. As her friend had told him, unfortunately, it wasn't often on their salaries. Mike had wisely sworn the woman to secrecy, which she was quite pleased about. It was also how Mike had found out that Geenie was definitely not seeing anyone. The engineer wasn't sure how Johnny had felt about that tidbit when he told him. John had carefully schooled his expression into a blank mask and promptly changed the subject.

For his part, John was glad he had decided to bring his cane for the evening. He was still struggling mightily with using it in public, but he did not want to look like a fool in front of Geenie. He tried to be unobtrusive with it, but that was pretty much a lost cause.

Fortunately, Geenie seemed to take it all in stride, and simply offered her arm to him, tucking his hand nonchalantly into her arm and automatically adjusting her pace to his as they walked towards the warmly lit restaurant. She felt a flush of excitement and attraction flow through her as she glanced over at her date. She might be frustrated with his attitude at the moment, but there was no denying the man was absolutely gorgeous! She couldn't blame him for choosing to wear his sunglasses even inside the building, but she felt that covering his beautiful chocolate eyes was a shame. She would never tell him that, because he was simply doing what he could to cope with the situation.

For his part, Geenie's gestures hadn't gone unnoticed, and John was grateful. Somehow the ice was broken between them, and he smiled as the maître d' seated them at the finest table in the place… the one John had reserved the day before. Geenie was impressed, as John could tell from her small gasp of pleasure. There was a small hiccup when their waiter stood awkwardly for a moment, as he caught sight of the white cane at John's side. Geenie swiftly motioned for the menu and handled the situation, for which John was grateful. They conferred quickly and ordered. The waiter scurried away, his cheeks scarlet.

John muttered darkly. "That is why I hate carrying this stupid cane."

Geenie chuckled, "Yeah? Well if you had left it in the car, you likely would have fallen on your face and the waiter would have been scraping you off the floor. That really would have been awkward."

Johnny scowled. "You would have been here. I wouldn't have fallen."

"But I won't always be around. Do you plan on living the rest of your life depending on other people?"

"Hey, that's not fair! Of course I don't!"

Their meal came, and they enjoyed several courses in companionable silence, savoring the exquisite dishes. However, because of the earlier conversation, there was an elephant seated at their table and they were both very aware of it.

Geenie wasn't giving in. It was a big part of why she was here in the first place, and John had given her an opening. "Well, I didn't hear you ask for the braille menu. This restaurant, like most, has one."

"I can't read braille!"

"Why not? You need to. I'm sure you've figured that out by now."

"This is only temporary. I can already see shapes and some color!" John was getting aggravated.

Geenie relented a little. Her tone softened. "I know that. And that's great. But, Johnny, what if that's all you get back? What if it never improves beyond what you have now? You can't read or see enough to move around very much. You can't live on your own or work if you can't function with what you have right now! Can't you see that?"

John huffed in frustration. "Actually, no, I can't see anything!"

Geenie glowered at him and dropped her fork onto her plate. "There it is again, John. Your stupid pity party! You're a great guy, or you would be if you would just get off your duff and do what you need to do!" She stood and moved quickly away from the table, though not very far.

John sat in complete shock as he listened to Geenie ask the maître d' to call her a taxi. She then made her way back to him and he felt her breath on his cheek as she knelt next to him. "I care about you, John. That's what I wanted to tell you when I bid on this date. I really care about what happens to you. Please call me when you get your head together. I think we could have something special." She turned his face towards her and kissed him gently on the lips. "I really hope this is not goodbye."

And with that, Geenie Eddleton walked out the door and into the night.

~TBC~