A/N: Spoiler alert for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Ant-Man, Spiderman: Homecoming, Thor, and a few others.
As always, many thanks go out to CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur for the Beta. Thanks also to Winter-Soldier-88 and karina001 for the brainstorming.
Year From Hell: Season 3, in progress. Please stand by…
Note: I'm issuing a warning for this chapter due to it containing dark subject matter.
Namaste,
Sunny
"I will come back to you, I swear I will;
And you will know me still.
I shall be only a little taller
Than when I went."
― Edna St. Vincent Millay, The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems
Winter Soldier
And You Will Know Me Still
Chapter 72
Szabó made notes on the pad while eyeing Maricara without seeming to do so. From her body language, she'd hoped to shock him into expressing distress or outrage. It wouldn't work, but she wouldn't be her unless she at least made the attempt. "Care to share the motive behind stabbing to death," he consulted the tablet unnecessarily, "twenty-three men in the last fifteen years? Your first murder had to have been committed around the age of twelve."
The wicked smile turned down, showing puzzlement, but no fear or shame. There never was with this one. Not even at the prospect that she might disappear if Antonia were to get the help she so desperately needed. "Huh. Thought it was more. Lost count somewhere. Ah! The one who ended up in a coma and died three years later. I believe his death was attributed to an industrial accident. And the one I let get away." Her laugh had no malice or hatred. "God, he was the most fun we ever had in or out of bed."
"Tell me this, Mari, why did you kill Antonia's brother? In a previous session, you professed that you and the others found him 'not completely objectionable'."
She launched herself off the sofa, and immediately, the office door opened on two burly orderlies, one of which was holding a straitjacket. Szabó waved them away and they quietly closed the door. Once again, she stood gazing out the window, the brow on that side crinkled in puzzlement. "I didn't."
Though her words had the ring of truth, Szabó scoffed, hoping to get her riled up enough to explain her motives. "Do you seriously expect me to believe you didn't kill Andrei after freely confessing to the other twenty-three murders?"
"That's just it, doctor. I willingly and enthusiastically confess to killing all of them. I can even recite names, dates, times, and the location in which the police found the bodies." Maricara faced him once more, one eyebrow raised as if judging his intellectual capacity downward. "But I didn't lay a hand on Andrei. He was the one thing about all of this that felt… right."
"All of what?"
Moving behind the sofa, she leaned on the back with both hands, her expression serious and open for the first time. "Being secondary personalities. You think we like being second best? None of us do. But having Andrei there when it was all over, how gentle and caring he was with Antonia… Sometimes, it made me feel bad about using her to do my dirty work."
"I see." Szabó gestured at the sofa. "Please take a seat, Mari." She did so, giving him the impression that it was her own idea. "Could I speak to the others, please? In any order."
"Fine, but we don't have to like it."
"I'm not asking you to. I only want to get to know them, to understand what motivates each one's actions."
Before the last word was out of his mouth, Maricara's head fell back and her eyes closed. She inhaled deeply and raised her head, looking around in confusion. Then, their eyes met, and she sighed heavily as she got up to check out the room, pausing to peer at the diplomas and artwork with an air of disinterest. When she got to the bookshelf, she ran a finger reverently down the spines of several classic novels. They weren't first editions, but valuable to the owner, nonetheless. Then, she came upon a thick tome that professed to comprise a list of all known and suspected psychological disorders, translated into Romanian from the original, which had been published in America.
She opened the book, scanned the contents, and flipped to a specific page, reading as she paced from the door and back to the shelf. Her voice had taken on an indecipherable tone, making it difficult for Szabó to pin down the gender. "'Dissociative identity disorder, formerly referred to as multiple personality disorder, is a rare condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in-and alternately take control of-an individual. Some people describe this as an experience of possession. The person also experiences memory loss that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness'." She took a breath and continued, "'People with this condition are often the victims of severe abuse'." The book closed with a snap and was placed back on the shelf. Then, she looked at Szabó with a deadpanned expression. "Gee, ya think?"
This had to be one of the newer personalities. "May I ask to whom I am speaking?"
She walked around the end of the sofa, picked up a paperweight, and set it down again before taking her seat. "We haven't met, and can't say it's a pleasure, 'cause it isn't." Arms were crossed, the spine slumped, and one ankle came to rest on the opposite knee. "I'm Bailey."
Village on the Hungarian Border
Secție de Poliție
The desk officer dropped the small package on the inspector's desk and left again, and there it lay for the next three days until the station inspector returned from holiday.
Inspector Vanda Butacu stashed her purse in the bottom desk drawer, sipped from her reusable coffee cup, took a bite of strawberry kolach, and pulled the stack of mail to her, sorting according to the return addresses. The lowest priority was put off to the side for perusal at home while watching the local news. The package intrigued her. Using a letter opener, she slit the end, and fished out the contents: flash drive and a note.
The note merely entreated her to examine the files and videos on the drive, and if she had questions, to call Inspector Serghei Zaituc at the Giurgiu Police Station. A phone number was scrawled at the bottom.
Seventeen Minutes Later
Vonda went to the door, caught the eye of her second, summoning him to her office with a short lift of her chin. She closed the door while he took a seat, then turned the monitor around. "Don't speak, Eddie. Just watch the video."
A few minutes later, Vonda and Eddie shared a dark glance. He shifted in his seat, his eyes going from her to the dark monitor and back. "Despite their positions of power within the political force, they have to be brought in for questioning."
"That goes without saying." Pacing over to the conference table, Vonda faced him again, leaning her hips against the table's edge. "They're all prominent citizens. Just bringing them to the station will cause a media frenzy. We'll have to move quickly and quietly in picking them up, so they can't get the word out to their associates. Don't want them taking off before we arrive.
Eddie rose from his seat in one fluid movement. "I'll get the warrants started while you coordinate the teams. Okay with you?"
Vonda smiled sadly due to the identities of those named in the video. "You read my mind. And Eddie?" At the door, he looked back. "If these allegations turn out to be unfounded, we're both out of a job."
Eddie nodded understanding, heaved a sigh then went to his desk to make the call. Raising her voice, Vonda called out, "Attention! As of this moment, all currently active cases are put on hold, and I do mean all. Every available resource will be geared toward a coordinated raid on multiple targets. Make the announcement to the patrols and pass the word. We'll meet in the main conference room in twenty minutes, with the minimal necessary to hold down the fort and see to the prisoners."
Her piece said, Vonda went back into her office, shut the door, and resumed her seat behind the desk. After a brief moment of contemplation, she opened the bottom right drawer, and took out a bottle of Pálinka. She dumped out the leftover coffee, poured a single finger into the cup, and drank it down, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Câcat!"
Căpățânii Mountains
Romania
Bucky had taken shelter in a cave and built a small fire, taking care to stay around the bend to keep from being seen, should anyone be out and about this time of day. He rubbed his hands together, warming them over the fire while waiting out the rainstorm. His thoughts, as they did for the past few days, wondered over to what may have come of the information he'd forwarded to the Giurgiu police, as well as law enforcement for the village in which Antonia and Andrei had been born.
There was no way to get information because he'd disposed of his phone before leaving the Giurgiu city limits, just in case anyone got the notion to search for his "body" by tracking the phone. He'd been tempted to keep it, but felt it would only be asking for more trouble. According to Natasha, it was possible to track someone by the cell tower any calls pinged off of. Or something like that. At the time, it hadn't concerned him because they were still living in the Vermont cabin, and except for the two men who'd gotten it into their heads that Natasha and he had tried to kill Steve in D.C., no one had paid them much attention. There was the incident with Bethanne, but Natasha assured him that, following his apology to the girl, it had been forgotten.
He wished he could be as certain as she, but this wary nature had been programmed into him by HYDRA and he didn't see any way around the now-inherent suspicion and instincts. Staying as far as possible from people hadn't worked out for him before, during, or since he and Natasha had parted ways. He knew that, if he'd asked her, she would've come with him.
Friends don't let friends go off the grid alone.
Did she still think of them only as friends? Again, he had no way of knowing. Just his feelings, senses, instincts. The same went for the opposite. If Natasha had caught him leaving she would've tried to stop him or insisted on going along. It wouldn't have worked, though he had to admit she could be quite persuasive. It's also likely she'd have followed him if she'd woken up earlier, and not stopped until they were reunited. Did that mean love, intense like, or a sense of duty? He could never be sure of anything with her. That she wasn't with him now meant he'd obscured his trail enough to keep her and the Avengers from finding him.
The scent of food cooking drifted past his nose making his stomach growl. Bucky gave the spit a turn so the other side would could finish. Bucky had made a lucky shot, hitting the bird in the neck with a rock. It had fallen not far from where he'd been standing, and though it turned his stomach to kill and cook the animal, his knowledge of local poisonous and non-poisonous plants was woefully lacking. After all that HYDRA had done to him, Bucky wasn't certain if poisons could kill or incapacitate him, if he'd been genetically changed to be immune to only the most common ones, or any at all. He wasn't anxious to experiment at this point, so he stuck with something safe. Gutting and plucking the animal had sickened him to the point that, if he could ever be integrated back into society, he'd become a vegetarian.
Bucky poked the bird, and the juice ran clear, dripping into the fire with a series of hissing noises that sounded like snakes. His stomach growled again. To appease it, he drank water from the plastic bottle he'd filled at the nearby creek. Then, he tuck the hand towel stolen from a clothesline in the last town he passed through into the front of his shirt, took the spit from the forked sticks at each end, and sniffed the meat before taking a bite. The taste wasn't unpleasant, nor was it better than he thought. It tasted like chicken. His mother had taught him how to cook a few dishes, as had Natasha, and all had included spices to enhance the flavor. Left on his own until he found a large city in which to lose himself, he'd have to make do with what he could get, like this bird.
When his meal was done, Bucky buried the bones away from the cave, relieved himself, and refilled the water bottle. After gathering a few more logs to keep the fire going through the night, he disguised and booby-trapped the entrance in case a wild animal felt this was the perfect place to spend the night. The removed his shoes and jacket, and taking out one of the many notebooks to make a few notes, jot down observations, and more memories of his time before HYDRA.
He stretched a rubber band around it then the notebook was returned to the backpack. He wadded up the jacket to use as a pillow, and curled up facing the fire, his back to the cave wall.
~~O~~
Morning arrived, damp and dreary, and with it, the woods came to life. Birds, insects, the wind, and the threat of rain once again. Bucky cleaned himself up as best he could in the creek, thinking of his time with Norman and Lucy and how the old Rabbi had been subtle in his reminders to tend to hygiene matters. He dressed, and went hunting for breakfast, finding only more of the same bird species as yesterday, making a mental note to visit the library in the next big city he visited.
~~O~~
His stomach taken care of, he packed up his meager belongings, shrugged into the backpack, buckled the strap across his chest, and made his way to the road.
It was almost a full day later that he finally reached a sign pointing him in three different directions. His fate for the foreseeable future depended on which route he took. To the right would lead him to Moldavia. If he chose north and east, he'd end up in Slovakia, after passing through the westernmost part of Hungary. And west…
Bucky smiled, remembering the story Natasha had told of the super top secret mission she and Clint had been on in that particular city. Local law enforcement hadn't a clue what was going on right under their noses. A situation that would work in his favor. He just needed to learn the language. His HYDRA handlers had seen to it that his programmed and training would assure that he could blend in almost anywhere he went, when the need arose. Well, the need was arising now.
Still smiling, Bucky adjusted the backpack more comfortably on his shoulders, slapped a cap on his head, and turned left.
Avengers Headquarters
Upstate New York
Standing on Erik's left, Darcy attempted to keep her mind on work, but it didn't always work out. Her thoughts kept going back to the report for the DNA lab that stated she had one close and several not so close living relatives out there in the world. Though it didn't specifically say, the close relative could only be her biological father. The others were too many times removed for her to bother with contacting as it was likely they knew nothing about her branch of the family tree. To be fair, it was more like a twig than a branch.
Still undecided if she wanted to send an inquiry through the lab's office, Darcy roused herself from her brown study and tuned into Erik's verbal shorthand, which she'd deciphered less than a day after meeting the physicist.
A hand touched Darcy's shoulder, making her jump. Erik's kind face smiled gently, giving her a quick shoulder squeeze. "Your mind isn't on the job, Darcy. Why don't you take a couple more days off?"
She shook her head. "I'm fine, Erik. Still processing it all. And I have an important decision to make." At his startled stare, she reassured him, "Not about my work here. It's just… I got some news…" Taking a deep breath and letting it out, she changed her mind in mid-explanation. "Maybe you're right. I could use another day or so."
~~O~~
Instead of getting in her car and going home, Darcy took up residence on the same steps where she and Steve met, hoping he wouldn't come along and try to cheer her up again. She appreciated his efforts, but right now, at this exact time, she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts.
Sensing she was being watched, Darcy assumed it was Steve, but didn't seek verification. She just kept staring at the laces on her sneakers.
This isn't you, she thought to herself. You're not an indecisive overthinker, not really. So it took a few tries to find your niche in the educational world. Happens all the time. You've always wanted to know your birth father's name and now you have the chance. Take it!
She dug out her phone, using her thumb to scroll through her emails until she came to the one from Apex Labs. The email had several options from which to choose. She clicked on the one that would send an inquiry to the close relative for approval. Another email arrived stating that the inquiry would be sent within seventy-two hours and she should hear back within ten days if the other party did or didn't accept the request for a meeting.
"Now maybe I can get some sleep," she told the air with a smile.
Tony's Lab
Roaming around the lab while polishing piece of equipment, Tony stopped to look out the window, seeing Steve's new girlfriend sitting on the steps staring into space. He knew the feeling well. He'd done the same after the death of his parents, but with lots more drinking and partying in between the hours of feeling sorry for himself at the way he and his dad parted that night in December.
The lab door opened, followed by Steve's heavy tread as he came up behind him. Tony pointed with his chin. "So what did you and your new paramour get up to in Orlando?"
Without turning around, Tony knew Steve was giving him the eyebrows of annoyance, confirmed by his next comment.
"Not what you're thinking, Tony. And I told you. She's not a girlfriend. Just a friend who happens to be a girl. Nothing more."
Letting a mild smirk take over, he looked Steve in the eyes. "At least admit you've thought about it."
Steve crossed his arms, his scowl deepening. "Do you ever think anything pure about the opposite sex?"
"Not if I can help it, only now those thoughts are about Pepper, and any possible gossip I can get from the rest of the team." He went back to the hologram floating above the floor grid. "Why're you here anyway, Old Man?"
Shaking his head, Steve's hands went into his pockets. At least the super-soldier was no longer watching him with disapproval.
"To thank you for the use of the quinjet and the car while Darcy and I were in Orlando."
"In that case, you're welcome." Tony put on a welding mask, apron, and gloves, picked up an acetylene cutting torch, and fired it up. "Now get out of here so I can work in peace."
Pepper came into the lab as Steve was leaving. At this rate, Tony would be working long into the night again. He shut the torch down, removed the gear, and accepted the bottle of infused water.
"What were you and Steve talking about?"
His thumb popped open the bottle and he took a long swig before answering. "Nothing much. He came to trade light banter, mild insults regarding each other's intelligence that culminated in a bit of awkward flirting. Told him I was all in for you and sent him on his way."
Shaking her head, Pepper hitched a hip onto the corner of a table, careful not to disturb anything. "I've come to remind you about the speech at MIT next week."
He snorted and picked up a random tool, just so his hands had something to do, then laid it down again. "How could I forget? Friday reminds me three times a day."
"We both know how you are, Tony," she reminded him.
He pointed a finger at her. "Entirely too well, I might add. There's another reason for another repeat." Pepper tilted her head to the side, and somehow, it clicked. "You're canceling."
Her light red ponytail bounced with her nod. "I have to fly out to the Buenos Aires office in two days, and will be gone until at least the first of the month."
Tony set the bottle next to Pepper's hip and drew her into his arms. "You know, the closer we get to being engaged, the less time we spend together. I've never been in a long-term relationship, but I'm fairly certain it's supposed to work the other way around."
Their lips met in a short and sweet kiss. "It was your idea to make me CEO, Tony. Now we both have to live with it."
"You left out the part where I thought I was dying. Making you the head honcho assured Stark Industries would be run the Stark way, not the Stane way after I was gone."
"But you didn't die, thanks to your dad." Pepper's hands came to rest on his shoulders, pushing him back so she could look him in the eyes. "Have you gone to the cemetery recently?"
For one of the few times in his life, Tony felt embarrassment and shame as he turned away from her all-knowing all-seeing stare. "It's on my to-do list, right after curing world hunger and before lining up the planets in alphabetical order."
A finger poked him in the shoulder and he finally looked at the love of his life. "Go while I'm in Argentina. I told Happy to take you himself and not to trust you to go on your own. I also gave him carte blanche to employ any means necessary to gain your compliance."
Taken aback, Tony swung around to protest, and was presented with Pepper's retreating back. "You can't do that! Happy was mine before he was yours." She waved as she reached the door. Tony raised his voice to be heard in the hall, yelling, "This is cruel and unusual punish…"
The lift dinged, the doors opened, and closed on his last word.
Dum-E came to his side holding the bottle Pepper had brought, making a noise that sounded like sympathy. "She knows I can't resist Happy's sad puppy face." Tony took a long drink, swallowed, and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "Guess I'm going to my parents' graves, Dum-E." He patted the robot's "arm", capped the bottle, and set it on the table. "Back to work, while I figure out how to get myself out of yet another mess of my own making."
~~O~~
Taking the stairs in lieu of the lift, Steve stopped between the second and first floors to look out the window. Darcy was sitting on what she called the Stairs of Despair scrolling her phone. The insinuations from Tony about their relationship kept coming back to him at moments like this, and each time they did, he dismissed the notion of a romantic connection out of hand. She understood how he felt about having his marriage proposal rejected to the point where his former intended wouldn't even speak to him unless the subject was strictly work-related.
Over the weeks he and Darcy had spent time together in close quarters Steve realized that Maria was right. They did love each other, but weren't meant to spend the rest of their lives together.
On the other hand, he wasn't sure that beginning a romance with the next woman who came along was the right path to take, but would it hurt to at least give it a chance? He didn't think so, not by his World War II standards, and most certainly not by today's.
Darcy put her phone away, raised her head proudly, and walked toward the front of the building. Steve rushed down to the first floor and out the main entrance. When Darcy turned the corner, he was standing, hands in his pockets, as if he'd been in that exact spot for a while and not waiting for her.
She saw him and waved, speeding up to join him. "I did it. Asked the lab to let my," she made air quotes, "close relative know I'd be amenable to a brief meet and greet on neutral territory at their convenience."
"Good. Now you'll know if it's your dad or not." He paused to shore up his nerves then forged ahead. "Busy tonight?"
"Erik gave me the next couple of days off so, no," she told him, "I'm free as the proverbial bird. Why?"
He shoved his hands back in his pockets, following when Darcy started walking, her stride taking on the happy-go-lucky bounce that had been missing since her mother's passing. "If you'd like to… I mean, if you want, how about dinner tonight?"
"Sounds like a plan. Where we goin'?"
"It's a surprise."
She shook his arm and mock scowled. "I deserve a hint at least."
Since the day they met, he hadn't been able to say no to Darcy, and today was the same. "It's a new place. New to us, anyway. That's all you get."
Pretending to pout, Darcy crossed her arms, and huffed. "I'll take it. Now if you don't mind, I have to get home. My neighbor's out of town and I gotta water her plants."
Steve walked Darcy to her car and waved as she drove away. Now all he had to do was decide where to take her. He sent a text to Natasha. She responded quickly, including the phone number. Clinking on the link dialed for him. "Hi. I'd like to make a reservation for tonight… Seven-thirty? Great. Lewis and Rogers… Both or either… Can we decide when we get there? No, just two. See you then."
Darcy's Apartment
The doorbell rang just as Darcy was putting her hair up in a ponytail. She put her glasses back on and opened the door, her standard greeting dying on her lips. Instead, she went with, "That's what they're wearing in sports bar these days?"
Darcy had to admit, if only to herself, that Steve looked hotter than ever in his navy blue sweater, checked shirt, and matching tie. His slacks were a shade of dark brown that reminded her of the semi-sweet chocolate her grandmother used in her baking. His longish hair was neatly combed and the beard scruff was a nice change from the super clean-cut boy-next-door image.
"It's, um, not a sports bar." Steve stared at his feet, looking as if he were an inexperienced young man having an awkward conversation with his secret crush. "I, uh, made reservations at Embers. Nat suggested it as a…"
"Embers? That's the most romantic casual restaurant in town. Or so I was told." Startled by the implication, confirmed by Steve's sheepish smile, Darcy added an uncomfortable smile of her own. "Wait here."
She slammed the door, not realizing until she hit her bedroom that she'd left him standing on what she called her "go away" mat. It didn't take long to get out of the jeans, long-sleeved t-shirt, and sneakers.
At the closet, she quickly sorted through the clothes until she came to a dress that fit in with the casually elegant style of Steve's clothing. All while she dressed and applied a bit of make-up, she wondered why he hadn't just come out and asked her on a date, then mentally kicked herself for the thought. "Geez, Lewis. You know better than to ask that question. He's Steve Rogers, Captain America. That's all the answer anyone needs."
Darcy exchanged her backpack for a small shoulder bag, dropping her phone, wallet, keys, and lipstick inside. She pulled the elastic from her hair and ran a brush through it. The last thing she did was put in the diamond earrings and pendant she'd received as a gift from her mother upon her high school graduation.
In the living room, Darcy took out a cashmere wrap that matched her dress, and opened the door, giving Steve a less awkward smile than before. She made a little spin, easily keeping her balance in the heels. "Will this do?"
~~O~~
Steve had been pacing nervously in the short hallway in front of her apartment. He turned when she spoke, his gaze going wide as he skimmed down to her feet and back up.
He'd never seen this Darcy before. Oh, he'd glimpsed the possibility at her mother's memorial service, but nothing on this order. All their previous nights out had been about eating, drinking coffee, and watching the game. You're a dead man, his shoulder angel whispered in his ear.
The dress she'd chosen was a similar shade that complimented his sweater and tie, but that's where the similarities ended. The material looked soft and velvety, but he could tell without asking or touching, or even asking to touch the fabric. It had a subtle flower design that was barely noticeable until she moved.
To his relief, the hemline was modest, stopping just below the knees, though the neckline didn't leave as much to the imagination. A gold pendant hung around her neck, the heart and diamond lying nestled between the upper curves of her… curves. Steve had no idea how he'd keep his eyes from straying, hoping to see in that tiny gem playing peek-a-boo, teasing him with where it might have gone, until it came back again. Did she do it on purpose? He didn't think so, but with Darcy, you never quite knew.
"Wow."
~~O~~
Gracing Steve with a bright smile, Darcy handed him the wrap and he draped it around her shoulders, after which, he picked up her purse from the table and gave it to her. "Your tone and that glassy stare indicate approval."
"It's just… Yeah. You look really beautiful tonight, Darce." She tilted her head to one side, waiting for more, because, with Steve, there was always more, especially when he put his foot in his mouth. Mostly consisting of stuttering and unnecessary explanations…
"Oh! Um, n-not just tonight. I mean you're beautiful all the time. It's just that I've never seen you in clothes."
…like now. Darcy snorted to herself. He'd probably done the same thing before he became a rock-solid hunk-o-rama, a feast for female and male eyes.
Steve realized how he sounded and backpedaled. "N-not that I've ever seen you, um… W-what I'm trying to say…"
Though she was tempted to let him ramble just to see how long it would last, Darcy let him off the hook with a laugh. "I get it, Steve. And thanks." She stepped over the threshold and pulled the door closed, checking to make sure it was locked. He extended his elbow and she gripped it lightly at the bottom of his bicep. "Can't wait to see what you've got planned."
"Oh, uh, well, other than the reservations, I thought we could wing it."
Knowing he couldn't possibly have the same expectation that most men would, Darcy briefly rested her head against his shoulder. "If I'd been given full disclosure at the time of the asking, I would've dressed appropriately when you arrived."
"Where's the surprise in that?" he reminded her with a flash of that puppy-like grin. "You're not upset…"
"'Course not. I love surprises, the good kind. Jane being cursed by an alien entity and having to go to Asgard for the cure, not so much." She looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. "Not a fan. Of curses. Asgard though… I could see myself spending a day, a week, or even a month in the palace being waited on hand and foot."
Steve put her in the passenger seat, but instead of waiting for her to buckle the seat belt, he reached across and did it himself. If this is what it was like dating Captain America, then she was in for a treat.
He got in, buckled up, started the engine, and put the car in motion with a smile. "Tonight won't be up to Asgard standards. Should be fun though. At least I hope so."
"Then we need some mood music." Darcy turned on the satellite radio and scrolled through the offerings until she found a song that would do. Before she could make her choice, Steve picked another. Darcy had to admit, it fit the night.
Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you
Embrace me, you irreplaceable you
Just one look at you
My heart grows tipsy in me
You and you alone
Bring out the Gypsy in me
I love all the many charms about you
Above all, I want my arms about you
Don't be a naughty baby
Come to papa, come to papa do
My sweet embraceable you
Don't be a naughty baby
Come to papa, come to papa do
My sweet embraceable you
"There better be dancing, Rogers."
The look Steve shot her sent a shiver down her spine, which she suppressed with difficultly when he told her in a husky voice, "There will be, Miss Lewis. There will be."
A Cozy Home
Somewhere in the U.S.
He was staring at his phone when his sweetheart came in, she tossed her purse and laptop bag on the end of the sofa, and kicked her shoes off.
Usually, he was there with a drink and a welcome home kiss, but not tonight. "You okay, honey?"
"Tell me, love of my life, do I have a 'kick me' sign around my neck?" he asked with more than mild sarcasm. "What's the date? It has to be 'pick on me' day." The phone clattered on the counter. He rubbed a hand over his face, ending with a sigh.
Resisting the urge to respond in kind, she asked gently, "What's wrong, honey?"
"Oh, nothing that a long stay at a luxury resort where we're waited on hand and foot, with no responsibilities, wouldn't cure."
In response, she picked up his phone to read the email displayed. "It's from Apex Labs. Does this mean what I think it means?"
He poured them each a glass of wine, taking a sip before responding. "She's found me."
"You knew it would happen eventually," she told him, giving his free hand a squeeze.
"Was hoping for later. Much later. Like never, 'cause then I'd have to explain why I haven't attempted to make contact before now. Though, to be fair, babe, I have a really kick-ass excuse ready."
He went to the window looking up at the sky with such concentration he appeared to be counting the stars. She stood close to him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Now, as it had the first time, his gentle expression of affection made her feel safe. "What're you going to do?"
He took a long inhale and let it out again. "Guess I'm finally going to meet my daughter."
TBC
Pálinka is a traditional fruit brandy in Central Europe with origins in Transylvania, known under several names, and invented in the Middle Ages. Protected as a geographical indication of
apricot spirits from four provinces of Austria can be called "pálinka", while "Tótpálinka" refers to wheat derived beverages. Törkölypálinka, a different product in the legal sense, is a similarly protected pomace brandy that is commonly included with pálinka. While pálinka may be made of any locally grown fruit, the most common ones are plums, apricots, apples, pears, and cherries.
Câcat = I think we all know what this word means. 😉
"Embraceable You" is a popular jazz song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was written in 1928 for an unpublished operetta named East Is West. It was published in 1930 and included in the Broadway musical Girl Crazy where Ginger Rogers performed it in a song and dance routine choreographed by Fred Astaire. Billie Holiday's 1944 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2005.