DESTINED FOR ETERNITY

CHAPTER 34

JULY 1983

Robert and Holly have fun playing in the water for the next couple of hours. They playfully splash and dunk one another and steal kisses at every opportunity. They venture behind the waterfall and marvel at the beauty of nature and the wonder of love. Deciding their hunger for food is becoming more important than sightseeing, they find a secluded glade and set out their picnic lunch. As Holly sets out the food, Robert opens the bottle of wine.

"I'm glad that no other people have discovered our private paradise today," Helly tells him as she looks about.

"You and me both," Robert agrees.

As he hands Holly her glass of wine, Robert lets his eyes drink in her beauty. He thought her swimsuit had been bad before, but now it was wet which made it much worse. Inwardly he groans as he tries to tamper down his desire. He was afraid she just might grow tired of him acting like a schoolboy who can't keep his hands off of his first real crush. On the other hand, she does seem to enjoy his attention.

"Robert, don't you hate the thought of leaving all this when we have to go home?"

When he doesn't respond, Holly looks over at him. "Robert?" No response. "Darling?" She says louder.

Coming back to reality, Robert says, "What? Did you say something?"

"Are you okay?" Holly asks worridly.

"I am great," He assures her with a smile. Setting his plate aside, he reaches over to pick a tropical flower from a nearby plant. He leans over and places the yellow flower behind Holly's ear and kisses her gently on the mouth. Touching her cheek with his finger, he whispers, "I was thinking that I am absolutly head over hills crazy in love with you, Mrs. Scorpio."

"Really?" Holly says as her face lights up in pure joy.

"Without a shadow of a doubt," He states firmly.

Holly looks at him in confusion. "Well, Mr. Scorpio, is this a sudden revelation? I thought you had known this for quite some time now."

"Oh, I have," He assures her. "But I was holding a little bit of myself back out of fear that you would never return my feelings. Now that I have none of those doubts, all of these feelings just overwhelm me. I have never experienced anything like this. When I look at you and touch you. . ." His hand caresses her shoulder and moves slowly up and down her arm. "I can't even explain it." Robert finishes. "I never knew feelings like these would ever exist for me."

Eyes growing misty from her unshed tears, Holly takes his hand in hers and squeezes it tightly. "I do so love you, Robert Scorpio. I don't want you to ever doubt my love for you ever again."

"I won't. I promise." He leans down to kiss her gently.

Deciding to get a little less serious, Holly says, "I find it very hard to believe that you have never been in love. I have heard alot of stories about you and your playboy WSB days."

Robert grins at her and lays back on the blanket, arms behind his head, as he gets comfortable. "Well, you shouldn't believe everything you hear," He says evasively.

Holly stretches out beside him, proping her head up on her hand as she watches him. "Come on," She encourages, "You can tell me. After all, it is long past, right?"

"Most definitely. Those days are over. I confess, I thought I may have been in love a time or two. But now, after being with you, I know the difference between infatuation, lust, and love. When I was a young lad, it was total infatuation of just learning about love. While in the WSB, it was pure unadulterated lust. Living on the edge, never knowing if or when you might die, I grabbed hold of anyone to prove I was invincible. But with you I found love, which is a combination of all those things plus friendship. This is the love that will last a lifetime, an eternity."

Holly puts her arm around Robert's waist and lays her head on his chest. "I know." She agrees. "I feel it, too. I see it all so much more clearly now. I did love Luke," She says softly as she looks up at him. "I really did. It had been the deepest love that I had ever experienced up until that point in my life. I had no idea there could be different depths of love. I don't know, but maybe each chapter of love that we have through our lives is to lead us to the person we were always meant to be with."

"I guess we are the proof," Robert agrees. "Who would have known that being friends as well as lovers make for the perfect relationship? It is rather marvelous."

"Yes, it really is, isn't it?" They share a tender kiss.
"So," Holly teases, "Haven't you ever had a real serious relationship with any woman before?"

"Dying of curiosity about my lurid past, aren't you?" He asks with a laugh.

"Okay, I admit it. I want to know who came before me. Well, not ALL of them. That could take the rest of our lives."

"Holly, that is. . ."

"Just kidding, dear. I just want to know about the MOST special ones."

"Okay, if you insist. But you better not get too jealous," He teases. "And remember, after my confessions, it may very well be your turn."

"Out with it," She says.

Sitting up once again, he looks at her carefully. "Are you sure?"

"Robert, quit stalling."

"Well, prior to the WSB, when I was rather young, I was engaged."

Holly's eyes widen in surprise. "Engaged? Really? What happened?"

Robert gives her a quick kiss, as if to let her know that she has nothing to fear. "She was killed in the same plane crash that killed my parents."

"Oh, Robert. I am sorry."

"It was a pretty bad time," He agrees. "Losing her and my parents at the same time was difficult. It inspired me to join up with the WSB. I just wanted to leave Australia and all of the memories behind. As I look back on it, I see that what I felt was not a strong love. It possibly would have grown deeper after we married, but I kind of doubt it. I think we were two very different people and that would have distanced us instead of us growing closer."

"Then what about the women and your WSB years?" Holly asks.

Robert laughs. "Many women in many different countries."

"Mmm, a woman in every port, right?"

"Kind of," He agrees in a smug manner.

"So you never fell in love with any of them?" She questions.

He lays back down again and remains quiet for a spell.

"So there was someone," Holly guesses.

"I did fall pretty hard for a fellow agent," He confides. "It turnedout to bea disaster," He adds sadly.

"Constance Townley?" Holly guesses.

"Not hardly," Robert says with a laugh. "No, Connie made this woman look like a saint." He looks at Holly, who is hovering over him. "Do you really want to discuss ancient history?"

Holly looks deeply into his eyes, staring into his very soul. "I take it you were hurt very badly. Maybe even more than you are willing to admit."

Robert puts his arms around her and pulls her back down onto his chest. His hands caress the bare skin of her back. "I think disillusioned is a better word for it."

"Did this relationship last a long time?" She asks curiously.

"Only if you call two weeks a long time," He answers.

Holly looks up at him. "What could possibly have happened to make it start and end so quickly?"

"It is not a time in my life that I am very proud of, Holly." He replies sadly. "I was so enamored of her thatI didn't use my agent skills to see her for what she was. I found out she was a double agent and then I covered for her. I was ashamed of myself for the whole sordid mess. I blamed myself as well as her. It seems like I have spent the rest of my time after that trying to make up for it."

"Robert, you are human. You made a bad judgement because you loved her. That is a very normal thing to do. Sometimes love not only blinds us, but takes away some of our brain cells, too."

"Thank you for saying that, but I was more than stupid. I even exchanged wedding vows with her in a mass public wedding in France."

Holly sits up in total shock. "You're kidding?"

"Afraid not. Within days of that, I found out she was a DVX agent. She was injured during a shootout. I covered for her with the agency, handed her divorce papers, and walked out." He surmises for her.

"That had to have been a horrible time for you," She reasons.

"It was," He agrees. "You are the first person I have ever told about this and somehow it makes it easier. I guess me trying to be a super-hero has been to make up for blaming myself."

"I don't think you need to make up for anything, Robert. You paid the price through the years by risking your life for your country on many occassions. You have more honor and integrity than any man I have ever met."

Robert kisses her softly. "Thank you, luv. I only hope I am worthy of you."

"I am the one who should say that," Holly counters. "With my past, I worry that I will be a liability to you and your career."

"Never say that," Robert stresses angrily. "Never, ever even think it. We have both done things that we are less than proud of, but when we married, it was a fresh start and a clean slate. Understand?"

"Yes," Holly says with tears in her eyes. "A most perfect beginning." They share a lingering kiss.

"I never thought I would ever find my soulmate," Robert tells her. "I never even believed such a thing existed until I met up with Luke and Laura. I watched them and they showed what true love was all about. I envied them so much and never even dared to dream that I would find such love. I never believed that I deserved it. But it became so clear to me that love was about trust and honesty, respect and admiration. It was caring for someone else more than you cared for yourself. I had never experienced that with anyone until you."

"Oh, Robert," She says through hertears, giving him another lingering kiss. "I feel that way, with you."

He laughs. "Do youwant to knowthe moment I knew I was way beyond help when it came to falling in love with you?"

Smiling, Holly is excited. "Yes. Tell me when."

"Well, it was a day that we went grocery shopping and then we went to the discount store for the normal household need to have things. And that evening we ate popcorn and watched a movie on the telly."

Holly looks at him as if he lost his mind. "That's it? That was the big revelation? A boring evening?"

"Yip, that was it. I knew in that moment that I wanted to live the rest of my life with you. I wanted the full days with all the works. The boring, mundane tasks like shopping, the quiet evenings just talking and watching tv, the cranky children that might someday arrive, growing old with you by my side. I wanted the whole works, but ONLY with you. I knew right then that I had it BAD."

Holly laughs. "Who would have thought that Robert Scorpio, playboy superspy, wanted a boring life?"

"But not just ANY boring life, but a boring life with YOU, Holly Scorpio." He bends down to kiss her passionately, giving everything he has to give. "I love you," He whispers into her mouth. "I want us to spend the rest of our lives together."

Pulling back to look into his eyes, Holly whispers, "We will, darling. We will. In retrospect, I am grateful for the relationship I had with Luke. I was able to see a different type of life for myself. I found out who I really was and what I really wanted. Luke made me see that sharing your life with another person was what matters the most in ones life. And then loving you made me see that belonging to someone heart and soul was what brings peace and fullfillment to your life. I feel that with you, Robert, and I always shall."

Trying to keep his emotions from showing, Robert closes his eyes briefly. But when he opens them, Holly notices the unshed tears. Touching his face with her hands, she kisses his check, his eyes, his mouth.

"I love you, Holly. I don't ever want you to doubt my love for you. NEVER in my life have I ever felt as complete as I do with you."

Turning her over to her back, Robert kisses her with every emotion inside of him. She returns his kiss with a desperation and longing that surpasses any other time or place. The ultimate satisfaction of knowing that they were one of mind, body, and soul was the fulfillment of every dream they had ever made.