The morning sun was breaking up the clouds as it rose and the smell of warm bagels, French toast, nutmeg, cinnamon, and coffee wafted from the kitchen. The house even sounded wonderful as Dorian listened to her girls chatter in the other room.

Starr came into the sitting room, looking for one of Hope's toys, and stopped dead.

"Aunt Dorian! What is all this?"

"Starr, honey, whatever you have planned for today, drop it. I have the most glorious news!"

Starr's eyes widened as she surveyed the room. It was filled with gifts – a bouquet of flowers, a large cluster of helium balloons, what appeared to be a pastry or cake box tied in ribbon with a large bow, and a couple of gift baskets filled with goodies. "Is it someone's birthday that I forgot about?"

"No, Starr!" Dorian grinned, ear to ear. "Shaun is being released from the hospital today. I took the liberty of getting him gifts from each of us. Which would you like to give him? A gift basket? Champagne? Or maybe the cookies?"

Starr smiled back, happy to hear the good news. "Omigod! That's great, Aunt Dorian!" She paused to give Dorian a sideways glance. "… But … do you think you might be overdoing it?"

Dorian hesitated in the middle of fluffing a bow. "Overdoing it? For a man that risked his life to save my girls? How could you think that? As far as I am concerned, nothing could be enough."

Starr consented to that fact, but was still troubled. "Are you sure you're not just worried that Shaun is still mad at you for firing him?"

Dorian frowned. Starr's question warranted a thoughtful response. Her answer was solemn. "Perhaps Shaun still harbors a grudge for that little … incident … but what does it matter? He can harbor whatever ill feelings he likes toward me, but the fact remains that … I owe him so much; and I just want to show him how very glad I am that he's going to be okay."

Starr pondered her aunt's sincerity. "Aunt Dorian, you don't think it's your fault that Shaun got hurt, do you?"

Dorian pooched her lips out as she turned her attention back to making the bow look perfect. "Uhm … you know … I have given a lot of thought to that day – to the decisions I made that led up to that chain of events. I don't deny that I had a part in what happened. But you have to remember that if I hadn't played that role, someone else would have."

"You're right," Starr consented again. "It was inevitable. I just wish no one would have gotten hurt."

Dorian took a deep, cleansing breath; glad Starr was on her side. "But Shaun is better now," she encouraged, " and he's leaving the hospital today, and everything is going to be alright." She smiled. "I think you should give him the cookies. The balloons can be from Hope. I'll give the champagne. Let's see … we could have this one be from Blair and this one…."

Starr cut Dorian off. "You're not going to parade us all to Shaun's door in a herd, are you?"

Dorian blinked. "A parade maybe … not a herd."

"Okay, no. Shaun is just getting out of the hospital, and he needs to be with his own family. You can sign the cards with whoever's names you want, but just let me and mom take the gifts to him okay?"

Dorian was taken aback. "I just want to express my appreciation … my gratitude … my concern for him…."

"That's fine," Starr assured her, "but honestly," she tried to be gentle with her observation of her aunt, "sometimes your concern can be a little … overwhelming."

Dorian pulled her head back and blinked at her grown-up little niece again before gazing around at the gifts she had purchased. "You think this seems overwhelming?"

"Yeah, maybe a little, for someone who just got out of the hospital."

Dorian slumped her shoulders, relenting. "Alright, I'll sign the cards. But when you speak to Shaun, tell him how relieved I am that he's better."

Starr smiled. "Promise." She backed away to go tell her mother their new plans.

"Oh, and Starr?"

Starr froze. She had an urge to hold her breath; unsure of what else Dorian might ask of her.

"Let him know – there's a job waiting for him if he ever wants it."

Starr sighed. She wasn't sure Shaun was ready for a step like that, considering that Dorian had fired him and especially considering what he had last experienced in her house. Still, she couldn't discourage Dorian. "I'll tell him," she promised.

Dorian waited until Starr was gone and turned back to the gifts, still deciding whom each present would be from.

From the kitchen, a strange but not unfamiliar sound wafted toward her. Dorian paused to listen. A pang of sentimentality shot through her as she realized someone was playing piano music - but it sounded so far away … so small.

She continued to sort cards and gifts in thought as she considered how music should fill a room, a house, or a concert hall. The tune she heard now was as distant as the times in her life when music always surrounded her.

The room suddenly burst with noise and activity as Langston and Amelia entered the room, chatting. Amelia carried her laptop, which seemed to be where the music was originating, and David followed, sulking with a newspaper and his coffee still in hand. The man took a seat in a chair while Amelia and Langston sat side-by-side on the couch.

Amelia's voice interrupted her boss's thoughts. "Dorian, you look great. I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

David's head jerked up as he shot the women a glance. Dorian did look fabulous – put together, ready for whatever life would throw at her that day. He wondered when it became Amelia's job to say so, and made a mental note to be quicker on the draw next time.

Amelia was wearing a navy suit with light blue pinstripes and Dorian had on a short teal jacket with an ivory shell, and matching teal pants. Her belt was a modest flat gold, but her necklace and earrings shined and sparkled.

Dorian made Amelia look plain and boring. David wondered if that was part of Amelia's game plan. Good cop, bad cop. Boring politician, interesting one? He thought of it in acting terms. Amelia was Dorian's prop. He decided to stop over-analyzing and flipped through the newspaper in his hand, bored.

"Oh, thank you," Dorian chirped to Amelia as she patted her hair.

Dorian appreciated the moment with great intensity. It was one of those rare moments when everything was as it was supposed to be in La Boulaie – it looked, smelled, and sounded like a happy home, with Dorian at the center of the tiny universe like the sun peeking from behind the clouds outside.

She grinned at her daughter, who was distracted with Amelia's laptop, and fished for a greeting or some acknowledgement. "Good morning, Langston."

"Morning!" Langston cheered. "Amelia found this music on MyTunes. It's David Renaldi."

Dorian froze and tilted her head toward the two, her sudden interest in the music itself outweighing the dim suspicion that Amelia and Langston had formed a conspiracy to draw her past out into the present. A vision of another time played in Dorian's mind.

The room fell silent, save for the piano music, as they failed in their attempt to gauge Dorian's reaction.

Langston elaborated. "This song is from a piano compilation. There's also a concerto he played with the Slovakian Symphony Orchestra."

Dorian turned back and made a slow and deliberate effort to work on the gifts. "Hmm," she acknowledged, unable to form a well-thought response.

One end of her mind was attached to the present – to the day greeting her, the work to be completed, and the hope for the future. The other end of her mind was trying to spin her around to the past – to a comfortable room with books and music and love. Her first David had been so exceptional, so talented. It was unexpected to hear him play now, before her friends and family, after all the years and tragedies he – they – had faced, and it caused a momentary gush of memories to swirl before her. She had a bit of trouble finding her footing between the before and after until she sighed and forced herself to the present.

It was becoming more apparent that Amelia was adept at digging up long-past and even forgotten or obscure information by using the Internet.

Amelia looked at her counterpart and considered Dorian's intentional lack of response to the music. Dorian was in a particularly upbeat mood this morning, considering her dark mood just last night. Her lack of either a good or bad response to hearing her ex-lover's music was notable.

David cleared his throat. This time he knew his timing was right. "What's all this stuff, anyway?"

Dorian shot a sideways glance at him. She knew that he wasn't asking the question out of curiosity. "Shaun is being released from the hospital today so I'm sending over a few gifts."

Langston almost laughed. "A few?"

"How'd you get all this delivered so early?" David asked, eyeing the champagne.

"David, I know people. And, Amelia was kind enough to make a couple of stops on her way over this morning, while you were still sleeping."

David did not contain his frown, nor did Amelia hide her proud smirk.

Langston lifted her eyebrows and looked between the three adults as if she were about to break up a playpen brawl over who sat next to whom. Now it was her turn to have good timing. "He was pretty good, huh?"

They all turned to blink at her. Dorian's eyes met her daughters. "What, honey?"

Langston pointed at the computer screen, unsure if she had just committed a faux pas. "David … Reynolds … Renaldi."

Dorian sighed, following Langston's train of thought. "He was a genius." She snapped her fingers. "That reminds me. We should sponsor a concert."

"A concert?" Amelia asked.

Langston grinned. This was not the first time she had heard Dorian drop the thought into conversation. "She wants River to play here in Llanview."

Amelia looked at Dorian while Dorian distracted herself with signing cards and attaching them to gifts. "Your grandson?" She furrowed her brows. There was something odd about referring to a woman like Dorian Cramer Lord as a grandmother.

David eyed Dorian up and down. It was sexy – the way she didn't bat an eyelash. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll come up with a plan."

Amelia's eyes travelled from David to Dorian, considering his words. That seemed to be what it always was – in their relationships, in the campaign, and around Dorian in general. There was always a plan. She pulled out their agenda and offered it to Dorian. "If you'll excuse me, I need to step out and make a few calls."

Dorian nodded, not even looking at the schedule. "I need to make a couple of calls myself."

Amelia stepped out of the room and Langston took her queue, taking a moment to close Amelia's laptop, which silenced the music. "I'll be in the kitchen."

Dorian had already retrieved her address book and was flipping through it. David remained seated.

Dorian dialed and waited. David watched her push her way through several prompts before reaching whoever or whatever she was trying to call. "Yes, hello, this is…. Actually, I prefer to remain anonymous. I just wanted to let our fair police department know that I have close ties to Llanview Hospital and I know for a fact that Stanley Lowell is a close personal friend with the chief of staff there. Considering the … infamous former mayor's involvement in an illegal prescription drug operation, I thought this information might be prudent in inciting an investigation into the practices at the hospital – namely those of the chief of staff. I'm not saying there is any wrong-doing, but I thought this information might be critical." She hung up the phone and looked at David with innocence.

His eyes shined at her. "Needed a back up plan, did you?" he grinned.

She shook her head. "It isn't a back up plan, David. It just occurred to me that he was never investigated. I have the best interests of the hospital at heart."

"Yeah that's why you called the police instead of having the hospital do an internal investigation first," was his sarcastic reply. He stood and took a long drink of his cooling coffee. "You know I haven't said anything because I'm letting Amelia be the husband, but … god, you're hot."

"David…." Dorian muttered disapproval at him and turned her back, but grinned as he left the room. So he did notice. She flipped through her address book and dialed the phone again, following prompts like she had before.

"Uhm, yes, hello. This is Dorian Lord…."

Sam's teacher was on the line.

"Hello, Doctor Lord. They told me you were trying to get ahold of me."

"Yes. A situation has been brought to my attention concerning my nephew, Sam Manning?"

There was a pause, followed by a confused-sounding response. "Yes, I spoke with Sam's mother about that. She insisted that I not discuss it with anyone else."

"Well, it was Sam's mother Blair - my niece - that told me about the situation and I am afraid she did not convey to you the importance of urgency in handling it."

"Listen, Mrs. … Doctor Lord … it is all under control, I assure you. All concerned parties have been made aware of what happened and how we have chosen to handle this going forward. I cannot discuss it with you any more than to assure you that there is not anything further that can be done or anything else to concern yourself over at this time."

"Perhaps I should speak to an administrator instead," Dorian wondered, her tone as much threatening as worried.

There was another pause. "Dorian. May I call you Dorian? Your nephew is a bright, resilient young man and his soft-spoken method of observing the world before responding to it gives him a unique perspective on what happens around him. My suggestion would be that you take a lesson from Sam and set a good example for him. Otherwise your tactics will prove no better than those of a childish bully."

Dorian opened her mouth to answer but heard the buzz of a dial tone. She blinked at her phone, confirming that she had indeed been disconnected, and then growled. "Where does she get off?"

"Uh, what was that?" Starr asked, standing in the doorway with Hope on her hip.

Dorian offered a sweet smile. "Oh, nothing," she shrugged, crossing the room to take Hope in her arms and cuddle her. "…Starr? Do you think I'm a bully?"

Starr almost laughed, considering her answer as she watched Hope grasp Dorian's necklace in her tiny fist. "No, Aunt Dorian. In fact right now you look a little bit more like a push-over." She gave Dorian an encouraging smile as she pried Hope's hands off the necklace and replaced it with a doll, before taking her daughter back into her own arms. "And we have to get going if we're going to stop and visit Shaun, don't we?"

Dorian couldn't help but smile, the last phone call already forgotten. Blair came into the room and saw the pile of gifts for the first time. "God, Dorian, how'm I gonna fit all this in the car?"

Dorian grabbed her agenda. "Starr said you two could handle it on your own."

Blair grabbed a couple of boxes and motioned for Langston to pick up a basket. "Yeah, well, we're recruiting."

"I still don't understand why I shouldn't go," Dorian protested.

"Because, Dorian."

"Because what?"

"Just because."

"Blair!" Dorian stomped her foot.

"Because your intensity level is just a little bit high this morning, okay?" The girls moved to carry gifts out to Blair's vehicle.

Amelia stepped back into the room with a smirk. "And that is exactly as it should be."

Dorian relented, shooting an accusing look at Blair before reviewing her agenda for the day. "What is all this, Amelia, with David's name instead of yours?"

"I have a meeting for a few hours this afternoon."

Dorian paused to blink at her. "A meeting?" She wondered why Amelia was being vague. "Something to do with the campaign?"

Amelia was reluctant to answer, but decided it best to be frank. "I'm meeting with my lawyers. Actually, they are the LGLA's legal counsel but they've…."

Dorian cut her off. "Why do you need lawyers?"

Amelia looked at her would-be mayor and fiancée as if to ask if she was serious or kidding.

Dorian was as serious as a heart attack. "Amelia. Why do you need legal counsel?" She wanted to hear the answer.

Amelia did not know any other way to say it. "The same reason you do, and I hope you've talked to yours."

Dorian's frown was bitter. "What about those 'hot coals' we talked about walking over together?"

"Oh, we're walking over them," Amelia clarified. "But like you said, I'm also going to cover my butt in case I fall."

Dorian was not even sure why the realization that Amelia needed her own lawyers perturbed her so much, but it did. She glanced over the agenda again, distracted, incapable of even reading the words on it.

Amelia could tell Dorian was annoyed and though she couldn't explain why herself, Dorian's predictable reaction had been why she had not mentioned her behind-the-scenes plans before now.

Amelia was right to have legal representation and Dorian knew it. "I'm going to gather my things," she muttered to her campaign manager with an audible sigh as she left the room. She knew Amelia was not as concerned about a prenuptial agreement as she was about supporting and marrying a lesbian mayoral candidate who was not a lesbian.