April 25, 2019

Hello! Quick shoutout here to the guest that left a review saying they read this whole thing in one sitting. Wow! That's a massive compliment, thank you! Hopefully you'll enjoy the rest of this, as well. :)

It was fifteen past noon, and Fallon hadn't shown up yet. Liam was trying to pass it off, but Mora was having none of it.

"So, let me get this straight," she drawled at him. "You divorced this woman, after she tried to seduce my now-late husband, and now you're dating her again and she can't even be bothered to show up?"

Liam ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. "She didn't try anything with Uncle Max. It was a... misunderstanding. And she's probably just stuck in traffic."

Mora rolled her eyes, likely thinking that her nephew was very foolish for, well, a variety of reasons. She shifted her chair back slightly, and stood without explanation. At his distress, she waved a hand. "If she wants to hold up our meal, then she can't be mad when I do the same. I'll be back in a few minutes," she said. Then she walked off towards the bathroom, and Liam could only assume it was to check her makeup.

The timing was a relief, though, as Fallon arrived shortly after, her hand grazing across his shoulders as she sank into the seat next to him. "Sorry I'm late. There was a wreck we had to get around."

He leaned over, kissing her chastely. "It's fine, Fal. Aunt Mora's just gone to the bathroom, I think."

"Good," she replied quickly, pulling out her phone. "Because there's something you need to see before she gets back."

She unlocked the device and handed it to him beneath the table, in case Mora came back and wanted to know what they were up to. She'd only screenshotted the worst of the pictures, the one that had brought about such ire when she'd seen it. And it made his jaw drop, before he rushed into explaining.

"Fallon, these are from weeks ago. Before Sun Valley. I wouldn't-"

"I know," she assured him, dropping her hand to his knee and squeezing gently. "Otherwise I wouldn't have shown you. But I think Adam somehow talked her into posting this today."

"She did call me this morning..."

Fallon sat up straighter at that, gaze hardening. "That's the call you took? Why would you answer it?"

"Who calls at six in the morning when it isn't something bad or important?"

She sighed, deflating a little. "And you're you, so you want to help," she agreed with mild reluctance. "Well, what did she want?"

"I don't think she expected me to answer. That, or she assumed I wouldn't listen, which I didn't really." He shrugged, but Fallon just stared at him. "She wanted to argue why we should get back together," he admitted finally. "But that's obviously not going to happen."

"Maybe she thought it would go to voicemail and I would notice it?" She didn't really have a better guess. But thinking about it, if she had seen notifications like that, and then the post, perhaps she would've started to lose faith. But the idea of that happening seemed impossible to her, knowing what she now knew about Liam and his affection for her. It still wouldn't have made sense.

"I don't know. But this?" He lifted the picture again, making Fallon frown at the sight of it. He locked her phone, handing it back to her. "It's over. It doesn't matter anymore."

Fallon nodded, but reached up to comb back his hair with her fingers where he'd messed it up with his anxiety earlier. "You said that about us, too," she reminded him.

That moment of subtle vulnerability earned her another kiss, this time of reassurance instead of relief. "I didn't mean it. I was trying to convince myself that it was true, and we both knew it wasn't." When Fallon cracked a smile, he did the same, and was leaning in to kiss her one more time when he noticed that Mora was on her way back. "Game on," he murmured, leaning away.

Fallon turned to look over her shoulder, prepared to play up the part of the adoring and charming girlfriend. Surely, if anybody could win Mora over, it would be Fallon. Right? The odds were, she'd already done too much damage. But it never hurt to try. After all, she'd won Liam back. And, evidently, Fallon had done a number on Laura as well.

The look Mora gave the pair of them was one that Fallon knew well from her times directing it at other people: it was disgust. "I see you decided to show up."

"Yes," Fallon began quickly, leaving no room for Liam to start fretting more than he clearly already was. "It's been a busy week and I'm afraid the cab driver had to take a roundabout route to get here as well, though I did mean to be early rather than late."

"I wanted to spend time with my nephew before he goes back to Atlanta," Mora was saying. "I didn't expect to have another guest at this lunch."

Flashing a fake smile, Fallon just did what Carringtons knew best: she threw money at the issue. "Well, then I'd be happy to cover the bill. I wouldn't have stuck my nose in, only I'd very much like to make up for how we met the first time. If not for my own sake, then for Liam's."

He reached over, taking Fallon's hand atop the table and giving it a grateful squeeze, his thumb sweeping back and forth across the back of it. She turned her chin to meet his gaze and was almost surprised by what she found there. Sure, she knew he loved her. But he had never looked so proud and thankful and adoring at the same time. As soon as she saw that look, it was like the breath left her lungs all at once. And she knew that, more than anything else, she wanted to earn that look as often as she possibly could.

Mora cleared her throat, and they both snapped out of it, trying to play it cool. "Right. Liam did say that there was a... mixup before." At Fallon's confused expression, Mora fell further into the grieving widow act. Fallon just couldn't tell how much of it was real. "I'm told that I was wrong about what I thought Max told me before he died. Though I'd say that my general thoughts about the Carrington name are still true, considering your offer."

Fallon sat up a bit straighter in her chair, chin lifted. "I was trying to be polite. But if it matters at all to you, I am not particularly associated with my father or his business anymore. His values do not match my own the way I once hoped they could."

"Really, Aunt Mora" Liam spoke up for her. "Fallon's done everything she could to try and persuade him to change. But Blake is stubborn. At least for now, we're keeping our distance."

He looked to Fallon in question, and she nodded. She was grateful that he knew how much she needed her independence and control, but also loved that he knew when he needed to stand up for her. Because he wasn't doing it to step on toes. He was just backing her up, and she knew that he recognized the difference.

The waiter showed up to save them, and though conversation didn't flow easily during their meal, by the time they parted ways after Fallon covered the check, it almost seemed like they had made up some of the rocky ground from before. Once Mora left, Fallon caught Liam's hand and stopped him from flagging down a cab.

"So," she began, drawing out the word, "I may have promised Kirby and Michael and the Colbys that we'd do dinner with them tonight."

Liam frowned deeply at that, and Fallon really wasn't surprised. "...Okay?"

"We have a plan about what we should do to take down Adam. I want us all to go over it so we're on the same page."

He calmed at that news. "All right. But I need to call Ashley first. Maybe we can get her to tell us what he's up to."

Fallon pursed her lips, but nodded anyway. He was right. Much to her distaste, they needed Ashley's help as much as they'd needed Michael's. And if Liam could get over something much more serious, she could handle her jealousy over the woman who had so obviously been a fling.

"Can we just... walk to wherever you want to call her from?" She asked hopefully. "Take one of those quiet moments?"

"Sure," he agreed, offering his elbow a little dramatically. She smiled and curled her hand around his arm, and they made their way to the edge of Central Park, where Liam wandered a bit to find a private enough place. Once he'd found a bench, he turned to Fallon. "I'm not sure how to do this."

"I don't know her," Fallon pointed out with a slight shrug. "Just like I knew how to get to Culhane, you're the one who can do this. Do you want me to give you some space?"

"Don't go too far," he replied by way of agreeing. "If it comes down to it, you may need to do a bit of acting to convince her we're in trouble."

"Maybe you're the one who needs to do the acting," she suggested. "FaceTime her or something. She won't care if I'm in trouble. She'll care if you are. And technically, that's probably not a lie, since you're helping me."

She started walking away before he could come up with another excuse to hold off on placing the call. But Fallon had a point about FaceTime. He just wished he were better at performing the way Fallon was. Anybody walking by would be able to see and hear him, but he figured it was better to use headphones in case she got upset with him. After plugging those in, he reluctantly hit the call button, hoping that she wouldn't answer.

It took several rings before the call connected, and Liam was already sighing with anxiety. Ashley, once the image appeared, was sprawled out across her couch in what he assumed was designed to be an attractive fashion. It merely made him frown, though. And it made him realize that Fallon walking away was probably for the best.

"Hey, babe," she greeted cheekily.

"We need to talk," he replied, tone stern and no-nonsense. Her face fell into a pout but he ignored it, refusing to let her soften him after she'd tried to mess things up with Fallon. Yeah, those two had a history of their own, but they'd gone back and forth enough already. Couldn't they just call it even?

Ashley shrugged one shoulder. "About what?"

"Why'd you post those pictures of us this morning?"

"I miss you," she simpered with a little smile.

Liam shook his head at her. "No, you claimed that they were taken today. Who told you to post them?"

She finally frowned at that, but he couldn't tell if she was embarrassed or annoyed. "Some guy told me that he wanted to annoy that bitch of yours-"

"Don't you dare," he snapped, holding up a reprimanding finger. "You both went after each other, and you know it."

"So? She's the one that came barreling in to ruin our vacation. I was just repaying the favor."

"Ashley," Liam sighed. "I'm being serious right now. There's a man who's trying to hurt the both of us, and I'm pretty sure he's the one that contacted you."

"Hurt?" She scoffed. "Like you hurt me by leading me on?"

"No. Like someone literally threatened Fallon's life, and I think you're working with him."

They stared each other down through their phones, though Liam kept his attention half on his peripherals, just in case someone noticed the tone of the conversation. Or, more importantly, if someone had overheard that part. He spotted Fallon a little ways off, either pretending to take pictures of the park or actually doing so. Regardless, she wasn't looking at him, so he felt a little less bad about outright showing his fear on his face.

"...Are you serious?" Ashley asked finally.

"Completely."

She sat up, apparently done playing her games. "You don't think he'll actually do something like that, do you? He seemed so... normal."

Liam considered the question but finally nodded. "I really think he would. Fallon said that he lost his medical license, and he's been working with a really dangerous woman who just got arrested. He got arrested and bailed out by her father because Blake refuses to listen to the truth." Deciding that he needed to make it more personal in order to drive the point home, he added, "Ashley, I don't want you mixed up with this guy. If anything happens, I don't doubt he'll be able to find you in person."

Ashley reached up to tug at the ends of her air, clearly distressed.

"I'm sorry," he told her genuinely. "I didn't think he'd find out about you. But if he reaches out again, please do not answer. And if he says anything important-"

"I'll pass it your way," she finished for him, nodding rapidly. "I'm sorry, too. If I'd known..."

Liam quirked his mouth in a half-frown. "It's okay, technically. She didn't believe it. But how did he know to do it today?"

"Somebody named Steven told him."

Liam's gaze jumped back to Fallon, who was definitely watching him now. "Oh," he replied. "Well, thanks for telling me. And, um... Fallon said she was sorry, by the way. In case that matters."

Ashley turned a bit red, but just nodded. "Yeah... Me, too."

"I'll let you know if anything comes up in regards to you, but hopefully it won't," he said, trying to wrap up the call. She promised the same in return and was the first to hang up.

Almost as soon as he'd taken the headphones out of his cell, Fallon was standing behind him, her hands sliding from his shoulders to his chest, crossing over so she could hug him from behind. "You okay?" She asked, truly sounding more concerned about him than about whatever Ashley had to say.

His hands came up to curl around her arms. "Yeah. She said Adam heard what was happening today from Steven?"

"Kirby was texting him this morning. Adam probably had her call earlier, too, thinking I'd get upset by it," Fallon added, reinforcing her earlier theory. "But she knows about the trouble now?"

"Yeah. She apologized."

Fallon nodded, her cheek brushing against his. "Good. The fewer people we have to worry about, the better. But let's just hope we can get this plan laid out properly tonight so we can go home and get rid of him."

Liam turned sideways on the bench, looking up at her. "Fallon, please tell me you're not going to take some big risk to get this guy." He lifted an eyebrow at the pretend surprise on her face. "I know you," he reminded her. "You always want to handle things yourself."

"That's how I make sure something is done the right way."

"Maybe. But it also puts you straight in the line of fire. I'm not letting you do this alone."

"Letting me?" Fallon pulled back a little, affronted.

"You know what I meant."

She stood up straight, releasing him completely. "We should go. You can't judge the plan until you've actually heard it, anyway."

Liam pushed himself up off of the bench, not replying - just holding a hand out to her as a peace offering that he hoped would help to calm her temper. He knew full well that she'd understood him the first time. But with tensions as high as they were, he had no doubt that she'd taken it the wrong way on purpose to try and steer away from those fears.

After a moment, she dropped her hand into his and stepped around the bench, practically dragging him out of the park so they could leave.