Chapter Eleven
The grand ballroom was swirling with noise and liquor. On the stage at the front of the huge black and white dance floor, Glenn Miller and his orchestra played an energetic jitterbug. Men in tuxedos swung brightly dressed women around the dance floor. The clink of glasses could be heard at almost every table as the guests celebrated.
Dillon sat at a bank table on the edge of the dance floor with his cousin Emily and her husband Zander, his back to the wide, curving staircase that led down into the ballroom.
Zander and Dillon drank from thin stemmed martini glasses as Emily sipped from a glass of tonic water. Her hair shone in waves and her yellow halter dress gave only the slightest hint that she was to become a mother in the next half-year. Dillon smiled at his cousin.
"Have I told you how lovely you look tonight, Emily?"
Emily smiled graciously. "Thank you, Dillon."
Zander smiled tenderly at his wife, agreeing tenfold with Dillon's sentiment. Emily was beautiful. The color of her dress reminded him of the sun and her circumstance only added to the already-present glow in her eyes. Zander let his eyes swim with desire for only a second before he turned to his cousin-in-law, clearing his throat.
"Dillon," he asked, "how is the new motion picture coming along?"
Dillon smiled. His work was his second love. He took pride in what he did. "It's going very well," he informed Zander. "Right now I'm working with the design team to figure out the set dressings. I wish we had enough money to actually shoot in Paris the entire time but with the way that-"
"Oh my..." Emily gasped. The two men followed her gaze.
Standing on the balcony that looked down over the dance floor was Georgiana Jones. She wore a strapless dress of silvery blue, with a matching chiffon wrap. The wrap had slid down in the back, exposing the creamy skin of her gently sloped shoulders. Her light brown hair had been swept back from her face in a loose chignon, some strands hanging down in a carefree manner, and she had tucked small white blossoms throughout. The young woman's golden brown eyes surveyed the ballroom below, coming to rest on a young man. She began to descend the stairs.
Dillon felt his breath catch in his throat. Feeling a daze he knew was not the result of half a martini, he rose from his seat. Zander, always the gentleman, did the same. He, however, remained at his place while Dillon began walking away from the table. He moved across the floor, barely noticing the dancing couples. In fact, he didn't even notice them at all, just seemed to drift across the room toward the staircase.
As she walked down the last few steps, Dillon stood at the bottom, watching her. When she came into reach, he extended his hand, which she accepted, allowing him to assist her down the final three stairs. She came to rest in front of him, the light in each of their eyes rivaled only by the light in the eyes of the other. He kissed her fingertips.
"Georgie..." he breathed with adoration and astoundment. It was just her name, not even her full name, one word, two syllables, but between Dillon and Georgie, it said everything.
He led her out on to the dance floor. The sound of the voices and dining had faded. The tempo of the music had descended into a romantic ballad. And if the couples who had just been dancing were still there, Dillon couldn't see them. He took Georgie in his arms.
They danced easily, as if they were meant to dance with one another. Dillon's eyes never left Georgie's. He could feel his heart rate was twice as fast as normal. This was the effect she had on him. Dear god, she was beautiful...
Dillon took the hand that had been holding Georgie's and moved it behind his head, so that she was holding gently on to the back of his neck. He removed his hand from hers and brought it gently to the side of her face, running the tips of his fingers softly over her cheek and jaw. Georgie gazed up at him with eyes full of trust.
Slowly, deliberately, he lowered his lips to hers. The first touch was just a brush, light as a butterfly wing, but Dillon felt a shiver course through his entire body. He used the hand that rested on the small of her back to pull her closer to him. He could feel the warmth from her body coursing through his blood. Dillon moved in slightly to capture Georgie's soft bottom lip between his. He felt her sigh against his mouth and shudder with delight in his arms. He just held her tighter and deepened the kiss, his head swimming. "I could spend the rest of my life kissing her..."
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. A banging sounded on the hospital room door, jarring Dillon from his reverie.
"Damn it," he swore to himself, but called out, "come in!"
The door opened and Lucky entered, holding the arm of -
"-Elizabeth!" Dillon said, sitting up straighter. "You're - you're up!"
Elizabeth smiled. She was walking with a cane and wearing a pair of tortoise shell glasses, but her eyes no longer had that vacant look in them.
"Are you...healed?" Dillon asked hesitantly.
"Most of the swelling has subsided and the doctors think that I'll have one hundred percent recovery in time. It'll just be a matter of patience, which, let's be honest, isn't exactly my strong suit."
Lucky whistled in agreement and Dillon laughed when Liz elbowed him. The door opened and Georgie slipped inside.
"How are-" she started to say to Dillon and noticed the other young woman in the room. "Elizabeth!" she rushed to her and they hugged warmly. "You're better?!"
"You would think that they were the ones with compromised vison," joked Lucky, earning swats from both Elizabeth and Georgie. "I don't know why I take this abuse." He grinned. "Hi Georgie." He gave her a squeeze.
She smiled and hugged back. "Hi Lucky."
Dillon pretended to pout from the bed. "Hey, what about me?" he protested.
Lucky and Elizabeth laughed. Georgie slipped out of Lucky's grasp and walked over to the side of the bed, wrapping her arms around Dillon's neck. He returned the embrace and then, with a triumphant laugh, scooped her up on to the bed beside him. She shrieked in surprise and delight. Lucky and Liz snickered as Georgie then tried to feign calm, arranging herself daintily on the edge of the bed. She raised her eyebrows at her boyfriend. "Hi Dillon..."
He grinned at her. "Hi Georgie..."
They locked eyes, until a gentle cough reminded them that they were not alone. Quickly, they turned back to the other pair in the room.
"Elizabeth was just talking about her recovery," Dillon informed Georgie. He gestured to the chair. "Sit down," he told Liz. She did, three pairs of eyes focused on her.
"So, what about the recovery?" Georgie asked, sounding anxious. "Are you all healed?"
"Well, not all healed," Liz explained. "My vision is still pretty blurry. But I can see well enough to walk around inside without falling over, and to do basic stuff - you know, bathe, dress, eat, watch tv. The doctors said that it will be a few weeks before I can go out alone or cook, but that I should be able to see well enough to paint again in a couple weeks." She smiled brightly when she said this. "And they said in another six to eight weeks I should be able to go back to work."
"That's great news," enthused Georgie.
Elizabeth nodded. "It is. Granted, it will be at least three months before I can read a book and six months before I can drive, but one thing at a time, you know?"
They nodded. "That's awesome, Elizabeth," said Dillon.
"Yeah," echoed Georgie. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thank you." Elizabeth smiled at them and grew quiet. After a moment, she got up and walked toward the bed.
"Dillon," she said quietly. "I never got the chance earlier to thank you for what you did."
"It's no big deal." He tried to brush it off, but she stopped him.
"Yes, it is," she insisted. "It's a very big deal. If you hadn't come in, Faith probably would have killed me. But you risked your life and your safety to save me and because of it, ended up having to risk your own life again. That's incredibly heroic. I don't know what I would have done if anything really horrible had happened to you, but I can't even begin to say how grateful I am for what you did for me..."
Dillon blushed. "Well then, you're welcome," he said quietly. Elizabeth bent over the bed to give Dillon a tight hug, which he returned. She straightened up and stepped back from the bed. Lucky came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"So Elizabeth, are you going to be living..." Georgie trailed off. She didn't quite know how to bring up the topic of Ric Lansing.
Elizabeth understood. "We're divorcing. Or more specifically, I'm divorcing him." Her tone was short and Georgie knew not to say anything more on the topic. She merely nodded. Elizabeth went on, her tone considerably softer. "I'll be moving back in with my grandmother."
Georgie looked worried. "But doesn't she work a lot of hours?"
Elizabeth smiled at the younger girl. "She's going to cut back so that she can be at home more."
"And I'm going to move in with them," Lucky added.
Georgie tried to hide her surprise, but Dillon smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. "Oh?"
Lucky shot him a look. "They have a spare room."
"Mmmmhmmm..." Dillon was enjoying himself. Georgie smacked him lightly, but she was giggling.
"So, Dillon," interrupted Elizabeth. "Have the Quartermaines been by?"
Dillon made a 'kinda-sorta' gesture with his hand. "Ned stops in every night and Monica and Alan check in when they're on their shifts. Zander brings Em down every day, which is great. A.J. hates me for some reason, so no-"
"A.J.'s always been kinda damaged," Lucky informed him.
"Yeah, that's definitely a way to put it," Dillon replied, sounding a touch bitter. Lucky quickly moved on.
"And what about the patriarch?" he joked. Dillon laughed.
"Once," he responded. "He brought Grandmother. It was kind of great. I'm in the hospital, recovering from a concussion and surgery and he starts railing at me about my hair. So Grandmother just goes "Edward, shut up-"
"Someone told Mr. Quartermaine to shut up?" Georgie was incredulous.
"Yeah! And he actually did!" Dillon told her, excited. "Just clammed right up. Then he came over and put his hand on my shoulder and said "well, I'm-I'm very glad to see you're making such an excellent recovery, young man."
"How affectionate," quipped Elizabeth.
"Hey man, I loved it," laughed Dillon. "Watching the old man trying to have a warm moment with the Devil's Spawn grandson, it was great."
"I still can't believe someone said "shut up" to Mr. Quartermaine and the roof didn't cave in," Georgie wondered. The others laughed.
"Lila is an unearthly force," Lucky explained to Georgie. "She's the sweetest, most refined lady you will ever meet, but she's tough, and she's the only person in the world who can put Edward in his place."
"What about Emily?" Dillon wanted to know.
"She comes close," Lucky explained. "Whether Edward will admit it or not, Em captured his heart the minute she walked into that house when she was a little girl and I think without her, Edward would be a lot worse. He's not a man who really appreciates what he has, you know? Except for Lila. And he's grateful for Em, cause he always wanted a granddaughter, because, well-" Lucky realized what he was about to say and trailed off.
"-because my mother was such a disappointment as a daughter," Dillon finished for him.
Lucky's eyes shifted uncomfortably, but he didn't deny it. There was an awkward silence.
"Of course, he'll always clam up a bit if he loses a bet," Lucky cracked.
The others turned to him. "Eh?" queried Dillon, interested. Any discomfort had disintegrated.
Lucky grinned. "Years ago," he explained. "Em's birthday party - I think she was twelve - I bet Edward on a game of poker..."
"And..." Elizabeth prodded him on. Lucky smirked.
"Took him to the cleaners."
"Yeah!" cheered Dillon. The others laughed. A knock sounded on the door.
"Come in," called out Dillon. The door opened and Mac entered the room. He looked serious.
"Hi Dad," called Georgie. Mac looked over at her, and smiled, but winced slightly. It was going to take some time for him to get used to seeing her so close to Dillon. She was only sitting on the edge of the bed, but still. Baby steps, Mac told himself, baby steps.
"Hi honey," he responded, smiling at her. He looked around to the others, his face resuming its expression of a moment earlier. "I'm actually glad you're all here."
"Has there been a new development?" Lucky's police training was evident in his tone.
"Yes." Mac nodded.
The four young people exchanged glances. Lucky and Liz unconsciously moved closer to the bed. Dillon, without even looking, reached out to grasp Georgie's searching hand. Lucky's hands tightened on Elizabeth's shoulders. Mac just watched them.
"So, what happened, Commissioner?" Dillon prodded.
"Yes, please tell us," Elizabeth added anxiously.
Mac regarded them. Elizabeth looked anxious. Lucky was trying to maintain professionalism in his curiousity. Dillon looked interested, and Georgie was wide-eyed.
"Faith threw a blood clot," he informed them. "She died."
