There For You
Destiny and Dani found candles, lit the room then got comfortable on the couch.
"It's lit pretty well now." Dani said.
"Mmhm." Destiny replied.
"We're going to be stuck here for a while. It'll be pretty boring if we don't talk."
"Talk about what?"
"Our problems. I know I messed up but there is nothing I wouldn't do to have you as my friend again. We're forty years old, we've been friends since we were like sixteen. It doesn't make sense to just throw it away."
"Like I said before, you know as well as I that we had problems before this Matthew situation. It's just that neither of us ever said it out loud."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh you want to play that game?" Destiny laughed a little.
"What?" Dani replied in a confused tone.
"You want to talk, let's talk. Let's put the cards on the table... We've kind of had a bit of tension every since Shaun and Téa got married. That was about twenty-five years ago."
"Why do you say that?"
"Don't play dumb. You've always had a problem with the fact that I was closer to your mom than you are."
"Well she is MY mom. You have your own!"
"It's not my fault. Maybe if you were a little more appreciative, respectful and didn't act like a brat when you're with your mother then maybe I wouldn't be closer to her. You always act like it's a bother to be around her. You'd think after you think someone died, you'd be more grateful for them."
"I'm grateful." Dani said with an attitude. "I can say the same about you with Matthew. You've just started giving him the time of day."
"That's a damn lie. You know Matthew was an ass and liked to interfere with my marriage. We needed our distance back then... You and I had even more tension because you never liked that I did better than you in law school then had more recognition as lawyer from the time we graduated until now. When I got Llanview's Lawyer of the Year award, you weren't even happy for me."
"I'm sorry but I am Téa Delgado Lord's daughter, I'm supposed to be the best... And I know that I'm not so I hate it!"
"You're a good lawyer, that's why you became DA. You know that, that's why you liked to flaunt the fact that you were DA because it made you feel important and like you were the best."
"Yeah except they asked you first and you turned it down because you don't like to play by the book like my mother. You didn't think I knew they asked you first, did you?"
"No."
"They didn't even ask me. I had to convince them that I deserved it."
"You kept your position for eight years so I think you proved yourself. Don't be so insecure."
"Then I lost it because I'm a drug addict... So fine, maybe I have envied you a bit-"
"A lot."
"Whatever. But I didn't let it stop our friendship."
"Oh please, that's why you didn't mind having sex with Matthew and having his baby."
"You were married then!"
"So what? How would you like it if I slept with Nate or Jason? You just don't do that. That is girl code 101. Even worst than that, when Matthew and I actually were together, you tried to sleep with him again. You were just going to blatantly betray me."
"I was high."
"That is no excuse! How can I trust you? You hold all this resentment toward me and because of it you would just betray me at the blank of an eye." They then heard a loud noise then went to look out of the window. "Ahhhh! My car!" Destiny exclaimed. A tree had fell on it. They went back over to the couch.
"This storm is getting worst my the minute." Dani acknowledged.
v-
"Dad, have you talked to mom?" Miracle asked Matthew on the phone.
"No. Why?" Matthew asked.
"She was supposed to be home an hour ago, she hasn't called and her phone is going straight to voicemail. I've called everyone and no one has talked to her. Something's wrong."
"Calm down, I'm sure she's fine."
"You're not sure! I know my mom better than anyone, something is wrong."
"I'm going to call John, ok?" They ended the phone call then Miracle began to hyperventilate.
"Stay calm Miry, breath. Remember when dad came to us, he told you not to worry and that you'd never be alone." DJ reminded.
"Yeah and that has kept me in zen zone until we couldn't find mom. Not being alone doesn't mean we won't be without mom."
"Don't think like that! He said it as if everything would be fine! "
"Fine but there is still something wrong, I know it."
-v-
After Matthew got off the phone with Miracle he called Destiny and couldn't get through like Miracle said then called John. He tried to stay calm when talking to Miracle but really his heart was about to beat out of his chest.
"John, Destiny was supposed to be home to the kids an hour ago and we can't get through to her on the phone. It's not like her and it's dangerous out there." Matthew explained.
"Destiny's missing too? Jason just came in and said he couldn't find Dani. Her family hasn't heard from her either. Do you think they might be together?"
"I don't see why they would be."
"Well we're looking for both of them now."
"I'm on my way to the station."
"Don't do that. You just said it was dangerous. We're handling it."
"John, this is Destiny we're talking about... And Dani too."
"Stay with your kids, no one needs both parents missing." They ended the call. "He's never been a good listener. He'll probably be here in ten minutes." John said to himself.
-v-
Back at Vicki's cabin, things had taken a turn for the worst. Something flew through the window.
"What the hell was that?" Dani asked.
The wind then blew all the candles out.
"This is really bad!" Destiny exclaimed then thought about when Darren told her to be careful and wondered if this is what he meant. "Perhaps, this wasn't the best place to wait."
"It was the only place to wait. What are we going to do? It's getting dark outside, we're not going to be able to see anything in a little while and the window is broken."
"There has to be a flashlight somewhere in here. Let's find it then wait over there where there's no windows and hope this doesn't get any worst than it already is."
They found a flashlight then waited in the safest area of the cabin. Hours passed and they both eventually dozed off to sleep until they heard another extremely loud noise that woke them out of their sleep. The cabin was falling apart all around them.
"Oh my God!" They exclaimed.
"We have to get out of here." Destiny said.
"And go where? We're in the woods, there's nothing but trees and it's a horrible storm."
"The entire cabin is caving in. It's not even protecting us anymore!"
They tried to get out then Dani tripped and fell.
"Ow!" Dani screamed.
"What?"
"I think I twisted my ankle or broke it!"
"Aw man! It pays to get stuck with a doctor. On three, I'm going to help you up and help you make it out of here."
-v-
Meanwhile, the police were moving too slow for Matthew and Jason so in true Matthew and Jason form they took matters into their own hands. Unlike Matthew and Jason, they worked together but they both agreed that Destiny and Dani were more important than their feud. They figured out that Destiny and Dani were coming from the same direction and maybe they got stuck in the woods but the storm was worst out there. That was bad! They used the new technology to get a live view of the area they guessed Destiny and Dani might be in. The screen was the size of the wall.
"That's Dani's car. It's just sitting in the middle of nowhere." Jason said.
"But Dani's not in it." Matthew said.
"You know, your aunt Vicki's cabin isn't too far from there. Maybe she walked there."
"It's not that close and definitely too far to walk in the rain. Maybe Destiny saw her and picked her up."
"Let's move this up the road."
-v-
To make matters worst, Destiny hit her head and seemed to have a small concussion. Dani did her best to try and tend to it. On the bright side, they found a tiny bit of shelter.
"Destiny! Stay awake! Don't close your eyes. Stay with me! This is such an awful day. We're soaked and hurt but one thing the D-girls are good at is talking, right? Let's talk. Good stuff this time. Remember that trip we took to Tahiti and I tried to teach you how to surf? You didn't really like that too much but boy did we have fun." Destiny cracked a smile. "Remember our high school musical? That was fun."
"You stole my part." Destiny joked.
"I did not!"
"The same way Mariah didn't steal her rifts from Whitney."
"See, let's keep this up. You have to stay awake. I know someone is looking for us."
"This is a bad time to be stuck in the woods. It's a storm, it's dark, we're hurt and there are wild animals."
Dani's eyes widened, she hadn't thought about the animals.
"There's probably a squad team looking for us by now." Dani said then noticed Destiny's eyes beginning to close.
"Wake up!" Dani yelled and started to cry. "Destiny!" Dani screeched as only she could before Destiny's eyes closed. "Noooo! Wake up!"
Destiny was then watching the situation, no longer in her body.
"Oh no. Am I dead?" She saw the light. "Oh no!" But Darren was in front of it.
"You're not dead yet. It is not your time. You need to go back into your body and fight harder to stay awake. I know it's hard but you won't have to wait too much longer." Darren said.
"This is what you meant when you said to be careful."
"Yeah and that's why I stuck around. I knew this would happen. I needed to be here to tell you to fight. It was my time but it's not yours. Once I know you're alright I can finally move on." He paused then kissed her like never before. "I've wanted to do that for four years, just one last time. I've wanted to touch you, kiss you and couldn't. That being said, you have to move on now. Marry Matthew because deep down inside, you want to. You won't regret it. You'll both be happy. We'll always love each but it's ok to love him and grow old with him." Darren knew he was saying the right thing, even in the afterlife it hurt him to the core but he knew it was true.
"I guess I won't see you again until it really is my time, just one last kiss for closure." They kissed one last time then she awoke. "Is that tears or rain that I feel?" Dani had cried a stream of tears on her.
"Destiny! You're awake. Thank God! Please, don't do that again."
"Dan-Yeller would you please stop screeching, you're killing my ears."
"My voice isn't that annoying."
"Yes it is." They shared a small laugh and Dani hugged Destiny. "Let's just keep talking."
The storm eased up then about a half hour later which felt like an eternity to Destiny and Dani, Matthew and Jason showed up with the LPD and ambulance then got them to the hospital.
Destiny finally felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. She knew Darren had moved on because she didn't feel his presence any longer. The last kiss really gave her the closure she needed to move on. Loving Darren didn't mean she couldn't love Matthew and happily spend her life with him without comparing the two.
After she saw the doctor and he confirmed that she would be alright, Matthew came in the room.
"I'm ok except for this big bandage on my head. I just have to stay a few days for observation."
"Good. You two had us worried."
"Did you call Miry? I know she must have panicked."
"I called her. She's fine now."
"I love you, Matthew. I really do. I know you love me and I dealt with some issues between seeing the light and waking up."
"Like what?"
"Like I'm not betraying Darren by loving and being with you. It doesn't change the past I had with him and it doesn't mean I can't be happy with you in the future. I want to be Mrs. Buchanan. I want to marry you."
"You shouldn't make big decisions right after you have a near death experience."
"It's not like that. I know what and who I want and that is to marry you. What do you say, the offer still on the table?"
"I don't know why I've been walking around with this but-" Matthew pulled the ring box out of his pocket then opened it. It was a beautiful ten carat, Purple Heart cut diamond ring."
"It's beautiful!" Destiny exclaimed.
"Destiny Loretta, will you marry me?"
"Yes!" Matthew put the ring on her finger then they kissed.
-v-
"How do you feel?" Jason asked Dani.
"I'm alright. Thanks for being here for me. I don't deserve it." Dani said.
"When you love someone you love them unconditionally, I'll always be there for you."
"You and Matt even worked together. Never thought I'd see the day."
"Real men put BS aside for the women they love..." Jason realized he was probably being to lovey dovey for Dani at the moment. "Not love romantically or anything, any kind of love, you know."
"Right." Dani smiled knowing Jason was trying to clean up what he said about loving her. She knew he was still in love with her. She went to kiss him but he turned away so she just kissed his cheek. "I love you too. Thanks for finding us."
-v-
Time passed, the kids were back in school and Nicole went away to boarding school in London. Drew and Nicole got their college acceptance letters back and Drew got into Penn State, Nicole managed to get into a college in London. Infinity had a smash hit on the radio and were shooting their first video. They were really making a name for themselves. Meanwhile, Destiny and Matthew were planning their wedding and Destiny and Dani's friendship was making progress.
Matthew went to his doctor's appointment to have a check up on his head and see if he's going to need the surgery or not.
"So what the diagnosis?" Matthew asked.
"You need the surgery or it could get worst but technology has improved a lot since you first injured your head. At this point, maybe we can improve the problem a lot."
"But not get rid of it."
"I'm afraid too much damage has been done."
"Fine then I'll take improve a lot. What are the risks? I have an infant son, two daughters going off to college next year, a son in an amazing band, a new club, I'm getting married to the woman I've dreamed of marrying for twenty years. This is the peak of my life."
-v-
Destiny, Miracle and DJ were going through Darren's things deciding what to keep and what to let go. It was long overdue.
"It's so weird not seeing all of Darren's clothes in the closet. I don't think I was ready to admit that he wasn't coming back before." Destiny said.
"Why now?" Miracle asked.
"Because I know he's alright and I know we are too." Destiny replied then the doorbell rung. "I'll get it." It was Matthew. "Hey hon!" They kissed.
"Hey, can we talk?"
"Sure. Give me second. Miry, help me with something upstairs real quick?" Destiny and Miracle went upstairs leaving DJ and Matthew alone.
"DJ, I want us to get along. I love your mother and believe it or not, I love you too."
"Yeah, I don't believe that."
"Why?"
"I've known you my entire life and you've just started to pay me any attention. Not that I ever cared before but now I have to move into your house."
"I never had anything against you, I just had a lot of growing up to do."
"You tried to break up my parents."
"Again, I had to grow up. I'm not trying to replace Darren, I can't do that and I don't want to but I do want us all to be a real family. Let's just start over. Just give me a chance."
"Fine, I'll do it because I know it's what my mom and my dad would want but if you hurt my mother, I'll hurt you and there will be no more chances after that." Destiny came downstairs. DJ smiled. "He's all yours mommy." DJ went upstairs.
"What were you two talking about?" Destiny asked.
"I was trying to settle things between DJ and I." Matthew said.
"How'd that go?" Destiny asked not expecting him to say it went well.
"Uh... We reached an understanding but he said he'd hurt me if I hurt you."
"Oh. He meant it. He's a sweetheart but he's very protective. One time these boys were bullying Eva for no more reason than she is biracial. All these years and we still deal with BS like that from time to time. DJ hit one of those boys so hard he knocked his front tooth out. I don't promote violence but let's just say they never bullied Eva again. He's just trying to protect me but he'll see that he doesn't have to and he'll grow to love you. I wouldn't marry you if I wasn't sure of that."
"Are you going to sell the house?"
"No. Darren and I worked really hard for this house and we want it to stay in the family so that like the Buchanan mansion, no matter where we go in the world we always have a home to come back to. I want DJ and Miry to have it and they can pass it down or sell it if that's what they want but that'll be their decision. We built this house from the ground up. This is my dream house."
"Gotcha. Well what I really came here to talk about was I went to see the doctor today and he said I need the surgery."
"Oh... When?"
"It'll be after the wedding."
"So what are the risks? Am I more likely to be a widow again or more likely to have a husband that won't go into a coma at any minute?"
"The second one. There's a chance I'll be about seventy percent better but then again it might not work at all and with any surgery, there's the risk of death. But it's not likely."
"Mom! They arrested Izzy for her ex-boyfriend's murder!" Miracle ran downstairs.
"That's ridiculous." Destiny said.
"Well not really... Here's the truth because you have help her. She did it because she was kind of scared and out of her mind from him stalking her and stuff. Liam covered it up for her then she and Liam ran off. Sam and I found out and helped cover it up so there's really no evidence, just motive."
"Oh my gosh." Destiny was in disbelief.
"Eddie Ford all over again." Matthew said.
"Yeah." Destiny agreed. "Let me go down to the station so that I can work my magic."
Considering the fact that they covered up all the evidence and Izzy's alibi was that she was with Liam the entire day, it wasn't hard to get her off so she got away with it but the real problem was within Izzy. She still felt guilty. Miracle told Izzy what Darren told her to tell her and that helped but she still needed intense therapy.
I know I went a bit ghost whisperer on you all but I hope you all enjoyed. There's one more chapter left. What are you looking forward to?