Ch. 27

Dante awoke suddenly when Valerie bolted upright in bed, saying, "Candles!" She looked wildly around the bedroom to get her bearings. "What?" he asked fuzzily. "The candles! We left them lit all night!" She began to climb out of bed when Dante stopped her by grabbing her arm. "It's ok, Val. I took care of that. Lay back down." "You took care of it? When?" "A few hours ago. I went downstairs and made sure they were all out. Cleared the table, too." "You did? How come I didn't hear you get up?" "Because you were still 'dead'. Come down here," he added, tugging her back down beside him, "and snuggle with me. We've only got a couple of hours before we have to get ready for work." He pulled her close and aligned his body with hers. Wrapping one arm around her, his other hand tangled in her hair, a position that was quickly becoming a favorite. He brushed kisses over her shoulder and back and then murmured languidly, "Go back to sleep, Angel." With a contented sigh, she complied.

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When next she stirred, Dante was already up and pulling clothes out of drawers to prepare for the day ahead. He gave her an affectionate smile when she sat up and glanced around the room with a slight frown on her face. "Looks like the dead do arise after all," he said, laughing. "Good morning to you, too," she responded, somewhat drowsily. She paused for a moment and then asked, "Did I say something to you earlier about candles, or was that a dream?"

"You weren't dreaming it. You came up from a stone sleep and that's the first thing you said. It always amazes me how you can do that. One second you're totally asleep and the next, you're talking."

"So it wasn't a dream, then. Good to know. And last night? That wasn't a dream, either, was it?" Dante came and sat at the end of the bed, holding her gaze as he softly murmured, "No, that wasn't a dream, either. If it would've been, it would've been the best type of dream to have, but it was real all right." She looked away as a pleased smile broke out on her face and then she crossed her arms over her head, falling backwards onto the bed. "I thought so. I'm sore in all the right places, so I thought it was real." Just as soon as she had fallen back, she sprung upright again. "But how?" she asked, adding, "You said you would tell me later…"

"Hmm. Long story short, Joe Stewart's kid got arrested on a criminal damage charge. He's not a bad kid, just stupid sometimes when he's with the wrong crowd of guys. I spoke up on his behalf in court, and then forgot about it. I guess Joe figured he owed me a favor, though. He talked to the Supreme Court judge ruling on the divorce case and asked him to rule earlier than he'd previously told me. Normally it can take the two to three months Joe told us it would take but it can be ruled on as early as six weeks, depending on the circumstances. So it got pushed through early. And that's it, really."

"I suppose it would be considered improper if I sent that judge a gift basket, huh?" "Just a bit, yeah. I think we can repay him by being happy and grateful." "I can manage that. I guess I should get up, shouldn't I?" "If you don't want to end up being late, you might want to do that. I'm gonna take a shower. Wanna join me?" "Just a shower, right? Because like you said, we're making good time now but if we take time for 'anything else,' we could end up being late for work." "I think I can restrain myself. I told you, my self-control is legendary." Having said that, he watched as she slid out of bed and walked ahead of him to the bathroom, his eyes scanning her from head to toe. His hands itched to touch her and he reconsidered how much time he might need after glancing at the clock in the bathroom. If he moved quickly, they could still be on time…

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They took advantage of the huge shower's dual shower heads by each choosing a side and showering hastily. Dante took what he believed to be the fastest shower on record and after he finished rinsing the conditioner out of his hair, he turned to Val, who was twisting her hair to the side, gently wringing out the excess water. She flipped her hair behind her back and noticed Dante watching her. Slowly approaching her, he told her, "You know, I came in here with the best of intentions, I really did." He backed her up against the shower wall, further saying, "I really thought I could leave you alone this morning, but I guess my self-control is slipping after all." He began lightly licking beads of water from her neck and shoulder before dragging his lips over her skin. The touch of his lips made her body flood instantly in readiness but she had enough presence of mind to remind him, "You said we had just enough time to make it to work. Do we have time for this?" She firmly rubbed her hands over his chest, tweaking and fondling his nipples. "If I hurry, we'll have time. Umm," he uttered when she replaced her fingers with her tongue, "wrap your leg around my waist. Now. I'm gonna boost you up. Grab that bar above your head." As soon as she obeyed him, he lifted her and entered her fully, using the wall and his body as braces to hold her still. Giving her only a second to get used to the invasion, he started moving inside her. Thrusting rapidly upward, he began hammering her against the wall, his breath beginning to gust harshly in and out against her neck. Her head fell back against the shower wall and she tried to concentrate on retaining her hold on the shower bar with her wet hands. "Dante, oh God," she moaned, unconsciously lifting her other leg around his waist as she cried out, "I think I'm slipping!" "Hold on to the bar, Val! Don't let go!" He tightened his grip on her ass to smoothly reposition her without slowing down. "It's—I'm coming—oh, ohh, Dante! Don't stop, please! I'm, I'm right-" She went over the edge, her body milking his, squeezing him tightly, which sent him over as well. "Augh, ohh Val—damn," he gasped into her skin, further groaning, "Oh, that's perfect, just perfect. Ohh yes. That's what I needed." Val released the bar above her head to wrap her arms around Dante, peppering his face with butterfly kisses before finding his mouth with hers. She bucked and sighed into his mouth while her body rocked with aftershocks. He spun around to lean against the wall and she gradually lowered her legs to the shower floor. Her body released his and he pulled her in to hold her firmly, still trying to catch his breath. Her head fell against his shoulder and she rested there, panting heavily. "I think," he eventually muttered, "that we're gonna be late, anyway." "I think you're right," she whispered, "and I should care about that but for some reason, I don't." "I'm sorry. I thought I could leave you alone but I saw you standing there—all that bare skin—and I just couldn't." "It's ok, Dante." She shivered suddenly, causing him to say, "We're gonna turn into prunes if we stay in here much longer." He reached out to turn the faucets off and then guided her out of the shower, wrapping her in a warm towel to dry her. "That has to be one of the best ways to start a morning," she stated while he patted her all over, gradually warming her. "Glad I could oblige," he smirked, adding, "Glad you let me oblige."

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Valerie went straight to the PCPD but Dante went to see his partner in the hospital before going to work. Nathan was awake and dressed, putting the few things Maxie had brought him from home into a small case. He looked up and smiled when he saw Dante. "No need to ask you how you are," Dante told him, "it seems like you're getting sprung early." "Yeah. The doctor told me he would release me today but he hasn't been by yet. I'm too ready to get out of here! Not that the care hasn't been excellent, but I'm anxious to get out of this room and get back to action. I felt like if I stayed here one more day, I was going to turn to stone!" "I don't know what 'action' you think you're returning to," Dante reminded him, "Since the boss said you'd be riding a desk for the foreseeable future." Nathan's face fell when he remembered what Jordan had told him. "Yeah, I did forget about that, I guess."

"Hey, a desk is better than nothing at all. You can still be involved in the case to find whoever did this, just from the sidelines."

"True." He gazed at Dante, frowning and then stated, "You look different."

"Get out of here."

"No, I'm serious. You look—lighter, somehow. What's new?"

"You're cracked, that's all."

"I'm a trained observer, that's all. Come on, give. What's the deal?"

"The divorce came through. Got the call yesterday." Nathan narrowed his eyes and glanced away from his partner for a moment before catching his eye again. "I'm not sure what to say. I suppose I should congratulate you, but honestly, I was holding out hope that you and Lulu would work all this out. Are you happy?"

"I'm relieved—is that the same thing?"

"Close enough, I guess. What did Val have to say when you told her?" Dante evasively turned away but not before Nathan saw the beginnings of a quickly quashed grin as Dante mentally reviewed last night's and this morning's events. "I see," Nathan said, nodding his head, huffing out a short laugh and then going on, "Well, if you're 'relieved' then I should be relieved for you."

"Thanks, man." They heard a voice in the hallway and looked at one another in a sudden panic. "Maxie!" they exclaimed simultaneously, Dante adding a wince. He wasn't sure he was ready to deal with her this early in the day. Bouncing into the room, Maxie announced in her usual high-energy way, "Sweetie! I brought something for you-" She skidded to a halt and her eyes widened when she saw Dante standing there. "Dante! What're you doing here!" Pointing at Nathan with his thumb, Dante answered, "He's my partner, Maxie. Why wouldn't I be here?" In a hushed whisper she growled, "Lulu is outside! She came with me to help get Nathan home! You're not on her list of favorite people right now, and I don't want her to see you!"

"Well Maxie, I do have special skills but even I can't disappear into thin air. I don't know what to tell you," he shrugged. Lulu poked her head around the corner asking, "Nathan, are you decent? I'm coming in, so whatever you two are doing, stop." She came into the room and stopped short when she saw Dante, saying, "Ok, now it make sense. I was wondering why you were keeping me out in the hallway, Maxie. We're all enlightened adults, though, aren't we? I'm sure Dante and I can be in the same room without causing World War Three, can't we? How are you, Dante?" she pleasantly inquired.

"I'm good, Lulu. How are you?"

"I'm fine. See there? No bloodshed. I assume you already heard from your lawyer friend, huh? I say 'friend' because you must be close, seeing as to how he was able to make the divorce go through faster than the length of time he originally told us it would take. But when you've got a highly motivated client who's also a friend, you do what you can."

Deciding not to take the bait, Dante simply said, "Sometimes things just work out, that's all. Nathan, I'll see you at work if I don't see you before then. Glad you're getting out of here." He started to exit the room and then turned back to address Lulu, "I assume we're still on track for me to get Rocco for the weekend?"

"That's what we agreed on."

"Cool. See you later, Maxie," he added before making his escape. As he began walking down the hallway he heard, "See what I mean? It's like he's a different person…" He shrugged off the comment, not letting it disturb him. He was a different person. He resolved not to allow that to be a bad thing.

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Valerie was creating a PowerPoint slideshow for a presentation Jordan was making to the city council when Jordan came up behind her and looked over her shoulder to check on her progress. "How's it coming?" she asked. "I'm almost done," Val responded, further saying, "You'll probably need to go over it again before presenting it to make sure everything you wanted added is there. It's crazy that you have to jump through all these hoops to justify paying for extra forces on the streets, isn't it?"

"It's all about money, Val. Unfortunately, while things like extra manpower are necessary, the ability to pay for it doesn't come out of thin air. If I can prove that the funds have been allocated wisely, maybe next time, I won't have to jump through so many hoops." She fell silent again as she watched Val work and then mentioned, "I haven't seen Falconeri all day. He went into the field early." She deliberately left the last bit of her statement as an open-ended question and distracted, Val fell for the tactic, answering, "He had to go see Nathan this morning. And he had a sudden idea where he might find that Scribbs character to question him about Nathan's stabbing. He'll probably be out for a while." "What's he gonna have for lunch?"

"Huh?"

"Well you seem to know so much, so I thought you might have made lunch plans for him as well. When did you become his admin?"

"I'm not his admin but of course we talked this morning-"

"Among other things, I'll bet, which is probably why you were late this morning, right?" Valerie pushed back from her desk, giving Jordan her full attention. "It sounds like you're trying to ask me something. Don't hold back, go ahead and ask."

"I thought you two were going to take things easy at least until he got the divorce. He's got you making booze runs at night, knowing his itinerary during the day—I don't know. It doesn't sound like you're easing into all this, that's all. More like full steam ahead."

"We said we'd take things slow, and we are—we have been. But things just might change, now that he's gotten his divorce and all," she remarked with a straight face, returning her attention to the computer screen. There was a pause while Jordan processed Val's comment and when she finally realized what Val had said, she exclaimed, "What?" Every head in the squad room lifted to see where the trouble was, bodies ready to spring into action if necessary. Quickly looking around the room, Jordan muttered, "My office." Rising obediently, Val followed her boss.

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"Ok, girl. Spill. What do you mean, he's already divorced? I thought he told you two to three months?"

"That's what he thought, too, but he found out yesterday that it got pushed through, thanks to a favor he did for the mediator. The judge agreed to rule earlier, and Dante is now a free man. Well," she added cheekily, "free of his marriage, anyway." She giggled and waggled her eyebrows at her friend.

"Look at you, being all bold and everything! But seriously," she said, sobering up, "what does this mean for any chance of a relationship with your cousin? You know, the one you came here to get to know?"

"Being realistic, there was never really a chance for any kind of relationship with Lulu. She told me the truth of her heart when she reamed me out in Jake's. She never wanted me here. Even before everything with Dante, she didn't want me here. I felt it, and so did Dante. That's why he was so attentive at first, to make up for the fact that she wasn't exactly hiding her dislike of me. So there's that. Plus, she's not the only family I have here. I didn't get a chance to tell you about the family dinner, did I?"

"Family dinner?"

"Yep. Carly and Sonny hosted a dinner in my honor at Sonny's place. I met Carly's kids, finally. Sonny's father Mike is in town, so I met him, too. It was a real event and everybody was very welcoming. I'm figuring that I'll be just fine without my cousin Lulu."

"Was T.J. there, too?"

"I think he was off with Molly someplace because I didn't see him, and he never showed up while I was there."

"Hmm. I'll deal with that later," she mumbled. Aloud Jordan asked Val, "So what does all this mean for your relationship?"

"I gave him a key."

"What?"

"To the penthouse. I gave him a key. He spends most of his nights with me anyway—he only goes to the loft to get changes of clothes or if he has Rocco. But since Sonny had baby furniture delivered to the house, Rocco can stay there, too, eventually." Jordan clasped her hands against her head as if to hold in all the information coming at her. "Key? Baby furniture? Wow—I'm just—mind boggled. And wondering maybe what exactly you think you're doing…"

Valerie cocked her head as she looked at Jordan with a smile. "I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing either, but if I'm forced to explain it, I think I'm falling in love."

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