Hurricane Watch

Chapter

Twenty-one

ENTERING THE BUILDING was an odd experience. Kerry felt her eyes flickering around, as she tried to catch the few other occupants looking at Dar. She knew they were, but they really didn’t get the true impact until they both got on the elevator, and the conversation cut off as though the other riders had suddenly contracted acute, spontaneous laryngitis.

It was deafening. ”So,” Dar finally said, making everyone jump.

”How’s the weather been here?”

”Fine.”

”Great.”

”Warm.”

”Raining.”

”Lousy.”

Dar nodded. ”I see.” She leaned back against the wall as the elevator seemed to take forever in its upward motion. ”Good to hear.”

A cleared throat. ”How was...the...um...weather in North Carolina?” This was Miles, a senior auditor of Duks.

”Cold,” Dar replied, succinctly. ”Rained the first couple of days, but after that it got kind of nice.”

”Ah.” Miles rubbed his earlobe. ”Well, it rained here.” He cleared his throat. ”Um...congratulations.”

A murmur of agreement rose quickly, and several very grateful eyes fastened on the auditor’s face.

Fortunately, the doors slid open, allowing them to escape.

”Thanks,” Dar commented wryly, as they scooted out, leaving her and Kerry to continue up another two floors. ”Think I was the topic of conversation before we got on?”

”Oh, yeah.” Kerry nodded firmly, as the doors opened and they got out. ”Wait. I’ll go down to the cafeteria for coffee, see how fast a hush falls over that room, despite the fact that most of the conversation is in Spanish, and I know about six words of it,” she remarked wryly. ”You want some?”

”Oh, god, yes,” Dar murmured pathetically, as they reached the outer door to her office. ”And all the cheese pastalitos they have.” She pushed the door open, and smiled at Maria. ”Morning.”

The secretary beamed at her. ”Buenos Dias, jefa.” She waggled her 282

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fingers at Kerry. ”Buenos Dias, Kerrisita.”

Kerry grinned at her. ”I’m going down for some café, would you like some, Maria?” She accepted the secretary’s nod, then gave Dar a little pat on the back. ”See you in a bit.” She slipped out the door, leaving her boss and Maria in the outer office.

”Any mail?” Dar crossed to the desk, shifting the strap on her laptop case a little. ”I was expecting the new batch of contracts in.” She reached down to pick up the stack in the in box, when her hand was captured.

”Mi Madre.” Maria’s eyes widened. ”Dar, that is so beautiful.”

The executive found herself suddenly speechless, as her brain frantically rooted around for some kind of coherent response. She’d forgotten she was wearing the damn thing, and on ‘that’ finger, and that surely someone would notice.

”Um...thanks,” she finally replied, taking her hand back and flexing the fingers a touch nervously. ”Listen, I’ll be inside, trying to catch up.”

She clutched her papers, and headed for her office, ducking inside the door and closing it behind her with a sigh.

Then she looked up, stopping short as she caught sight of her desk.

”Holy shit.”

KERRY PUT HER hands behind her back as she leaned on the wall, gazing with total lack of interest at the buff weave on the inside of the elevator. It would be a weird day, she knew, and as if to confirm that, the elevator stopped on the ninth floor and two of the marketing secretaries got on. Their chatter stopped the minute they saw her, and they lapsed into silence.

I could get tired of this real quick, Kerry decided. ”Hi,” she remarked casually.

They exchanged glances. ”Oh, hi, Kerry,” the older one said, a fake smile plastered across her face. ”So, how are things?”

”Great,” Kerry replied. ”How about you?”

”Oh...great...great.” She turned to her companion. ”Right?”

The shorter of the two women nodded. ”Except that it’s Monday, yep, everything’s terrific.”

An awkward silence proceeded to fall. Fortunately, the elevator reached the bottom floor, and they could all escape, right into a crowd of people just getting there.

A crowd that included Steven Fabracini.

Kerry met his eyes

squarely as she exited, unable to resist giving him a smile as people edged aside to get out of the way. “Morning.”

His nostrils twitched. “Morning,” he replied quite stiffly.

“Congratulations.”

Her breeding held, surprisingly. “Thank you,” Kerry responded without artifice. “Excuse me.” She edged past him and cleared the Hurricane Watch

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throng, half expecting him to follow her.

“Hey, Kerry!” Mary Lou hailed her. “Well done!” she said, in a voice a little louder than probably was necessary.

“Thanks.” Kerry waved a hand casually at her. “It was all Dar. I just held the scalpel tray.”

The accountant sidled up to her. “Not what I heard,” she said, in a lower tone. “My brother-in-law works in the data center up there. He said you guys were incredible.”

“We got the job done. That’s what mattered.” Kerry headed off towards the cafeteria, shaking her head a little. At the entrance, she almost collided with Mark, who was just coming out. ”Oh. Hey.”

”Hey!” Mark gave her a big grin. ”Great, that means the big kahuna’s here too, right?”

Kerry muffled a smile. ”If you mean Dar, yes. She’s upstairs. We just got here.” It was so nice just to have someone be normal, she reflected. ”Just trying to get things settled down. It’s a little weird today.”

”Today?” Mark took her elbow and steered her inside the café, where they settled on two of the padded stools. ”You shoulda been here on Friday. Man, after you guys brought the network back up, everyone was going nuts. Then all off a sudden all the suits get called into a video conference call, and the next thing I know, we got an email saying Dar’d been promoted.”

”Wow.” Kerry laughed softly, then gave the waitress her order. ”I think we slept through all that. Was that when you called?”

”Uh huh.” Mark sipped his coffee, regarding her. ”Word’s out about you guys,” he added, lowering his voice quite a bit. “I mean, like big time.”

Kerry picked up a napkin, looking around and seeing the eyes dart off of her. ”I figured,” she replied. ”After that whole thing with Steven, I knew he’d spread that around.” She exhaled. ”We’d pretty much decided to just be open about it anyway. After all, Alastair doesn’t care.””Mm,” Mark grunted. ”Kinda rough on you, though, isn’t it?” He gave her a sympathetic look. ”People assume shit.”

Yeah. Well. ”They can bite me,” Kerry responded. ”They assumed all kinds of things anyway, Mark. The hell with them.” She glanced up as her order arrived. ”Thank you.” She reached out and took the bag.

”Let me get back upstairs. I know it’s going to be a zoo today.”

”Hey.” Mark touched her hand, giving her a hesitant grin. ”Nice ring ya got there.”

Kerry paused, flexing her fingers a little. ”Thanks. Yeah...um...”

She felt herself blush. ”Dar gave it to me.”

”She’s got good taste.” The MIS chief admired it. ”But then, we kinda knew that.” He winked at her, chuckling as her blush deepened.

”Listen, don’t let all the crap bother you, Kerry. You do a great job, and 284

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most everyone knows that. A lot of the shit’s just jealousy. There’re people that have wanted to get inside that office, and if you’ll excuse the disgusting comment, inside Dar’s skirt for years.” He shrugged. ”It drives ‘em nuts that you just walked in here, and shazam.” He snapped his fingers. ”You got the job, the perks, and the hottest looking VP this company ever had all in one, bigass fell swoop.”

Kerry took the cover off her coffee and took a swallow. ”Thanks, Mark. I know it’s kinda hard to believe. In fact, sometimes I find it kinda hard to believe myself,” she added, in a low tone. ”It’s like magic, you know?” She glanced up at him. ”I feel like a little kid at the circus sometimes.”

He gazed at her, a little disconcerted. ”I don’t know, that’s kinda beyond me, Kerry. I don’t know about a lot of that stuff, but I do know Dar’s been through a lot of shit, and if she finally found someone she really likes, fuck the company, you know?”

That got a smile from Kerry. ”Yeah, I do know,” she agreed quietly.

”We’ll work it out. Its just going to take some time for everything to settle down again. ” She leaned forward, changing the subject firmly.

”Did you really put her picture up on everyone’s desktop?”

He grinned. ”You friggen betcha.” He stood, and indicated that she precede him. ”C’mon, I’ve been hiding cause I know she’s gonna kick my ass when she sees it, but it was too good a shot to pass up.”

Kerry laughed, and held the door for him. ”Oh yeah, she was having a fit, but I convinced her to leave it until we got in, because I wanted to see it.”

They walked outside and almost crashed into Eleanor and José, who were entering. Both executives backed up, and gave them dirty looks. ”Good morning.” Kerry smiled at them.

”Good morning,” José replied gruffly, circling her as though she were some kind of dangerous animal. Eleanor followed him without a word.

Kerry and Mark exchanged looks. ”Ooo.” The MIS manager winced. ”Gonna be some meeting this morning.”

Yeah. Kerry watched the reactions as they got back into the elevator, and noticed a subtle, but distinct edging away from her. Is there such a thing as a scarlet L, she mused. Or do they think it’s contagious? She leaned back, trying to wash the thought out of her mind.”Hey, Kerry.”

She looked up, to see Elaine, one of the data entry supervisors actually coming closer to her. ”Morning.”

”I hear you guys did a kick ass job up in NC, way cool,” Elaine commented, with a grin. ”You going to meet with the climbing group Wednesday?”

Kerry smiled, relaxing a little. ”Yes, I think so. My hand’s a little sore but I think it’ll be okay.” She gave Elaine a grateful look. ”I missed Hurricane Watch

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going this past week; be nice to get back to it.” Her eyes moved to where they were getting a disgusted look from one of the administrative assistants. ”Do you have a problem?” she asked the woman directly.

Only the squeak of the elevator was heard for a long moment.

Kerry held the woman’s gaze, her own unamused and stony. ”You can say yes, ma’am, or no ma’am, take your pick,” she added, icily.

The woman sucked in a breath. ”No, ma’am. I have no problem.”

The doors slid open on the eighth floor and the two younger women escaped hastily, leaving the doors to close after them. Kerry settled back against the wall and sighed. ”Jerks.”

Elaine rolled her eyes. ”Phobes.” She shook her head, then glanced at Kerry. ”Don’t let them get to you.”

Them. Kerry considered, as the elevator went to the fourteenth floor. ”So it’s us and them,” she mused. ”Are there a lot of us?” she asked Elaine curiously.

An enigmatic smile crossed the tall blonde’s face. ”I’ll send you an email,” she remarked, as the doors slid open, and they got out. ”You’d be surprised.”

Kerry inhaled, as she watched Elaine and Mark saunter off down the hall. ”Would I?” She shook her head and trotted towards Dar’s office, opening the outer door and slipping in. ”Hi Maria. I’m back,”

The secretary glanced over, and smiled at her. ”I got you some coffee.”

”Muchas Gracias, Kerrisita.” She pointed at the door. ”I think el jefa is still in the shock, you better go see.”

Puzzled, Kerry set down Maria’s little cup of cafacito, then took her bag and entered Dar’s office.

The scent of roses almost bowled her over. ”Jesus.” She blinked, trying to find her lover behind a huge arrangement of three colors of the flowers, which dwarfed her desktop. ”Hello? Dar? Do I need to go get a machete?”

Blue eyes peeked out from behind a creamy, peach colored rose.

”Hi.” It was Dar, at her most sheepish. ”It’s a little big, huh?”

Kerry edged around the desk, to find her lover slouched in her chair, regarding her flowers with some trepidation. ”Dar, it’s gorgeous.

Who sent it?” There must have been three dozen blooms, a dozen in red, in peach, and in yellow. The scent was almost overwhelming.

Wordlessly, Dar handed her the card she’d found on it.

”Awww...” Kerry bit her lip, giving her companion a delighted look. ”That is sooo sweet, Dar. I told you he was proud of you.” She examined the huge bouquet and smiled a touch wistfully. “What a nice thought.”

Dar leaned back in her chair, bracing one foot against her desk and fiddling with her pencil, looking oddly adolescent. ”Guess so,” she replied gruffly, almost but not quite masking the little grin that trembled around her lips.

Kerry leaned over and kissed her on the head. ”You’re daddy’s little 286

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girl, all right.” She watched as Dar struggled with what was evidently an overload of emotion, then finally sighed, and gave into a broad grin.

”Here.” She handed over the coffee, then gently cupped a rose in her hand and sniffed it. ”Oh god, these are incredible. I love that smell.”

”Mm.” Dar buried her muzzle in the cup and regained her composure. ”Guess we can take them home and put them on the dining room table for a few days, hmm?”

Kerry giggled.” Thank god you’re driving, not me. I can’t imagine trying to get us and these flowers into the Mustang.” She looked past Dar to the monitor, and laughed. ”Oh wow. He did a great job with that!”Dar sighed, peeking at the screen. Mark had taken the shot from the newspaper, and scanned it in, then composed a nice looking scroll background, with little dancing Dogberts all over it. ”I’m gonna kill him for this,” she groused, then sighed. ”I have thirty two pages of mail to get through, six inches of inbox, three meetings, and I can’t even get to my desk because there’s a jungle on it. ” She paused melodramatically.

”Can’t I just go home?”

Kerry divided her inbox stack. ”I’ll take half.” She carefully moved the floral arrangement, carrying it over to the side credenza, where she set it down and arranged the flowers carefully. ”There.” Then she crossed back over and headed towards the door to her office. ”Forward me any stuff you don’t want to deal with. I’m going to get started on my own avalanche.” She looked back over her shoulder, regarding a happily munching Dar. ”Dar, at least save a few for after lunch. You’re going to get sick if you eat all of those.”

Dar licked a flake of pastry off her lips, and took a sip of coffee, then poked her tongue out at her lover.

Kerry sighed, and shook her head. ”What a little punk.” She opened the door and slipped through it, heading for her own office.

DAR RECKONED SHE would not have drawn more attention walking down the hall into Personnel if she’d been stark naked. She could feel the eyeballs following her, and if she’d wanted to, heard the comments that followed.

Deliberately she ignored them, rapping lightly on Mariana’s door.

“Come.”

She unlatched the lock and walked inside, closing the door behind her as she faced the woman behind the desk. “Morning.”

Mari leaned back. “Morning” she replied wryly. “How’s it feel to be queen?”

Dar chuckled and took a seat facing her across the desk. “Thanks for the warning.”

Mariana threw up her hands. “You don’t think we all tried to call you? What did you think those pages were, us asking what to order you Hurricane Watch

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for lunch or something? Good grief, Dar!”

“I know.” Dar leaned on the chair arm. “We turned everything off for a few days. Serves me right.”

The Personnel VP pulled a packet from her desk and tossed it across to her visitor. “That’s for you,” she advised. “Explains your new benefits, and obligations being a member of the board, and so on.”

“Mm.” Dar observed the packet but didn’t reach for it. “Keys to the private baths in there too?”

Mari chuckled. “The keycodes. We are a technology company, after all,” she said. “It really was unexpected, Dar. We were all thrilled when everything started working again—I mean... “ She gave a self-deprecating hand wave. “Most of us really didn’t understand what was going on but hearing the ops people cheering was great.”

“Long night,” Dar agreed. “Lot of hard work for a lot of people.”

“A lot of brilliant improvisation, from what we heard,” Mariana said. “From both of you.”

Dar nodded. “Couldn’t have done it without Kerry,” she said. “She definintely proved why she’s where she is.”

They both were quiet for a minute, as the multiple level of meanings filtered through.

“Alastair sent me a policy memo,” Mari went on. “You have hire/

fire for the whole operation here, complete.” She picked up a folder from her inbox and dropped it on top of Dar’s packet. “Want that to be the first one? I’ve got enough sworn statements of pretty much everything that if he sues, we’ll win.”

Dar leaned over and picked the folder up, opening it to find Fabracini’s personnel records inside. She glanced up. “José should fire him,” she said. “He hasn’t done anything but screw him over too.”

“He should,” Mari agreed. “But he won’t.” She leaned back. “He had the afternoon to spread his poison around before you saved the day. Damage was done.”

Dar shrugged. “You mean about me and Kerry?”

“That too.”

“I don’t care. Kerry doesn’t care. Alastair doesn’t care. Everyone else doesn’t matter.” Dar stood up. “I’ll take a look at this and let you know what I decide to do.” She picked up the other packet. “See you at the staff meeting.”

“That should be fun.”

Dar paused at the door and peered back at her. “For me.” Finally, she grinned, and winked at Mari, before she left and let the door close behind her.

Mariana gazed at the door, then she sighed and leaned back again.

“This is either going to be the best or the worst decision he’s ever made,” she mused. “Talk about no guts, no glory. Alastair McLean, I hope you end up swimming in glory because otherwise I’m going to find someone else’s nightmare to be part of.”

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”I’LL BE RIGHT IN.” Dar gave Mariana a wave, as she ducked into the bathroom. Fortunately, it was empty, so she spent a moment just twitching at her clothes, and giving herself dire looks in the mirror. She was wearing the gunmetal gray suit today, with a black silk shirt, the only splash of color the pin Kerry had gotten her down on the boardwalk.

Okay, Paladar. Her jaw muscle twitched. They're all in there, waiting on you. This isn't an executive committee meeting anymore.

This is a staff meeting. They're your staff now.

You are their leader.

Dar winced, and her face wrinkled up into a grimace. Ugh. The slightly widened blue eyes gazed back at her mournfully. I'm too young for this. With a sigh, she reached up and ran her fingers through her dark hair, arranging it in some kind of order, then she took a deep breath, and let it out, settling the neatly pressed fabric over her broad shoulders. Okay. How do we do the ‘tude.

Grumpy? Casual? Bitchy? Annoyed? Hey… I could say I was PMSing. She considered that for a moment, then discarded the idea.

Nah. They'd never be able to tell the difference.

She lifted a brow experimentally. How about... She let a sardonic grin edge across her face, to join the brow. Amused. Okay, I can do amused. I'll just think of them all in their underwear.

The grin widened. And I've seen some of them like that, too. With one last look, she left the bathroom and headed into the executive conference center, where the rest of the upper management staff was waiting.

”Where in the hell is she?” Duks whispered, nudging Mariana with one knee.

The Personnel VP glanced at him. ”She’ll be here in a minute.

Would you calm down?” she whispered back, eyeing the restless group.

José and Eleanor were seated next to each other, with frosty looks on, and the rest of the staff was a mixture of excited, annoyed, scared, or just plain bored.

The door opened, and everyone stopped talking, as Dar let herself in. All eyes fastened on their new CIO, who strode across the room with a smooth, powerful stride, and took her end chair in a blizzard of self-confidence that simply rolled down the table at them.

In silence, Dar let her icy blue gaze go from face to face, then a slow, lazy, amused grin pulled her lips upward just slightly.

”Morning.” Her low, richly toned voice echoed slightly in the silence.

”Let’s get started, shall we?”

Everyone swallowed, Mariana noted, astounded at the amount and quality of sheer presence Dar could produce when she was in the mood to. ”For...obvious...reasons we didn’t have a meeting last week.” Dar put her fingertips on the table, and leaned on them slightly, the fabric of Hurricane Watch

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her jacket tensing across her shoulders. ”And since I’ve got crap piled up on my desk six feet tall, this is going to be a short one.”

Silence.

”First item on the agenda.” The tall, dark haired woman gazed down the table at them. ”Every department gets a fifteen percent operating budget cut. Effective today.”

Jaws dropped.

Dar waited.

”Hold on a goddamned minute.” José stood up. ”What in the hell, Dar?”A chorus of protest rose after him, belatedly courageous once the Sales VP had broken ice, so to speak.

Dar waited. Silently. Blue eyes roving from face to face, her attitude one of quiet menace.

The voices trailed off, until they were left again in uneasy silence.

”I’m going to take that budget, and duplicate the networking hub,”

Dar continued, as if nothing had been said. ”Because, let me tell you, ladies and gentlemen, I am not spending another night out freezing my ass off in North Carolina jury rigging some goddamned patch panel to run this company off of.”

Duks chewed on his pencil. ”Budgets are already figured for the quarter, Dar,” he commented quietly.

”Rework them,” she answered back, inflexibly. ”Or, sell your damn desk chairs, I don’t care, but I'm going to go ahead with the facilities regardless.”

José was still standing. He put his hands on his hips. ”I think we should consider the options, here Dar, and I—”

She pointed at him. ”This...is...not...a...committee anymore.” Each word was spoken sharply, with fierce enunciation. ”There are no options.”

Silence. Dar watched them. ”All right, we’re going to go around the table, you bring up what you think you need to, but be quick about it.

I’ve got a ton of things to do.” She finally sat down, and took a sip of water from the glass in front of her, then leaned back and gazed at Duks, who was closest to her. A brow lifted at him.

Impudently, he poked the very tip of his tongue out, where only she could see it. ”Congratulations, my friend.”

Her eyes twinkled soberly at him, the faintest hint of a grin pulling at the corners of her mouth. ”Thank you.”

”I have some good news,” Duks went on. ”The retirement fund had an investment in a group of technicals, and we made a killing last week.

We’re thirty percent over expectations in the fund.”

Murmurs went around the room.

”Nice,” Dar commented. ”Who picked those?”

Duks named one of his assistants. ”Damn good job of analyzing,”

he added. ”I put a commendation in his file.”

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”Put a little commendation in his paycheck,” Dar suggested wryly.

”Before Merrill Lynch steals him.”

A faint, nervous chuckle skittled across the table. ”That it for you?”

Dar inquired.

Duks nodded, then turned, to where Mariana was seated next to him. ”Next?”

They went around the room, receiving clipped replies from José and nothing from Eleanor, and everyone left when she closed the meeting, save Duks and Mari. Dar waited for the door to close, then glanced at them. ”So.”

Duks leaned on his elbows. ”That was different,” he commented.

”Giving notice that your reign is not going to be business as usual, my friend?”

”Give me a break,” Dar snorted, leaning back and allowing herself to relax from the almost painful tension of the meeting. Her entire body ached from it, and she exhaled in relief. ”You know it won’t last. Next week they’ll all be in here bitching again.”

Mariana laughed softly. ”I don’t know about that, Dar. You made quite an impression. You have a very powerful presence, you know.”

Dar gave her a wry grimace. ”Well, I don’t hold out a lot of hope, but at least we didn’t spend five hours going over crap we’ve been through for the last two years.” She sighed, and studied her pen, which she turned over and over in her fingers. ”I’m going to need to pull a project team on that new facility.”

Mariana nodded. ”I gathered. You want to put in a new orgid for you? We can slot them in there, and charge them off against the operating budget.”

”Sounds good,” Dar agreed mildly. ”Well, I’ve got two phone conferences, four client briefings, and a major proposal to review, so...

You two going to be around later? Maybe we can all have dinner or something.”

Duks and Mari exchanged looks. ”I hear you know a good Thai restaurant down on Biscayne. Sound good?” Mari asked. ”We can save all our chitchat for there. Will you be able to unbury Kerry from her desk by then?”

Dar chuckled. ”Yeah, I think so.” She caught their eyes and realized where they were looking. Just barely keeping herself from sticking her hands in her pockets, she merely flexed her fingers instead. ”I’m not going to fill my position right away.”

Silence, as they digested that. ”Good idea,” Mariana nodded approvingly. ”You slowly going to shift responsibilities to Kerry?”

”Yes.”

”Smart.” Duks nodded also. ”Give everyone a chance to see what she can do.”

Silence again. Mariana cleared her throat gently. ”Are you going to um...” she considered, fishing for a way to ask delicately. ”Change your Hurricane Watch

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beneficiary information in CAS?”

Dar almost laughed, as she kept her eyes on her pen. ”Yeeahh...it looks like it,” she admitted, glancing up to see a twinkle in Mari’s eyes.

”Talk about an obscure way of asking.”

Duks chuckled. ”C’mon, Mari, we’ve got things to do, and so does the grand poobah, here. Let’s be getting a move on.” He stood, then leaned over and clapped Dar on the shoulder. ”Good job, Dar.”

”Likewise,” Mari added, as they pushed their chairs into place. ”I think it’s going to turn out for the best for everyone.”

Dar felt her pager go off as she watched them leave, then she sighed, looking around the empty conference room. ”I sure hope so.”

She stood and went to the phone nearby and rang the office. ”Maria, what’s up?”

”Ah... Dar. I was not going to bother you, but it has been some time now, and I...that Michelle Graver person is here.”

”Oh.” Dar winced. ”Great, is she down there waiting? I’ll come down. We’re done here.”

”Aie. No, no, Dar. She came a half an hour ago. She was upset at something, but Kerry took her away to fix things.”

Kerry? Oh. Great. Dar tried to remember if she had a first aid kit in her office. ”Um...did she say where they were going?”

”No, but I think they were in her office.” Maria supplied helpfully.

”Is good I called you? I don’t like that woman, Dar. She is very sneaky looking.”

Yeah. ”Okay, yeah, that was good, Maria. I’ll take care of it.” Dar sighed. ”Talk to you later.” She hung up, then grabbed her portfolio and headed purposefully out the door.

KERRY NIBBLED HER lip in thought, then added a couple of lines to her email, clicking on the send once she’d reread it for the fifth or sixth time. She checked her watch, and paused, wondering how Dar’s meeting was going, before she punched a few numbers on the speakerphone. ”Hi, Maria?”

”Si...si...uno momento, senora.” The secretary sounded harried, and Kerry could hear an angry voice in the background.

A vaguely familiar voice. ”Maria, what’s going on?”

”Ah…we have a Ms. Graver here, she is looking to be speaking with Dar, but I am telling her she is in a meeting.” Maria answered. ”Is problems, I think.”

Kerry drummed her fingers on her desk. Michelle Graver, huh? A grim smile crossed Kerry’s face. ”Let me see if I can help her, Maria.

Bring her down here,” she suggested. ”Who knows how long Dar’s going to be.”

Maria sounded very grateful. ”Gracias, Kerrisita. We’ll be right down.” She hung up, leaving Kerry to run a quick eye over her desk, 292

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and straighten the stack of papers in her outbox with a push. Then she turned her monitor slightly and checked her reflection, trying on one of Dar’s arched eye browed looks for size.

”Uck. I can’t do that.” She chuckled a little. ”I look too weird.” A gentle tug on her sleeves got her shirt straight, then she took a breath and settled herself, as a soft knock came on the door. ”C’mon in.”

Maria opened the door and entered, holding it for Michelle Graver to enter behind her. The short Disney executive brushed past her, and stalked across the carpet, tossing a folder down on Kerry’s desk. ”I doubt you can help.”

Kerry held her eyes for a moment, then she pulled the folder towards her and flipped it open. ”Please, have a seat,” she murmured, as she studied the contents. ”Maria, here are the reports so far, and the project Dar was working on.” She reached out and lifted the stack of papers and offered them. ”I think she wanted these requisitions cleared before lunchtime.”

”Si.” Maria took the stack. ”We are making special order today for lunch, the Chinese food, you want?”

Kerry paused. ”Sure. Yeah, that would be great.” She pulled a paper out, and keyed up one of her sessions. ”Hang on a minute. I need to request these real-time.” She rattled her keys, then turned. ”Um...I’ll take a beef with snow peas, and you can order Dar a Szechwan shrimp.”

She took a guilty bit of satisfaction in saying that while Michelle was sitting there, and she didn’t miss the narrowing of those little beady eyes.”Is good.” Maria scribbled a note, then left, abandoning a tense silence behind her.

Kerry returned her attention to the screen. ”This utilization report shows you’re losing packets.”

Michelle clapped her hands twice. ”Very good,” she remarked sarcastically. ”I’m impressed. Did she train you on all the little blinking lights, or just the most important ones?”

Kerry felt an insidious urge to make an inappropriate gesture, and stifled it. ”No, actually, I learned that in college,” she answered the question at face value. ”Have you made any changes to your internal network?” she asked, politely.

”No,” Michelle answered. ”It’s not on our end, and my people have been complaining about it for two weeks, and nothing’s been done. I want it cleared up, or you can tell your...boss...the next contact will be from our legal department to terminate the contract.”

Briefly, Kerry wondered why Michelle had found it necessary to fly all the way from Orlando to tell her that, then figured it was probably just an excuse. ”Hold on.” She started a routine running, watching the results and ignoring the impatient woman across the desk.

Well, Kerry, if you’re going to even think about doing Dar’s job, better start here. She watched a gauge, then dialed a number. ”Mark?”

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”Yessup?” The ever-present sound of rattling keys came through clearly. ”And what can I do for you, Ms. K?”

”Um…” She gave him a circuit number. ”Can you sniff that for me, please? They’re losing one out of every three or four packets.”

”Sure.” Mark busied himself for a moment. ”Okay, it’ll take about ten minutes to run the analyzer over it. I’ll get back to you.”

”Thanks.” Ten minutes. Ho boy. She glanced up, meeting Michelle’s eyes. ”Would you like some coffee?”

”I’d like my problem solved,” the executive answered shortly.

”I’m working on that,” Kerry told her. ”And if you don’t mind, could I have the name of the person your group talked to in support? I’d like to follow up to find out why this wasn’t handled.”

”You should have a record of that,” Michelle replied. ”It’s not my job to keep track of your people.”

Kerry checked a screen. ”That’s true, but we don’t have a record of anyone calling in from your operations center, and I’d really like to check on what happened.” She waited, but Michelle didn’t answer her.

”Look, Ms. Graver, you obviously came here for some answers, and I’d like to give them to you, but I need some help.”

”And I don’t want excuses, just fix the problem,” the other woman answered. ”I’m not here to help you fix your internal screw ups.”

Stupid, stuck up, obnoxious bitch. ”Okay.” Kerry reviewed the data, then typed in a request and waited for it to come back. You’re just jealous because Dar won’t give you the time of day, aren’tcha? Not even way back when, before we were even that close. Nyah nyah. She punched a number into the phone, and waited. ”Hello, this is Kerry Stuart in Operations. Can I speak with a supervisor, please?”

A moment of rustling, then a voice. ”Yes, ma’am?”

”I need to know who there’s been troubleshooting with the Disney Orlando account,” she requested quietly.

Keys rattled. ”Um…there’s no record of them calling in, ma’am.”

”I know,” Kerry replied. ”But they say they have, so I need to know who’s handling the problem they reported.”

The man sounded confused. ”Okay. I’ll get the leads to ask each tech, can I call you back?”

”Sure.” Kerry hung up the phone, then she folded her hands on her desk and regarded Michelle in pensive silence. ”You sure you wouldn’t like some coffee?”

Graver didn’t answer at once. She stood, and wandered around the office instead peering out Kerry’s window at the placid Atlantic, then she turned and leaned her back against it, studying the back of Kerry’s head.It took everything she had not to turn around, but she did it, examining the next thing in her inbox instead.

”You’re not just a bit of good looking fluff, are you?” Michelle finally asked, in a speculative voice.

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Now she turned, and crossed her legs, leaning on the arm of her chair. ”I’m not sure I understand the question,” she replied. ”I’m here to do a job, Ms. Graver, not for any other reason.”

Michelle laughed. ”Oh, come on now. You’re not going to deny it at this late stage, are you? Your whole little building here is talking about you and your boss, honey. Wake up.”

Kerry stood up and walked over, making the most of her two inch height advantage, a complete luxury for her. ”I’m not denying anything,” she replied softly. ”But my relationship with Dar has no bearing on whether or not I can do my job.” She paused. ”And while we’re at it, don’t you think you’d better take a look at your own motives, Ms. Graver?”

“What?”

She’d caught the woman off guard, she could see. Good. ”You know, when I met you that first time, I really admired you, because I saw how you looked past the surface bullshit in those meetings, and I appreciated how you made your decisions based on what was good for your company, not on a personal agenda.”

The gray eyes watched her warily. ”Thank you. I do try to do that,”

she replied, a little uncertainly. ”I just don’t like to be jerked around.” A pause. ”So to speak.”

Kerry mentally flipped a coin, and took the plunge. ”You weren’t being jerked around,” she replied quietly. ”We were just starting to become friends, in Orlando. She was my boss, nothing more than that.”

Michelle's brows lifted. ”You’re joking. Honey, have you seen those pictures?”

Kerry folded her arms. ”Yeah, I have, and I look at them and it seems so obvious, but it wasn’t obvious to me.” She pursed her lips.

”And I think Dar was going along business as usual, except she got to a certain point and she just couldn’t go any further, because of me.

Because she didn’t want me to think badly of her.” She looked up

”Don’t hate her for that.”

Now, Michelle looked a little amused. ”You poor kid.” She shook her head slowly. ”You had no idea what you were getting into, did you?”

Kerry glanced at the carpet. ”Not really, no,”” she replied, frankly.

”But I don’t regret a minute of it.” She lifted her eyes and gave Michelle a direct look. ”And to answer your original question, no. I’m not just a piece of fluff. I’m a professional who does this for a living. I didn’t get this job by sleeping with Dar.”

”I see,” Michelle drawled. ”Well, well.”

The phone beeped, and Kerry crossed back over to it, hitting the answer button and trying not to let her shaking hands show. ”Yes?”

”Port’s crapping out,” Mark replied succinctly.

”Thanks.” Kerry hung up and dialed the networking office. ”John, here is a router name. ”She rattled it off. ”Serial port 0 is intermittently Hurricane Watch

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bad...can you hot swap it, please?”

”Yes, Ms. Stuart. We can do that,” the man answered. ”We’re still researching that trouble call for you, should have an answer back shortly.”

”Thanks...bye.” Kerry hung up, then turned to face Michelle. ”That should solve your problem.” She was glad they’d isolated it, but really, really ticked off that she’d had to do it. It was a basic step anyone should have done in the networking group. Someone was going to hear about it that was for sure. ”Sorry you had to bring it to this level.”

”I’m not.” The older woman chuckled, then shook her head.

”Sometimes it’s good just to clear the air.” She sauntered over and picked up her folder, then she slapped Kerry lightly on the shoulder with it. ”And don’t bother trying to track down that trouble call, there wasn’t one.”

Kerry blinked at her. ”What?”

”We thought it was us,” Michelle told her cheerfully. ”Thanks, kid.” She strolled out, leaving Kerry standing there with her jaw slack.

”Son of a bitch.” She exhaled, sitting down hard in her seat. ”You little Wienerschnitzel.”

PACE, PACE, PACE.

Dar paused near the far wall, and regarded the credenza with an evil look. Even the pretty flowers didn’t help her mood.

Pace, pace, pace.

Now she was on the near wall, and contemplating the closed door for the hundredth time.

Pace, pace, pace.

Her initial charge had lead her right up to Kerry’s door, and she’d actually had her hand on the knob, ready to fling the door open and barrel in, when her conscience had stopped her cold.

Kerry was supposed to be thinking about doing her former job.

What message would her rushing in there like some goddamned half assed knight in frigging rusted armor send? That she didn’t trust Kerry, that’s what. That she figured she couldn’t handle one measly little Michelle Graver, without big, bad Dar coming in and taking over.

Pace, pace, pace.

So she’d come back here, to her office, and decided to wait and see what happened. Unfortunately, she’d forgotten just how much she hated waiting for anything. ”Guess I’m just an instant gratification kinda gal,” she muttered to her reflection in the window. She’d tried to concentrate on her email, but had found herself reading the same one six times, and that was a personnel advisory from Mariana.

She sighed. Maybe I should go take a walk.

Pace, pace, pace.

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thigh, curiosity almost driving her insane as she wondered what was going on down the hall. Damn it, Kerry. You've got sense enough to yell for help if you need it, right?

Right. Yeah, sure.

Pace, pace, pace.

What if Michelle was making a play for her? Dar stopped in her tracks, and pressed her fingertips against the glass of the window, her breathing suddenly tight. What if Kerry... She shut the thought down savagely. Don't be stupid, Dar. Don’t start that crap. Don't even insult her by thinking it. She loves you. Dar let her head rest briefly against the sun warmed glass. Just go over there and sit down before you drive yourself crazy.

But she didn’t move. Instead, she just watched the waves for a few minutes, letting the calm blue of the sea soothe her.

Until her hearing picked up a soft, rhythmic footfall in the back corridor. About damn time, she cursed, bounding across the room and getting into her chair moments before the gentle knock came. She took a deep breath, and leaned her chin on her fist, picking up a report at random and studying it. ”C’mon in.”

The door opened, and Kerry entered. ”Hey.”

Dar forced herself to wait a few seconds before she looked up, drinking in the sight of her lover with quiet relief. ”Hey, yourself.”

Kerry appeared calm, and unflustered, definitely a good sign.

Kerry crossed to her desk, and took her favorite perch on the corner, laying a hand flat on the wooden surface and leaning on it. ”I ordered you lunch. Maria’s doing a Chinese run.”

”Mm, wondered where she went,” Dar mused, putting her report down and giving Kerry a smile. ”Thanks.”

Kerry smiled back. ”Anytime. Listen, Michelle Graver was here.”

Dar nodded. ”I know, Maria told me,” she replied casually. ”But she said you were handling her so I figured it was under control.”

”Oh.” Kerry felt a quick jolt of surprised pride. ”Well, yeah, it was,” she confirmed. ”I mean, she had a problem, but I figured it out, and we got it fixed, so everything’s great.” She gave a satisfied sigh. ”I was worrying about dealing with her a little, but things turned out okay, and it all, um...it’s fine now.”

Dar smiled back. ”Good job.” She patted Kerry’s knee. ”I knew you could handle her.”

Kerry nodded a little, folding her arms across her chest. ”Yeah, it was...it felt good,” she confessed. ”And I think we sort of came to an understanding. Maybe she won’t be so nasty now.”

A dark brow lifted. ”Really?”

”Yeah. I talked things out with her, straightened out a few misconceptions she had,” Kerry replied.

”You did?” Dar asked, curiously. ”Like what?”

”Uh.” Kerry scratched her jaw. ”Well, that whole Orlando thing, Hurricane Watch

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you know,” she replied offhandedly.

”Oh...right...that,” Dar replied, at sea. ”Well, I’m sure you cleared everything up.”

Kerry remained contentedly silent for a moment, drinking in the warm confidence. ”Thanks for trusting me. I was half expecting you to come in at some point just to make sure she was behaving herself.”

Wide, innocent blue eyes gazed up at her, as Dar nibbled her lower lip. ”The idea never crossed my mind,” she told her, sincerely. ”I just came back here, and studied my reports without a care in the world.”

Kerry's eyes dropped to her paper. ”Really?”

”Yep.” Dar smiled.

Kerry gently reached down and turned the paper right way up, then she affectionately patted Dar’s cheek. ”You are so busted.”

Dar glanced down, then back up at her, like a six year old caught in the cookie jar. ”Uh oh.” Then she laughed, leaning back and relaxing in her chair, shrugging her shoulders with a look of endearing helplessness. ”But I stayed right here, doesn’t that count?”

Kerry tried to hold her scolding look, but lost it, and started laughing as well. ”Yes, that counts.” She leaned over and kissed Dar lightly. ”And, thank you.”

Dar sighed, giving her a sheepish glance over dark eyelashes. ”For being a nervous worry wart?” she replied. ”Even though I know better?”

Kerry put a hand on her cheek. ”For caring,” she answered. ”You weren’t worried I couldn’t solve the problem, were you?” She waited for the head shake no. ”You were worried she’d be nasty to me.” Now the head nodded yes. ”Well, she sort of was, but we got things worked out.”Dar scowled. ”Bitch.”

”Dar, she thought you were playing with her,” Kerry told her. ”I’d have been a bitch, too.”

”Mmph.” A grunt of grudging agreement. ”Yeah, all right. I can see her point.” Dar sighed. “I kicked everyone’s ass in the meeting.”

“I heard.” Kerry smiled. “Sometimes you end up in a stall in the ladies room at just the right time to hear people bitching.”

“Ahhhh.” Dar chuckled wryly. “You know what? I decided if Alastair wants a bastard in charge here, I might as well give him a bastard in charge. Wait until I throw a request for a multimillion dollar network upgrade on his desk. He’ll choke on his tie.”

Kerry nodded. “Well, let me go get back to work.” She stood up.

“I’m glad Maria went for lunch. I wasn’t looking forward to being the main course in the café today.”

“People talking?” Dar watched her expression intently.

“Yeah.”

“Bother you?”

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the bright, sunny day. “I thought it would,” she admitted. “But you know I realized they all thought it anyway, Dar. We weren’t fooling many people.”

Dar chuckled softly.

“So what the heck.” Kerry shrugged. “I’ll deal with it.” She turned.

“It’s worth it to be able to order lunch for you and walk in together without feeling like a felon. That was really starting to get to me.”

Her partner nodded pensively. “Trade-offs,” she said, briefly. “I have my first board meeting tonight. I sent Alastair my acceptance and he didn’t waste any time.”

“I’ll get a ride home.” Kerry patted her on the shoulder and headed for the hallway door. “See you later.”

“Mm.” Dar slouched back in her chair, watching her partner leave until the door closed behind her, then she pulled over the two packets she’d taken from Mariana and flipped open the first one.

“Stevie.” Her eyes flicked over the contents. “What in the hell am I going to do with you.” She glanced through the stack of employment papers, running a cursory eye over the last sheet before she stopped, and reread it more carefully.

DAR LEANED BACK in her chair and closed her eyes, letting the argument over the speakerphone travel past her. The moon shone in her window, and she half turned to regard it, as she lifted a hand and rubbed the back of her neck.

Board meetings, when your board was international, were a pain in the ass. But Dar hadn’t been able to wiggle out of this one, since Alastair was using the opportunity to introduce her to the rest of the board members.

She sighed. Kerry had gone home hours ago, dropped off by a cooperative Mark, and she wished she could just hang up on the group and go join her lover.

”Don’t worry about it,” Kerry had said.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dar grumbled silently, closing her eyes and wishing she had some aspirin. She tried to put the headache out of her mind, and think about something more pleasant instead. Hot tubs, for instance. Kerry had definitely mentioned hot tubs for tonight, and a spicy chicken stir fry with noodles that was very, very tasty.

”Dar? What do you think about that?” Alastair’s voice interrupted her daydreaming.

Oh shit. ”What I think about that is...that it’s ten o’clock here in Miami, and we’re going rapidly nowhere. Why not schedule a meeting when everyone has their acts together?” There. Throw a few insults; see if that gets things moving. ”That’s what I think,” Dar added, for good measure.

She took a contented sip of chocolate milk as the soft hiss from the Hurricane Watch

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phone indicated a shocked worldwide silence. Another Dar Roberts legend in the making, I bet. She rolled her eyes, regarding her bare feet resting on her desk, crossed neatly at the ankles. “Regretting your decision already, Alastair? Next time, you’ll ask first, huh?”

A gentle clearing of the throat. ”Well,” Alastair responded. ”That would be a novel idea.” He sighed. ”Okay, so Monday after a disaster was a bad choice of times. Let’s reschedule for Friday, same time?”

Fine. She’d call in from her cell phone, while floating on the Atlantic. ”Sounds good to me,” she agreed, stifling a grin. ”I’ll have the proposal for the new networking center by then.”

”Good...good...all right then, good night, ladies and gentlemen.”

He paused. ”And Dar.”

It hit her unexpectedly, and she burst out laughing, hearing a rustle of sound as the rest of the group belatedly joined in. ”Good night.” She sighed, hitting the release button, and shaking her head. So much for my first board meeting, but at least it was more productive and less antagonistic than their usual staff gatherings. So maybe that was a good sign.It was very quiet in the office, with only the soft hum of the air conditioning, and the gentle, sporadic clatter of her hard drive to break the silence. With a sigh, she slipped her shoes back on and stood up, pulling her jacket over her arms and shouldering her briefcase.

The elevator ride was quiet also, and she was conscious of her own footsteps as she crossed the long, empty lobby and headed for the door.

The security guard met her and opened it, touching his head in a military type of manner.

”G’night, Ms. Roberts,” he remarked, politely. ”Late night, eh?”

”Night, Pete.” Dar gave him a smile. ”Same old, same old. You know how it is.”

”Yes, ma’am, but we haven’t seen you here at night for a while. I was wondering if you’d changed offices.”

No, just priorities. ”I’ve been here...just not late,” she commented.

”Take care.”

She walked across the parking lot and unlocked the Lexus, dumping her briefcase inside and getting in, exhaling as the cool, soft leather surrounded her. She closed the door and sat for a moment, resting her hands on the wheel, before she started the car up and pulled out of the parking lot.

KERRY WAS CURLED up contentedly on the couch, her head resting on the arm, and Chino tucked up in a ball against her belly. She let her eyes follow the action on the television screen, though she found herself watching the clock almost as much.

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up when the phone rang. She picked it up immediately. ”Hello?”

”Hey.” Dar’s voice sounded quiet over the dull roar of boat engines. ”I’m on the ferry.”

”So I hear,” Kerry responded. ”How’d the meeting go?”

”Bullshit,” the executive replied. ”It was mostly Alastair just blowing hot air across three continents. I finally called him on it, and he rescheduled for Friday.”

”Ew,” Kerry replied. ”That’s not fair.”

”Nah, we’ll be out on the boat. That’s why god made cell phones,”

Dar chuckled. ”How’d your night go?”

Kerry rolled over, and let her head rest on the sofa arm. ”Well, I got home, and put together a little dinner for us, then I stuck that in the frig and took Chino for a nice long walk.”

”I could live on Frosted Flakes. You didn’t have to do that,” Dar protested gently.

”You cannot live on Frosted Flakes, Dar Roberts, so hush,” Kerry shot back. ”So, then I went over to the gym and worked out for a couple of hours. You know, I like that gym, Dar.”

”Yeah, I haven’t seen much of it lately,” her lover responded ruefully. ”But it’s pretty well stocked. They’ve got a circuit there I really like. The gym by work doesn’t have it.”

”Mm...yeah...then I got home and took a shower, and now I’m just watching Steve Irwin, and waiting for you,” Kerry concluded.

Dar couldn’t help the silly little grin that crossed her face at Kerry’s words. ”Waiting for me?”

”Yep,” Kerry confirmed. ”Chino and I are right here, watching the door.”

A soft laugh. ”Well, I’m pulling into the parking space right now, so guess I’ll see you in a minute.” She hung up and got out of the car, closing and locking it and heading for the condo entrance. At the door she paused, reflecting.

How many times had she come home, just like this, to a quiet emptiness? How many years had it been? The idea that someone was in there…god.

Thoughtfully, she keyed in the lock and opened the door, stepping inside as a scrambling puppy and a smiling blonde greeted her. ”Hey guys.” Dar dropped her briefcase and knelt, playing with Chino for a moment before she stood and faced Kerry.

”Hey, here, let me take your jacket. You look wiped.” Kerry reached for it, only to have her hands caught and held, as Dar stepped closer to her. ”Wh—”

Dar released her hands, and let her arms rest on Kerry’s shoulders, gently interlacing her fingers behind the smaller woman’s neck. She gazed into the puzzled green eyes, and wished she had the words to fit the emotion she could feel balling up inside her. She tried, but nothing would come out, so she merely drew Kerry’s head forward and gently Hurricane Watch

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kissed it. ”Thank you.”

”Dar?” Kerry asked softly, pulling back a little and giving her a worried look. ”Are you okay?”

There was really no way she could explain. ”Yeah.” She managed a smile. ”Just been a long day, that’s all. ”Awkwardly, she dropped her hands, then backed off a step. ”I’m going to go change. I think I need some coffee.” She rubbed the back of her neck wearily. ”Haven’t had a headache like this in a while.”

Kerry cocked her head to one side. ”Mm...let me help.” She gently drew Dar into her bedroom, and peeled off her jacket, draping it neatly over the back of the chair near the dresser.

”I am capable of taking my own clothes off,” Dar protested mildly, finding herself intrigued by the absorbed look of concentration on her lover’s face.

”Well, sure, I know, but it’s a lot more fun for me if I do it,” Kerry replied, working the buckle loose on the thin, ornate belt then reaching around to unbutton Dar’s skirt. ”Because if you do it it’s just like...well, you know, changing. But if I do it...” She slid the zipper down, and removed the skirt, leaving Dar in her silk blouse.

”If you do it...” Dar repeated softly, tracing the line of her jaw. ”It becomes a lot more interesting.”

”Right,” Kerry agreed, slowly unbuttoning the shirt and letting it fall open, releasing a scent that was mostly Dar, and a touch of perfume.

She slid her hands under the fabric and let her fingers slide up the smooth, powerful back, clucking softly at the tension she felt there.

”C’mon, lie down.” She gently peeled the shirt back, and Dar let it fall down her arms to the floor, feeling the slight chill as the conditioned air brushed her skin.

It felt like a dream, really, but Dar couldn’t find it in her to protest.

She allowed herself to be led over to the waterbed and gently pushed down onto it, feeling the surface give under her weight. She rolled over and spread her arms out a little, feeling the cool air suddenly warm on her back as Kerry settled over her, straddling her hips.

Fingers slipped under the hooks of her bra and released it, then smoothly rubbed the area. Kerry’s hands were warm, and strong, and Dar felt the stiffness relax almost immediately as her companion started to work, kneading her shoulders and wringing tiny murmurs of appreciation from her. ”Ungh.”

”God, you really are tense,” Kerry commented softly, sliding her hands up Dar’s back to her neck and shoulders, which eased grudgingly under her touch. ”We’ve got to get you a recliner for your office or something.” She felt Dar chuckle, the vibration felt through her fingertips as they eased around Dar’s ribs.

”Hey.” Dar chuckled again.

”Whoops, sorry, forgot you were ticklish there,” Kerry teased, hitting the spot again on purpose, just to hear the laugh. She reached 302

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over and got a small bottle of oil from the night stand and uncapped it, putting a little on her fingertips and rubbing them together before she started back to work. ”How does that feel?”

The oil left warm traces across her skin, and Dar let out a long, satisfied breath. ”You’re the best.”

Kerry regarded the smooth, tanned back with a distinct feeling of pleasure. ”I am?” she queried. ”The best what?”

”Everything,” Dar mumbled. ”The best assistant, the best cook, you give the best massages...”

Kerry chuckled delightedly. ”That’s really cool. I’ve never been the best at something before, except debating,” she amended. ”But that doesn’t really count. All it means is I can win arguments.”

Dar folded her arms, and rested her chin on them, glancing back quietly. ”You’re my best friend,” she added, with a touch of wistfulness.

”I never thought about having one of those until I met you.”

Kerry gazed down at her, then she leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on the center of Dar’s back. ”I’m glad you feel that way.” She moved up and put another kiss a little higher. ”Because you’re my best friend. And the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my life,” she uttered softly, right into Dar’s ear.

A gentle smile in return. She rubbed Dar’s shoulders lightly. ”Turn over so I can get the front.”

That got her a saucily raised eye brow, as Dar twisted under her, and she was suddenly face to face with those amazing blue eyes, and a bare, powerful body trapped neatly under her own.

Whoa. Kerry put her hands down lightly on the flat belly, spreading her fingers out and starting a gentle, rhythmic massage. God, Dar is so strong. She could feel it, as she moved up across her collarbone to her shoulders, feel the thick, powerful muscles just under the skin that flowed into her upper arms. Kerry leaned forward to get enough pressure, and found herself looking almost straight down at those twinkling, amused blue eyes. ”You know...” She paused, holding Dar down, and feeling the faint motion under her fingertips. It was almost scary. Almost intimidating.

”What?” Dar asked, watching her face.

”I think I know how Steve Irwin feels when he’s on top of a crocodile,” Kerry told her.

Both dark brows shot up. ”Gee, thanks,” Dar drawled. “I love you too, honey.”

”No, no, no. I don’t mean you look like a crocodile, Dar.” Kerry laughed. ”It’s just that they’re always so much stronger than he is, and you get the feeling that at any moment, the croc might— Whoa—

yeow!”

Kerry felt the room whirl, then a heavy, warm weight settled over her. She cracked one eye open to see a blue orb inches from her. ”Uh oh.”

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”Might turn the tables?” Dar asked, with a seductive grin, as she leaned forward and pinned her lover down, taking a gentle nibble at her neck. ”Like that?”

Kerry felt her breathing go ragged. ”I’m pretty sure a croc nibbling his neck doesn’t make old Steve feel like this,” she responded, swallowing a few times. ”But yeah.”

Dar rolled back over, and allowed Kerry to resume her place. ”I kinda liked it this way.” She reached a hand down and stroked Kerry’s calf. ”Where were we?”

Kerry slid up and found her lips. ”Right here.” She felt Dar’s hands start to roam, lifting up the light t-shirt she was wearing and letting the cool air brush against her skin. ”I was just about to say...” She tasted Dar’s lips again, then slowly lowered herself down, feeling the instant heat as their skin touched. ”That I love you.”

Dar soaked the feeling up in quiet wonder. ”I love you too,” she responded, on an irregular breath. ”And I always will.”

DAR AWOKE ABRUPTLY, disoriented for a minute as she caught her bearings, and shook the sleep out of her eyes. ”Wh—” The bed next to her was empty, though she could still, faintly, catch Kerry’s scent on the sheets, and she put her head back down, wondering what had woken her up so violently.

The fragments of a dream faded out of her consciousness, something dark and vaguely frightening, and she thought she remembered walking down a long, dusty road at night, all alone, in tears.

Ugh...what was that? Dar shook her head to clear it, then put the thought aside. Can't blame it on dinner, since we skipped it, just one of those weird ones, I guess. She exhaled.

Then she cocked her head, and listened, expecting to hear Kerry moving around in the bathroom, or maybe coming back from the kitchen. She heard neither, and her brows contracted. She’s a big girl, Dar. She can probably handle getting milk by herself. She sternly told the niggling anxiety.

It didn't help. An uneasy tension in her guts sent the covers flying back, and Dar rolled out of the waterbed and padded off in search. The bathroom was empty, and so was the quiet, dark living room. She stuck her head in the kitchen, then she exhaled, and made her way up the stairs to the second floor. Kerry’s door was partially ajar, and she poked her head in, spotting her lover curled up in the large bed, her arms wrapped around her pillow.

For a long moment, Dar froze, unsure of what to do. Surely Kerry had the right to sleep wherever she wanted to, without being questioned on it, right? Dar nibbled a fingernail, running her mind over the evening’s course, and trying to figure out if she’d done something wrong.

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No. Not unless her understanding of right and wrong when it came to Kerry was way the hell off base. Kerry had been in a very good mood when they’d dropped off to sleep, so...

Just then, the figure on the bed shifted and Dar heard a sharp intake of breath, and a tiny sound of pain. Without further thought, she bolted across the floor and knelt at the bedside, putting a hand on Kerry’s tense arm. ”Hey.”

Green eyes gone silver in the moonlight blinked at her. ”Wh— Oh, Dar, god you startled me.”

”What’s wrong?” Dar asked, softly. ”Are you okay?”

”Oh,” Kerry sighed. ”Yeah...it’s...I’ve got cramps, really, really bad.” She gave Dar a wry look. ”I was expecting it this week, but it just got me a lot worse than usual.” She curled her fingers around Dar’s hand. ”I didn’t want to wake you up.”

”Mm.” Dar gazed at her. ”Sorry about that. Did you take something?”

”Yeah, a handful of Advil,” Kerry muttered. ”They’ll work, eventually.” She reached over and pushed a lock of dark hair out of Dar’s eyes. ”Go back to sleep. I’ll be fine.”

Dar hesitated, finding herself unwilling to leave Kerry, but not having any good reason to stay. ”Um...all right. I guess.” She paused.

”Can I get you something? Hot tea, maybe?”

”No. I’m fine. Really, Dar, go on, you need to get some sleep,”

Kerry told her.

Reluctantly, Dar stood up. ”All right,” she agreed, unhappily. ”Call me if you need anything, okay? I’ve got some muscle relaxants left, if those Advil’s don’t help after a while.” She stroked Kerry’s upper arm in attempted comfort. ”Or maybe a hot water bottle…that usually helps me.”Kerry smiled at her. ”All right, Dr. Roberts,” she teased her companion gently, feeling a little better just to have her nearby. She wished she could just ask Dar to stay with her, but that would be totally irresponsible, since the poor woman had to work tomorrow, and there was no sense in both of them being zombies. Right? ”I’ll call you if I—”

She stopped, seeing the worried look in Dar’s eyes. ”Boy, that’s so stupid.”

”What is?” Her lover knelt again, and rested a forearm on the bed.

”Like I ever stop needing you,” Kerry admitted, with a smile.

Dar’s face, though thrown into shadows, appeared quite pleased with that. ”Actually,” She cleared her throat a little, embarrassed.

”Waking up downstairs was um...” she paused, searching for the proper word. ”Strange.”

”Alone, you mean,” Kerry clarified.

”Mm.” The dark head nodded.

Kerry considered that. ”Big bed.” She indicated the surface she was resting on. ”It’s kinda empty and cold up here,” she added. ”I’d go back Hurricane Watch

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downstairs, but I sort of have to move around a little, because of the pain, and...and I didn’t want to bother you,” she sighed. ”Which is kind of pointless, I realize, because here you are.”

”Right,” Dar agreed. ”Mind some company?”

”No.” Kerry curled up a little tighter as a spasm hit her. ”Ugh.”

A solid weight settled behind her. ”Here,” Dar spoke quietly. ”Let me try something.”

Kerry felt fingers touch her back, and start a slow kneading rhythm down her spine. Maybe it was the warmth, or just Dar’s presence distracting her, but the cramps paused, and seemed to lessen a little, and she stretched her body out to allow her partner better access.

”Ooooo…you have magic fingers.”

Dar chuckled softly. ”No I don’t. I’ve just been here, and done this.

I had to find a way to get rid of the pain before competition, because taking a lot of aspirin when you’re doing contact sports is not a good idea.”

”Really?” Kerry murmured. ”I thought—”

”It’s a blood thinner,” Dar explained. ”I used to get a lot of bruises.”

”Oh.” Kerry nodded. ”Right. That makes sense. They made us use contact analgesic when I was doing gymnastics, but the serious girls played around with the pill so they wouldn’t get it during meets.”

”Mm...yeah, I tried that.” Dar worked her hands lower, getting to the tense knot she could feel right along the end of Kerry’s spine. ”But the stuff made me sick. I had to quit using it.”

”Ummm...” Kerry let her head drop to the pillow. ”You are so good.”

A dark brow lifted saucily, unseen in the murky darkness. ”Oh really?”

”Oh yeah. Your hands are poetry in motion,” Kerry murmured.

”Spreading little bolts of wonderful all over me.”

Dar’s eyes widened at the phrase. ”Little bolts of what?” She leaned over and nibbled Kerry’s ear. ”You’re the poetic one, kiddo.” She rubbed her thumbs in little circles above Kerry’s kidneys, then slid an arm around her waist, and began a slow massage of her belly.

”Ohhh…” Kerry felt the tension slowly relaxing, and she leaned back against Dar’s warm body in utter relief. She wasn’t sure if it was the Advil finally kicking in, or her lover’s attentions, but she frankly really didn’t care, since she’d been tied up in knots for over an hour and a half, and it was just nice to not be in agony for a while. She felt guilty about bothering Dar, but not guilty enough to make her leave, especially since Dar didn’t seem to be minding too much. ”Sorry I wo—

Wait, I didn't wake you up, Dar. What are you doing awake anyway?”

Dar put aside the memory of the nightmare. ”I dunno. I just woke up, maybe the AC clanked or something,” she temporized. ”You weren’t there, but I figured you went to get a drink or whatever. I 306

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couldn’t hear you, so I decided to go see what was going on.” She glanced at the bedside clock. ”It’s almost four. How long have you been up?”Kerry sighed. ”Since two, I was having trouble sleeping anyway.”

She exhaled, blinking a little as the gentle massage continued. ”So I thought it would be better if I just came up here. I usually don’t get it this bad.”

”I know.” Dar pulled her a little closer, and felt Kerry’s body relax against hers. ”You’re one of the luckier ones, doesn’t last long for you, either.”

”Mm… We’re both lucky that way,” Kerry remarked, biting her lip to stifle a yawn. ”Though I was contemplating the other day how choosing an alternative lifestyle ought to bring a magic pill to eliminate this stuff at the same time.”

”Heh, if we advertised that, the one in ten would be two out of three,” Dar snickered. ”Besides, lots of gay women want, and have kids, Kerry.”

The blonde woman sighed. ”Yeah, I know, but they can be selectively fertile, if you know what I mean. They don’t have to worry about accidents.” She couldn’t stifle the yawn this time, and gave into it.

”Mm…think those pills are getting to me now.”

Dar rocked her gently, and watched the pale green eyes flutter closed. ”Good, get some sleep,” she told her lover, as she settled her arms around Kerry’s body, feeling the breathing deepen as she did so.

”Atta girl.”

”Mm,” Kerry mumbled sleepily. ”You’re the best.”

Dar sighed happily, and put her head down, gazing out over her now sleeping companion through the window. The stars winked solemnly at her, and the trees outside swayed in a silent wind, as she reflected on a simple change in her viewpoint.

She’d never wanted to be responsible for anyone. That’s why she’d never considered kids, never gotten a pet. She’d been very, very damn sure she didn’t want the hassle, or the headaches of all that.

So how come taking care of Kerry feels so damn good?

She rested her cheek against the soft, pale hair and peered out at the lapping waves. Tell me it’s a long suppressed, deeply skewed maternal instinct surfacing, right? She glanced down as Kerry stirred a bit, then snuggled closer to her with a contented little sigh. God, what in the hell is happening to me? Dar felt a surge of protectiveness wash over her. I don't even recognize myself anymore.

Another sigh. But is that good, or bad? Dar considered thoughtfully. Well, something that feels this good can't be bad, and not be illegal. So I guess it's good. She yawned, and closed her eyes, letting a peaceful sleep take her.

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KERRY PULLED HER pale blue terrycloth bathrobe around her and sipped at her tea, trying to muster up the energy to go and take a shower. The drugs had worn off after she’d woken, and even taking more wasn’t really helping at the moment. The ache was making her cranky and tired, and she wished she could just crawl back into bed.

”Well, no time for that, Chino. I’d better get moving.”

Bare footsteps made her look up to see Dar ambling into the kitchen, a towel tucked neatly around her damp body. ”Hey.” Dar glanced at her, then put the cup down she’d been reaching for and stepped closer. ”You still feeling lousy?” she inquired.

Kerry shrugged. ”I’m okay, just a little sore. Give me a minute and I’ll get going.” She eased off the stool in the kitchen, then paused, biting back a grimace. ”Jesus.”

Dar took her cup out of her hand and grasped her by the shoulders.

”I think you better stay home,” she decided, speaking in a firm voice.

Kerry straightened, and shook her head. ”C’mon, Dar, don’t be goofy. I’m not calling in sick for a dumb stomach ache. That’s crazy.” A cramp hit her, and she leaned on the counter. ”I’ll be fine.”

Dar put her hands on her terrycloth covered hips and gave her a look. ”You listen here, Kerrison Stuart. You are not going to develop all of my damn bad habits, just because we live together, got me?”

Kerry peeked up at her, speechless.

”You are staying right here, in that cute little bathrobe, and watching Oprah all day,” Dar stated. ”That’s an order.”

”B—”

”Ah ah!” Dar put a hand over her mouth. ”You can logon from here if you have to, that’s why I have a damn ISDN in the house.”

Kerry kissed the palm of her hand, and smiled as it was withdrawn.

”Okay.” She felt a huge wave of relief, knowing she didn’t have to wrestle into her business clothes and put up with how that would feel all day. ”Thanks, boss,” she added, gratefully.

That got a frank, open grin from Dar. ”That’s better.” She leaned over and kissed Kerry’s forehead. ”Play with Chino, munch on ice cream, and relax. All right?”

”Nice prescription.” She stuck her hands in the pockets of her robe.

”And I do have some things I need to take care of so maybe it’s a good idea anyway.” She butted Dar's arm with her head. ”G’wan, you’re going to be late.”

With a satisfied chuckle, Dar turned, and walked out, humming lightly under her breath.