By Sheri

Last Updated May 14, 1999 - 1:45 AM

Disclaimers: See Part 1

 A few hours later Lita was awakened by a growling noise. She listened for a moment then smiled. They hadn't eaten since lunch and no matter how sated the rest of her body was Des' stomach was protesting. Lita carefully extracted herself from Des' arms. Des mumbled a protest but was still deeply asleep. Lita stroked her face softly and Des snuggled into Lita's pillow continuing to sleep. Lita grabbed her robe from the bathroom and belted it around her waist as she moved to the door. Before leaving the room, she gazed at the woman still asleep on the bed in wonder. 'How did I get so lucky?' she thought as she went downstairs to see if she could find something to feed her love.

Lita found a pizza in the freezer and put it in the oven to cook. She figured they would have enough time to eat before she would have to get dressed for work. She was making coffee when she felt two arms sneak around her waist. She turned in the loose embrace and bent her head to kiss Des. "Good morning." Lita whispered as they broke apart. "Nice dress." Des was dressed in the t-shirt Lita had discarded before the hot tub.

"Thanks. I like it too. It reminds me of how I feel in your arms." Des responded. "What's cookin?"

"Pizza. Should be just about done." Lita checked and took it out of the oven. She set it down on the counter and turned to get the pizza cutter out of the drawer and instead found herself with an arm full of Destiny. "Aren't you hungry?" she asked as her arms involuntarily went around the woman.

"Yes, but I wanted to say something first."

"What?" Lita asked a little nervous at the serious look on Des' face.

"Thank you."

"What for?" Lita asked relieved.

"For making my first time so beautiful. You are a wonderful lover."

"Oh! Uhm...well.. you're welcome. Let's eat." Lita stammered embarrassed.

"Ok." Des replied, gave her a quick kiss to let her know she was off the hook and went to the table and sat down. As they ate they talked about plans for the week. Plans which included spending as much time as possible together. Too soon it was time for Lita to get ready for work. They went upstairs and got dressed; a process that took considerably longer when both parties tried to 'help' the other. They were finally ready to go and headed down to the garage.

"I don't suppose we can take the bike again?" Des said regretfully.

"Sure we can."

"Really, we can?"

"Why not? They have motorcycle parking at the prison and it's still a beautiful night."

"You're going to spoil me." Des said.

"With pleasure."

When they got to Des' house Lita turned off the bike and walked Des to the door. Des unlocked the door and turned to face Lita.

"Have a good night at work."

"Thanks." Lita replied looking around trying to determine whether anyone was watching them, especially from next door. "Is your sister still up?"

"I don't think so. I noticed it was pretty dark as we came up. She is usually in bed by 10:30." Des looked up. "See that window?" she asked pointing. "That's theirs. She might be reading yet but it looks pretty dark."

"Good." Lita whispered under her breath. "Des? I wanted you to know..." She trailed off as her eyes were captured by Des'.

"Yes." Des breathed.

"Tonight was very special to me too. The whole weekend was." Lita stopped not certain how to continue.

"For me too, and not just for the obvious reasons." Des said playfully poking Lita in the ribs.

Lita chuckled and continued, "I wanted to thank you for helping me through today. I've carried that guilt for so long. I never thought anyone who knew what I had done could still like me."

"I don't just like you Lita, I love you. Don't ever forget that."

"I love you too."

"Really!?" Des said, awestruck.

"Yes, really."

"Wow." Des said as she reached her arms around Lita's neck. Slowly she tugged until Lita lowered her head and Des could capture her lips in a goodnight kiss. One kiss wasn't enough though, so Lita returned for more. Many minutes later Lita reluctantly dragged her lips away saying, "I've got to go or I'll be late."

"I suppose." Des said regretfully. "See you in the morning?"

"You bet. Go get some sleep."

"Yeah right, like I could sleep after that."

"Try. You'll need your rest for tomorrow."

"Work isn't that hard."

"Who said anything about work?" Lita said with a grin.

"Oh yeah, that'l help me sleep. Goodnight Lita."

"Goodnight. Sweet dreams." Lita turned to go.

"I love you." Des quietly called after her.

"I love you too." Lita called back.

"Well, well isn't that sweet." the person in the car parked across the street murmered as he watched Lita climb on her bike and drive away. "The boss will be very interested in this." he started the car and slowly drove off into the night.

In the morning it was raining and Des was running late. She parked her car and began gathering her things together. There was a knock on the passenger window and Lita was standing there. Des unlocked the door and Lita got in.

"Mornin'." Lita said.

"Morning." Des replied yawning.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Terrible. I missed your heartbeat under my ear."

"Oh." was all Lita could think of to reply to that. "Is that why you're late?"

"Yeah. By the time I got to sleep it was time to get up. I should really be heading in, I don't relish the idea of walking across the yard in this."

"Do you have your umbrella?"

"Yes mom."

"I guess I'd better get going too. The sooner I get started, the sooner I can get home and get dry."

"That's right! You have to ride the bike home. Why don't you take my car instead?"

"I couldn't do that."

"Sure you could. I mean, I'm the reason you rode the bike last night, the least I can do is make sure you're dry on the way home."

"All right. I'll pick you up after work then."

"Ok. See you then." Des handed Lita her keys, letting her fingers linger just a bit longer than necessary. She couldn't say goodbye the way she wanted to, there were too many people around. "I wish I could kiss you."

"Work would not be the place for that." Lita agreed.

Des opened the car door and got out, opening her umbrella as she did. Lita slid over the console between the seats and started the car back up.

"See you at 4:00." Lita said looking up at Des.

"Bye." Des said and walked towards Master Control. She waved when Lita honked the horn as she drove off.

"Who was that?" One of the other education aides asked.

"A friend of mine, Lita Velazquez, she's an officer."

"Why was she driving your car?"

"She rode her motorcycle to work last night and didn't really want to ride home in the rain."

"Must be some friend."

"The best."

Right at 4:00 when Des came out of Master Control Lita was waiting for her.

"Hey." Lita said as she got out of the car.

"Hi." Des smiled. "What are you doing?"

"It's not raining anymore. I thought I'd take the bike home."

"Oh." Des said, hiding her disappointment. She watched as Lita went over to the bike and started it. She rode over to Des' car and stopped. Des was still standing by the open car door.

"So, do you want to drive to my place or should I pick you up at yours?" Lita asked casually.

Des' face lit up with the brilliance of her smile and she replied, "Pick me up please."

"How did I know you were going to say that?" Lita said laughing. "I'll meet you there."

Des quickly got into the car and drove home. Lita was waiting for her so Des ran into the house, checked her mail and her answering machine, and ran back out to the bike. As they drove out to the lake Des' hands grew restless and started to wander. She managed to pull Lita's t-shirt from her pants and was rewarded by the feel of soft skin underneath. By the time they reached the house both women were breathing hard. They made it through the door and as far as the couch in the living room before lips found lips and hands found skin.

"Oh. I am definately addicted to you." Des murmered as she nibbled a path along Lita's jawline. "I lost count of how many times I had to bring my mind back from thoughts of you and this today."

"Well, it must be contagious then. When I woke up I had to take a cold shower, you invaded my dreams." Lita replied, quickly getting lost in the wonderful sensations. Their clothes disappeared and more pressing matters needed attending to. Conversation was limited to moans of pleasure and whispered directions.

Later, they laid on the couch snuggled together in a tangle of arms and legs. Lita had taken the blanket from the back of the couch and covered them with it. Des was sprawled in her customary position with her head cradled on Lita's chest while Lita stroked her hair and back.

"Des?"

"Hmm?" Des was busy tracing the muscles of Lita's abdomen.

"Are you going to call your father?"

Des' fingers stopped their caressing and she looked up at Lita. "Will you go with me to meet him?"

"I will go anywhere you need me to."

"Then I suppose I am going to call him."

"Do you want to do it now and get it over with? I still have the letter here. It's in the bedroom."

"I suppose that would mean one of us would have to get up and get it huh?"

"Well, we could look at it this way. There is a phone in the bedroom, there is also that big bed. If we both went up to get the letter, you could call from the bedroom and then we could stay and take advantage of the bed. You could consider it a reward for calling your dad and setting up the meeting."

"Have I told you how much I love the way you think? I can't think of a better reward. There's only one problem that I can see."

"What's that?"

"I don't think I can move."

"No problem." Lita said with a kiss to Des' temple. She stood up taking Des with her and strode towards the stairs with Des cuddled in her arms.

"I love it when you do this." Des whispered guiltily.

"I love doing it." Lita reassured her.

They made it to the bedroom and retrieved the letter from the table by the bed. Des put on Lita's shirt and Lita put on her robe. Des reached for the phone on the table by the bed and dialed the number. Lita tried to leave the room to give Des some privacy but she would have none of it. Des reached for Lita's hand and held it like a life line as the phone started to ring.

"Hello."

"Hello, Dad? It's Destiny."

"Destiny, I can't believe you actually called. How are you?"

"Fine Dad, great. What did you want? Your letter is pretty vague."

"I would rather talk about it in person. Would you be willing to meet with me?"

"Yes, but I am going to be bringing someone with me."

"Fine, honey. Whatever you want. How about we meet for lunch on Saturday?"

"Fine. Where?"

"How about that little family restaurant on Central Ave., Charlie's. At 1:00?"

"Ok. I'll see you then."

"Great, honey. I'll see you then." He hung up.

Des placed the receiver back on the stand and looked at Lita. "We're going to meet for lunch on Saturday. Can you be there?"

"I'll be there. Are you Ok?"

"He kept calling me honey. He used to call me that when I was really young. He acted like it was no big deal. Like things were fine. I don't understand."

Lita didn't know what to say so she pulled Des into her arms and kissed her.

"I guess I'll get some questions answered on Saturday. In the meantime I believe you said something about a reward for calling."

"Why yes, I believe I did." Lita said as she lowered Des to the pillows and proceeded to give her her reward. They spent the rest of the evening together until Lita had to get ready for work again.

This time they took the car into town. When they pulled up in front of the house Des' sister came to the door. "Where have you been? You missed the game tonight. Your car was here but you were nowhere to be found. I was worried sick."

"I'm sorry Amy, I forgot all about the game. I was at Lita's."

"You could have called, left a note, something. What were you doing out there that was so important? I didn't think there was anything in the world that could make you forget about softball."

"I wouldn't have thought so either but there is." Des said blushing. "Amy, I have some news that may be distressing for you."

"What?"

"I talked to Dad tonight."

"What!? Why? How did you even know how to get in touch with him?"

"He sent me a letter with his number on it. He didn't say much, just that he wanted to meet with me and that he wanted me to call him. He wanted you to come to. We are meeting for lunch on Saturday here in town. Do you want to come or would you rather I just meet him?" Des asked ignoring Lita's look of puzzlement.

"I have to think about it. I really wasn't expecting that. I'll let you know. Is that what kept you from the game?"

'Damn. Why couldn't she have left it at dad's letter.' Des thought. She wasn't sure she was ready for this. Then she felt Lita's hand cover hers and she knew she was ready. "No. Not really. Lita and I were together and I forgot all about the game."

Amy noticed their clasped hands and said, "What do you mean together?"

"Des?" Lita asked quietly.

"Yeah."

"I really hate to do this to you but I have to go or I'm going to be late."

"Ok. Amy, will you excuse us for a minute?" Des didn't wait for her answer just started to walk with Lita to her car.

"Are you ready to tell your sister about us?" Lita asked.

"Yeah, I think I am. I love you. My family is going to have to accept that. It's not going to change so they might as well start dealing with it."

"If you're sure. I wish I could stay and help you."

"Well there is one thing you can do before you go."

"What's that?"

"Kiss me. That way Amy will know what I meant by together and I will have something to tide me over til morning." Lita leaned closer to oblige her and Des whispered, "Make it count." As their lips met time stopped and they lost themselves in the kiss. When they broke apart Lita asked, "How was that?" Des glanced over to where Amy was standing watching them with a stunned look on her face. "Perfect love. Now get to work."

Lita got into her car and drove off. Des watched her go then turned and walked back to her sister.

As she approached Amy said, "So that's what you meant by together."

"Yep." Des replied as she reached her.

"Are you happy Dee?"

"Amy, I have never been as happy as I have been with Lita."

"You've only known her for a week. Are you sure she's the right person for you?"

"I don't know if I can explain it so you'll understand. When I look into her eyes I see the other half of my soul. When she's around the sun seems brighter, I feel like I can accomplish anything as long as she is with me. When we make love it's like all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and everything is right with the world."

"You've got it bad."

"Yeah, and I don't want to get better either."

"Ok. Goodnight then." Amy said and turned to go inside.

"That's it?"

"Yep. I'm happy for you Dee. I hope she doesn't hurt you and you know what you're getting into. Other than that I'm glad you found someone to share your life with."

"Wow. Thanks."

"Hey, you're my sister and I love you. Just because you fell in love with another woman doesn't mean I'm going to stop loving you."

"I'm glad. I wasn't sure how the family would react."

"Well, I'm sure some of them will react exactly as you're afraid they will."

"I know, I'm ready to deal with it I just hope they are too."

"You'll find out soon enough I'm sure. I need to get in and check on the kids so I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Ok. Thanks again Amy, love you."

"Love you too Dee."

 In the morning Lita met Des at her car again.

"How did it go with your sister?"

"Great. She's happy for us Li. She was a little shocked but she said that it didn't matter as long as I was happy."

"I'm glad. I really don't want to cause problems with your family."

"I hope it doesn't come to that but if it does we'll handle it. I don't plan to hide how I feel about you, I don't think I could."

"I'm glad. I don't think you could either." Lita looked down to where Des' fingers had entwined with hers in the few moments they had been in the car together.

" Sorry." Des said pulling her hand away.

Lita grabbed it back saying, "Don't be. I want to be able to hold your hand whenever we are together. I don't think I could hide my feelings for you either."

"We are going to be spending a lot of time around my family, I think they would eventually be able to see that I can't keep my hands off of you." Des said smiling. "I'm addicted to you remember?"

"It's contagious, remember." Lita replied. Their eyes locked and they stared at each other fingers entwined for a minute both women aware that if they weren't sitting in the parking lot they would be doing much more.

"How long is it until you can get a day shift again?" Des questioned.

"Too long. January."

"Way too long." Des agreed. "I've got to get going. Walk me to the door?"

"Sure. Will I see you after work?" Lita asked as they got out of the car and walked toward Master Control.

"Yeah. I'll call you after I get home."

"See ya." Lita said with a wave and a smile.

"Later." Des replied.

The rest of the week flew by. Amy decided to let Des deal with their father, especially after she learned that Lita was going to go with her. She figured Lita could protect Des and Des would be strong enough to handle the meeting with Lita at her side. Saturday came much too quickly. The night before had been wonderful. Lita and Des had gone to the bowling meeting and the league was ready to start the next week. All the teams were coming back so Des didn't have to rush around the next week trying to find teams. After the meeting Des and Lita had gone out to supper with Amy and her husband. The two couples had had a good time getting to know each other better. Amy even mentioned to Des as they were leaving that she was surprised at how nice and normal Lita was.

"Why wouldn't she be normal?" Des asked.

"I don't know. I think it has to do with her being a guard, she looks so fierce sometimes. Of course, her height and bearing make her seem intimidating too. There's also...." Her voice trailed off.

"What?"

"The way she looks at anyone who looks at you." Amy said.

"How does she look?"

"You really haven't noticed? I thought she was going to rip that poor guy working the counter at the bowling alley apart."

"What!"

"That new guy working the counter. When you were talking to him and laughing at something he said."

"Jack. Why would she want to rip him apart?"

"He was staring at you the whole time you were talking to him. I don't think he ever looked you in the eye. His eyes were too busy looking at the rest of you until he happened to see Lita. She was glaring at him and I swear, if looks could kill he would've been six feet under. Poor Jack went so pale I thought he was going to faint dead away. Didn't you notice how quickly he found someone else to talk to?"

"I did think he ended the conversation a little quickly but I just figured he had other things to do."

"Yeah, he had other things to do. Keep living was high on his list I'm sure."

"Wow. I didn't even realize."

"Well, I have to say I feel much better about the person you are spending your time with after tonight. Have you told her about the dream yet?"

"Yeah. She was cool with it. Are you sure you don't want to meet with Dad tomorrow?" Lita and Steve had paid the bill and were joining them in the parking lot.

"I'm sure. You can fill me in when you come out to the lake afterwards. You are coming out there aren't you?"

"Where else would I be?"

"Right. See you tomorrow then?" Amy asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. Des knew what she was really asking.

"Yeah. I'll be at Lita's tonight so I'll see you tomorrow." Amy and Steve went to their car and Lita and Des went to Lita's. When they got to the lake house Lita put a CD in the stereo and they sat together on the couch talking.

"Des?"

"Hmm."

"Why did you lie to your sister about your Dad?"

"What do you mean?"

"When I took you home on Monday and she met us outside the house you told her that your Dad had wanted to meet with both of you. He never asked about her though, did he?"

"No. He didn't. I didn't want to hurt her. I think that we both still love him even though he was a real jerk. It would have hurt her to find out that he only contacted me, only asked me to meet with him. I am the oldest, I have always been the spokesperson for the two of us. Maybe that is why he didn't ask about her. We do still have relatives of his living in town to so maybe he already knows about us and didn't feel the need to ask. I don't know. I just figured I didn't need to hurt her when a little lie would cover it."

"What if she had decided to come with us tomorrow?"

"I hope he would have been happy to see her. I also hope he wouldn't have screwed it up by saying something dumb about not expecting her. If he did I would have dealt with it. She would have understood, but I wasn't too worried."

"Why not?"

"Because I never thought for a minute that she would want to come along."

"Why not?"

"She was always a lot madder at Dad than I was. She is also really good at holding grudges. I didn't think she would want to meet with Dad because she wouldn't have been able to say the things she wanted to in a public place. She also knows that I am much better at controlling my temper and reasonably discussing things."

"There's only one question then." Lita said.

"What's that?"

"Are you going to be able to keep me from saying what I want to say to him?"

"I hope so. Are you planning to yell at him?"

"Only if he says or does something to hurt you. Then yelling will be the least of his problems." Lita pulled Des even closer to her and said, "I promise to be as nice as I can be until he does something to make me not be nice." The CD they were listening to ended and Des sighed.

"I just realized something."

"What?"

"You don't have to go to work tonight."

"Nope."

 "We can actually spend the whole night together and not have to worry about getting up to go to work."

 "Yep."

 "Li?"

 "Hmm."

 "Take me to bed."

 "It would be my pleasure." Lita stood up and they went upstairs. When they reached the bedroom Des reached up to kiss Lita and they slowly began to undress each other. As each article of clothing was removed lips or hands explored the flesh that was revealed. Soon they were both naked and Lita lowered Des carefully to the bed, following her with lips and hands. Des sighed as she felt the length and weight of Lita completely covering her. "I love you so much." Des whispered as she nibbled on Lita's ear and kissed her way down.

 "Me too." Lita responded, her mind and body occupied with other, more important, matters. Soon they were both drowning in sensations. Later, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

Saturday morning found them still entwined together. Lita awoke in what was fast becoming her favorite position, with Des' head nestled in the crook of her shoulder. She could tell from the deep breathing that Des was still sound asleep and knowing her lover as she did knew that she would stay asleep unless Lita did something to wake her up. Lita leaned over and looked at the clock seeing that it was still early. She knew they didn't have to go anywhere until it was time to meet Des' father. 'Decisions, decisions.' Lita thought. 'Do I wake her up or go back to sleep?'

"Go back to sleep." Came the muffled response from her chest.

"You awake?"

"No. I'm still asleep and you should be too." Des mumbled, trying desperately to stay in that state of unconsciousness.

"We could get up and do something before going to meet your Dad." Lita said.

"Don't want to. Want to stay right here." Des nuzzled closer and tried to go back to sleep. Lita watched amazed as Des did just that. She lay there holding Des in her arms and found herself getting tired again too. Soon she was sleeping again and Des smiled as she felt the breathing beneath her ear slow down and deepen. 'I'll get her to sleep in on the weekends yet.' She thought as she lapsed back to sleep herself.

Two hours later Lita woke again. This time she was determined to wake Des as well. She slowly started massaging Des' back. Starting from the top of her head and running her hand languidly all the way down her back to caress the firm flesh of her thighs and all the way back to the top of her head. When a few passes failed to wake her partner Lita decided that more drastic measures were called for. This time she gently trailed her hand down to cover one silky breast and lightly caress the skin until it puckered. She then offered the other breast the same treatment. Amazingly, Des still didn't wake up. Lita looked down at her partner and noticed the smile on her face but she still looked like she was deeply sleeping. Carefully, Lita rolled them over until she was pressing lightly all along the length of Des' body. This gave her much more freedom of movement and much more skin to caress. As she used her lips to trace the path her hands had followed earlier Lita thought she detected a change in Des' breathing. She smiled against the skin of Des' belly and continued her onslaught. Soon Des couldn't hide the fact that she was awake any longer and she reached down and pulled Lita up for a thorough good morning kiss.

"What are you trying to do to me?" Des asked breathlessly.

"I told you last week that there were better ways to greet the morning, I was just trying to show you what I was talking about."

"Then, by all means, please continue." Des said playfully. "I'm always eager to learn new things...." her voice trailed off as Lita continued waking Des up.

At 12:45 Lita and Des pulled up in front of the little restaurant. Lita turned to Des as she shut of the engine and asked, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Des got out of the car. They met in front and Des clutched Lita's hand. They went into the restaurant together and Lita asked for a booth in the back. Des smiled at her, grateful for the gesture. "Thanks." She whispered as she slid into the booth.

"You're welcome." Lita replied as she slid in next to her. "Do you want to order before your Dad gets here or wait?"

"We might as well order now. Maybe the food will get here before he does and I'll actually be able to eat some of it."

"We can go if you want to. We can just leave a message with the hostess, drive back out to the lake, and make love all afternoon."

"Boy, you sure do know how to tempt a girl don't you? Thanks for the offer but I think it's too late anyhow." She nodded to the man walking slowly towards them. "He's here."

"It's never to late if you want to go just say the word and I'll get you past him."

"No. Love, but thanks."

"Destiny?"

"Hi Dad. This is...my partner, Lita."

"Partner? In what?"

"In life." Des said simply.

"Oh." He looked like he was going to say something more but one look at Lita's face convinced him that that might not be the wisest move so he simply sat down.

The waitress came over and asked them if they were ready to order. Lita and Des ordered first while Des' father looked over the menu, then ordered. When the waitress left again Des asked her father. "What's up Dad?"

"Why don't we wait until after we've eaten. I am more interested in you right now. What have you been up to lately? How's your sister?"

"Nice of you to ask now. Why weren't you interested in her when you wrote the letter or when I talked to you on the phone the other night?"

"I was interested but I was so surprised to hear from you that I just couldn't think of anything to say. I have heard some things every now and then, but I would like to hear it from you. How did you two meet?"

"Lita was looking for a team to bowl on and I needed a bowler. We became friends and then we became more."

"She isn't afraid of the dream?" He said somewhat snidely. Her father had never put much stock in the dream, only going along with the name to keep the peace.

"No, she isn't." Lita answered; her voice little more than a growl. "In fact I am looking forward to defeating anything, or anyone, that tries to hurt her." Lita leaned forward in her seat to get as close as she could to Des' father, "Are you one of those things?"

Des gasped as it occurred to her for the first time that Lita could be right and this meeting with her father could be one of the things she had to face.

Des' father backed as far away from Lita as he could get and still be in his seat. He tried to change the focus of the meeting by asking Des, "How is work going?"

"Work is fine Dad. I am fine. Amy and the kids are fine. We are all happy." Their food arrived and Des picked up her fork glad to have something to occupy her that didn't involve talking.

They ate in silence. Soon, Lita finished and so did Des' father.

"I'd forgotten how much you could eat." He said fondly. Des immediately realized the others were finished and put down her fork, her appetite gone.

"Ok dad. What was so important?" "First I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry for the way things ended between us. I should've done a lot of things differently; I realize that now. I've had a lot of time to think about my life lately. I've been sick." He paused and continued, "I'm dying Des. The doctors say that I don't have much time left. In fact, they think I will be lucky to make it to the new millenium."

Des was shocked, she sat next to Lita and stared at her father as he spoke. Lita reached under the table and clasped Des' hand in hers. Giving her quiet support. Des took a deep breath and asked, "So what do you want from me?"

"I know that I hurt you terribly, all I want is the chance to get to know you again in the time I have left. I want to be a part of your life, however small a part is up to you, but I would like the chance to make up for my past mistakes." He stopped and looked at Des pleading with his eyes for a chance. Lita saw the look and knew that Des wouldn't be able to resist it.

"I think Des needs some time to think about this. It isn't just her decision to make. I'm sure she will want to talk to Amy and her mother and see how they feel about all this. We've got your phone number. We'll give you a call." Lita answered for Des.

"Now wait just a minute!" Her father started to protest.

"No dad. Lita's right. I do need time to think about this. I am sorry for you but it has been so long. There have been a lot of times that I would have welcomed this from you. Now I have to think about it. I do need to talk to Amy and mom too. I promise you that I will call you no matter what I decide." Des motioned for Lita to get out and she followed her out of the booth. Des' father stood up as well.

"I hope to hear from you soon." Again, it looked as if he wanted to say something more. "I'll get this." He said as the waitress brought the checks. Des just nodded and clutching Lita's hand started walking towards the door. As they all reached the sidewalk Des' dad tried again. "I love you Destiny. I know I haven't always been real good at showing it but I do love you."

"I believe you Dad, but I still need to think about all this. I'll call you. Bye."

"Bye, honey."

Lita and Des got into the car and drove in silence out to the lake house.

They pulled onto the last road leading to the lake house and saw all the vehicles lining the road.

"Looks like your family is out in full force today." Lita said.

"Well, after this weekend there's only Labor Day Weekend left so it's to be expected."

"Do you want to avoid them?" Lita asked as she pulled into the garage.

"I should be asking you. I know they're a bit much to take at times."

"I need to get used to it right? We might as well see how they're going to react."

"Do you think they'll even notice?"

"I guess that depends on how you want to act around them. If you don't want them to notice then I think we need to be careful how we act around each other, maybe even avoid each other."

"I don't want to censor my actions around you and I definitely don't want to avoid you. Somehow I don't think I could do that anyway."

"Ok then. We'll just act natural and see what happens."

"Sounds good to me."

They got out of the car and started to go next door. Before they left the garage Des put her hand on Lita's arm to stop her. Lita turned to Des questioningly. Des reached up and put her arms around Lita's neck, stepping closer to Lita until their bodies were touching.

"How do you feel about kissing?" Des asked pressing closer.

"In general, with you, or otherwise?"

"All three."

"No big deal, could do it for a lifetime, be more specific."

"How about in front of people you hardly know but are family?"

"If it shows them how I feel about you I'm all for it. If it is going to make you uncomfortable I'll wait til we're alone."

"We're alone now."

"Why yes, I believe we are." Lita said lowering her head so her lips were mere inches away. "Would you like me to kiss you?"

"Well... I do have this addiction you kn." Des' voice stopped as Lita's lips covered hers. They spent several minutes enjoying each other until Lita heard someone calling for Des. She pulled her lips away and whispered, "Someone's coming."

"Who?" Des asked.

"Sounded like your sister."

"Oh! Well she's already seen this then." Des captured Lita's lips again. Amy came around the front of the house and to the open garage door. She waited a moment, then cleared her throat trying to get their attention. When that didn't work she tugged on Des' arm saying, "Knock it off you two, plenty of time for that later. Tell me how the meeting went."

They broke apart grinning and turned to Amy.

"Are you sure you want to talk about this here?" Des asked.

"Yes."

"Ok. Let's go get mom though, she should hear this too."

Amy led the way next door with Des and Lita following holding hands. They found Mary and sat around a spare picnic table while Des related what happened at the restaurant. There were some arguments and a few tears but in the end Amy and Des decided to give their father another chance. With the decision behind them they all made a conscious effort to spend the rest of the day having fun. They played volleyball, went swimming, visited and even played a variation of horseshoes with bean bags before supper. After supper they sat around the campfire talking. Lita had her arm around Des' shoulder and Des had her head resting in the crook of Lita's arm. After a while the conversations around them faded and the two sat contentedly staring into the fire. Lita's hand moved to Des' waist and pulled her closer. Quite a few family members had left by this time, only the ones staying the night remained. Of course, Des' family being the size it was, this meant that there were at least 20 or so people still up and about. The kids were dancing to the radio and occasionally an adult or two would join them. Most of the adults were happy to just sit by the fire. Lita noticed a few glances being cast their way, especially when Des snuggled just a bit closer, nuzzling her neck sleepily. Lita's arm tightened around Des' waist and she looked around trying to see if anyone noticed. There wasn't any hostility in the glances sent their way though. There were a few surprised glances and pokes in partner's ribs to draw their attention to the new couple, but after the surprise came acceptance. When Des seemed to fall asleep in her comfortable spot there were many amused glances cast their way. Lita looked a little like a deer caught in the headlights, not sure which way to go, and she knew it was time to go home. She nudged Des gently and was rewarded with one green eye opening up and peering at her.

"Tired?" Lita asked.

"I guess so."

"Ready to leave?"

"Yeah." They stood and said goodbye to the family members still around, then walked towards Lita's house. Lita's arm around Des' shoulders and Des' arm around Lita's waist. When the two disappeared around the front of the house all eyes turned to Tracy.

After a long moment of silence Rick asked, "When did that happen?"

"I don't know when exactly but I'm not surprised. Those two practically gave off sparks from the time they met. What do you guys think about them?" Tracy asked.

"What can we say? They are so cute together it's hard to say it's wrong, besides, I don't want to piss off tall, dark and deadly there." Lisa said.

"Tall, dark and deadly!" Tracy exclaimed. "Where did that come from?"

"I don't know. That's just the impression I get. If anyone messes with them they are going to be in a world of hurt. I like the idea of Des having a protector. We all know how much trouble she can get into and there is always the dream to deal with."

"Does Lita know about the dream?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah. Dee told her the day they met."

"You're kidding? She never tells people about that, especially not right away."

"I know. Even then she seemed to know she could trust Lita and depend on her."

"Amazing. I'm happy for Dee, I just hope she doesn't get hurt." Lisa said. The rest of them nodded their agreement. All except Rick. Tracy noticed and asked, "What about you Rick?" Everyone turned to him.

"Well I guess I know now why she didn't wouldn't go out with me." Rick said with a laugh. "I'll get used to the idea I suppose. I just hope they don't kiss in front of us."

"Why not?"

"I don't know if I'm ready to explain it to my daughter." Rick said truthfully.

"Judging from today, I don't think we need to worry about it. I'll talk to Dee though and explain your fears." Tracy volunteered.

"That would be nice." Rick said. "They did look really cute by the fire didn't they?"

"I know. I thought Lita was going to bolt when Dee fell asleep and started cuddling."

"Did you see her face? I didn't think anyone with skin that tan could blush."

They continued discussing the couple for a while and then talk moved on to other things. Of course at that moment Lita and Des were engaged in much more than kissing but her family didn't need to know that. And as long as they kept the windows closed, they wouldn't.

Continued in Part 5

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