Oh there's something 'bout a man in black,
Makes me want to buy a cadillac,
Throw the top back,
And roll down to Jackson town,
I wanna be there on the stage with you,
You and I could be the next rage to,
Hear the crowd roar,
Make 'em want more,
Kick the footlights out…
To most the first word to enter their mind when they saw him was dangerous.
Dark.
Mysterious.
Imperious.
Stiff, even.
But to her he was temptation, salvation, everything she dared want and was afraid to have.
She'd been there once. Would she ever be so bold again?
She watched him in his element detached, yet the most attentive host.
She'd played that part with him before, courted about on his arm to the home of this dignitary and that. She'd seen some beautiful places at his side, but none meant more, stirred her more than walking about Port Charles.
Their mere presence always shocked, no one ever understanding how they could be. Assuming theirs was a marriage of convenience. But like him their union was dangerous and mysterious. No one knew the depth of her love for the man in black. Even know, no one knew.
She sipped her champagne and looked up into his dazzling green eyes. She lifted her chin, standing his inspection, trying to quail the flush she felt spreading through out her body.
Finally he gave an almost imperceptible nod and turned away to speak with his sister.
She moved toward the door, brushing by him. Would she dare, indeed?
I wanna love like Johnny
and June,
Rings of fire burnin' with you,
I wanna walk the line, Walk the line,
'Till the end of time,
I wanna love, Love ya that much,
Cash it all in, Give it all up,
When you're gone, I wanna go too, Like Johnny and June,
I wanna hold you baby right or wrong,
Build a world around a country song,
Pray a sweet prayer, Follow you there, Down in history…
She found him on the docks, staring across the lake at his home; wrecked, bloody and nowhere to go. They watched each other silently as she approached, his shoulders and neck rigid. He expected a fight. She expected a thaw.
"Come to deliver your judgment? Add your hurts to my list of unconscionable crimes against mankind?"
"No. We've made our peace. Luke should have left well enough alone."
"What do you want?"
Smiling she moved forward circling him in her embrace. "I want you to know you're not alone. I want you to let me help you fix this."
Breathing in, he caught the soft scent of vanilla from her strawberry hair, his arms moving around her of their accord. "You can't fix this; neither can I."
She looked up into his eyes, clouded with unshed tears and broken down dreams. "Then let me help you start over."
He hated himself for the tremor in his hand even as he placed it against her face. "You almost make me believe such a thing is possible."
"Stefan, you should know, everything is possible."
Her lips were soft and warm and he broke a little
more.
I wanna love like Johnny and June,
Rings of fire burnin' with you,
I wanna walk the line, Walk the line,
'Till the end of time,
I wanna love, Love ya that much,
Cash it all in, Give it all up,
When you're gone, I wanna go too,
Like Johnny and June,
Like Johnny and June,
More than life itself, No-one else,
This endless promise,
They don't make love like that anymore,
Is that too much to be askin' for…
He's arm was a comforting weight around her.
Her head on his chest the most marvelous feeling on weightlessness he'd ever known.
"I've had this dream before. Tell me you love me before I wake up alone again."
"I do love you, but this isn't a dream. I'm here; where I think I've always belonged."
He breathed in, softly kissing her hair as she toyed with his medallion. She still had hers tucked into the silk folds of her jewelry box. Cassadines don't divorce.
"What will you do?"
"Go away, for now. I have to end this game with Helena. Prove she framed me for Summer Holloway's death. Get the money to pay off Alcazar without forcing Nikolas and Emily apart."
He shifted so they were facing one another. He touched her hair, kissing her gently. She kissed him back, not knowing if the tears she tasted were hers or his.
"What can I do?"
"I feel like Solomon. If I ask for the simple thing will I come away with everything?"
"Try it."
"You and I both know I don't do simple."
"What can I do?"
"Can you wait, Barbara? Is that too much to ask?"
She smiled. "What's time compared to
eternity?"
I wanna love like Johnny and June,
Rings of fire burnin' with you,
I wanna walk the line, Walk the line,
'Till the end of time,
I wanna love, Love ya that much,
Cash it all in, Give it all up,
When you're gone, I wanna go too, Like Johnny and June,
It took more resolve than she knew she had to sit quietly through Helena's humiliation, Alexis' indifference and Nikolas' shame. The sincerity in their hatred and dishonor of this man who had devoted his life to their name, was nearly too much.
Breathing in, she could feel the warm metal lying between her breasts; sweet comfort.
So she waited until they were gone and she came to him to say what she'd only spoken in the candlelight of his bedroom.
"You asked me if I could wait… I can't. You won't be too angry if I arrive earlier than you expected? It's only fair. You left before your time. That's okay. What's time compared to eternity?"
She drank the vial quickly with a smile on her lips. Climbing into the casket, she laid her head on his chest, her hand over his and closed her eyes, a smile on her lips.
In a moment all was silent, save the whistle of the gravedigger as he approached.
And when we're gone,
There'll be no tears to cry,
Only memories of our lives,
They'll remember, remember,
A love like that…
"Johnny & June"
Heidi Newfield
