Back with the Campions on their island-hopping honeymoon - and a peek into their past, where we might get to say hi again to a familiar face at last ;) ...

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Scene 4: Defying Destiny

A.D. 2015

It was all so romantic, even in the absence of romance. Just as she'd hoped. As soon as their ferry had pulled out of Piraeus Port this afternoon, leaving Athens and the mainland far behind, Lacey had felt her spirits lifting to the rhythm of the sparkling seas that swept them toward the isles. It'd even been enough for her to momentarily recover from the scandal that she'd recently discovered. She hadn't even minded suffering through a mild case of seasickness; such nausea was much better than the sickening shock of those texts from her mother.

By the time they'd arrived on the island of Mykonos, she was feeling all better. The sight of the pristine white buildings accented with such pretty pops of color - doors and window shutters mostly painted in the perfect shade of blue, just a few in other pastel hues - was virtually too picturesque to be real. Since Lacey had never really liked reality, in all its honest brutality, this postcard-worthy scenery was paradise. It was as if the whole island was constantly airbrushed, every natural flaw smothered with layers of makeup. It was perfect.

She and Ryder had checked into their charming hotel, strolled through cobblestoned streets, then along the breezy beach, the fine white sands like sunlit silk beneath her feet. Tried to ignore the sights and sounds of hundreds of hungover partygoers: sunburnt bodies sprawled out naked in attempts to get skin cancer that much faster, hollers and hoots in probably fifty different languages, which all sounded the same when everyone was chronically drunk. Lacey had known that Mykonos was more for revelers than honeymooners, but it was still a worthwhile place to stay along the way. The travel magazines all seemed to say that no Greek island hop would be complete without this stop. Lacey had a bad habit of always believing what she read in magazines, since they had been her bibles as a child.

After dining at the restaurant with the most glowing magazine reviews, she and her husband were now set to enjoy a nice evening. For Ryder, this usually meant postponing getting into bed as long as possible, of course. So they ambled through the island's central town until they found the tamest bar around, in hopes of avoiding the crazy clubbing crowd, and settled down for cocktails and dull conversation.

Lacey ordered a drink that sounded light and classy but turned out to be much stronger than she realized, till it was too late. Oh dear. She was only faintly tipsy at this point, but she really never liked to be drunk at all, because the ugly truths that she had banished from her consciousness were quick to surface with a little help from alcohol.

Luckily, the first truth to which her mind wandered was not all that ugly. Overwhelming and somewhat spooky, for sure, but actually pleasant in the sense that it had given her a newfound surge of power. During one of Ryder's characteristically long, brooding pauses, Lacey took a moment to survey the room, spotting potential couples here and there. A lonely-looking fellow at the bar, plus a bartender with a sweet smile... An equally attractive girl and boy who were both evidently single... Two guys who had been ogling each other all night...

Over the next several minutes, she watched with tipsy glee as each of her foretold love-matches started playing out before her eyes. This was by far the most fun she'd had in all her life. And soon enough, the thought occurred to her that maybe, just maybe, if it was magically within her power to bring people together... then maybe she could also keep people apart... Her mother and Parker, for starters - or, even more importantly, her husband and that bright-eyed little brunette...

She hadn't yet gotten around to experimenting with her possible power of separating people when, all of a sudden, Ryder chimed in.

Lacey wasn't even sure what he had said. Probably just her name, to make sure after her extended drunken silence that she wasn't dead. But whatever his words had been, the only thing that registered for her right now was how those beloved eyes, the perfect shade of blue, caught the gleam of a same-hued blue light overhead, in just a certain way, making them look deeper and more beautiful than words could say, evoking memories of the first time she'd drowned inside that bay.

A.D. 2011

"Happy birthday!!"

Lacey's cheeks flushed with a bashful blush. She didn't know what the big deal was - sure, she was eighteen, as of today. But she'd never felt like much of her own person anyway. Not any more so now that she was officially an adult. An age, a silly number, wouldn't change that.

"Thanks," she murmured, crossing her room to hug her closest girlfriend. "There was already a huge silly party, though, you know."

"Yeah, but that was this past weekend. In formal Weaver style, since no party of such grandeur could be thrown on a weekday," Tess pointed out. "Today is your actual birthday. And I wanted to stop by so that you could celebrate just with your actual best friend, rather than a parade of family connections and acquaintances. So, surprise!"

Lacey couldn't help but smile, at that, sincerely. The big shiny balloons, Tess's entire DVD collection of cheesy chick flicks, and cheap ice cream cake were the complete opposite of the stuffy, high-society affair that Katherine had organized for her daughter on Saturday. And honestly, it was just what Lacey would've wanted for her birthday.

Tess had just gotten through explaining how difficult it'd been to persuade the Weaver mansion's strict staff to allow her to sneak into Lacey's bedroom, carrying a bunch of tacky decorations and an already melting ice cream cake, when there came a knock at the door.

Both girls furrowed their brows; Lacey turned to Tess, who shrugged, apparently not having invited anyone else for girls' night.

As she approached the door, before even opening it, Lacey could tell who stood outside - just from the familiar aura of warmth, the sense of safety that his presence would always provide in her life. She opened the door, grinning already, to greet one of her favorite people in the world. Shy smile, grey-blue eyes, short hair the hue of summer sand.

His smile widened, just a bit, always as shy as the day they'd first met, yet somehow never out of place. "Happy birthday, Lace."

"Thanks so much!" she gushed, engulfing him in a hug, partially obstructed by the present in his hands. "It's so good to see you, Dan!"

"I always try to say hi on your actual birthday. Ever since first grade," he reminded her, waving an awkward hello to Tess as Lacey led him inside. "Though it looks like someone else beat me to it this year..."

"Oh, it's okay! Want some ice cream cake?" Lacey offered, though what remained of the dessert by now was in a mushy, halfway-melted state. "Maybe join for our next movie? We were just about to choose between-"

"Actually," Tess interposed, "why don't we open presents now? You should open Dan's first, and then mine involves... another surprise."

With only a second's hesitation, Lacey obliged. She usually wasn't a big fan of surprises, since they threatened the fragile balance of her life, but Tess's first surprise tonight had been sweet, innocent, and fun. Maybe she could handle another one. She reached for the carefully wrapped gift that Dan had brought, opening it to find a sundress in the pale shade of pink that'd been her favorite color since preschool.

Dan smiled. "Can you tell what's special about this dress?"

She considered it for a brief while, bit her lip and shook her head.

He finally confessed, when it was clear she couldn't even guess. "You designed it. It's the first dress you ever drew - the front, back, and side view. Everything. When you were really young. Remember?"

She did, as soon as he had mentioned it. "Oh my gosh! Dan...!"

"You almost threw the drawing away because you said that it was silly," he recalled. "But I saved it. Said it was better than you thought, and that if your dream was to design pretty clothes, then that's what you should do. That you could do whatever you wanted to."

Lacey giggled, stray tears dampening her lashes. "How did you..."

"My grandma used to be a seamstress, and she never really lost her touch," he explained before Lacey had finished the question. "So I showed her the drawing a little while ago. Asked what she could do. She said the design was just lovely, and then, a few days later... voilà."

"Aw! It's sooo pretty!" Tess effused, nearly moved to tears herself at just how sweet this gesture was. "You should totally try it on."

Lacey had no clue how to put her gratitude toward Dan into words; trying on the dress was easier than trying to thank him. So she did. As both of her friends had expected, it looked absolutely perfect.

"Okay, so, I really hate to interrupt this fashion show," Tess apologized after several minutes spent admiring how seamlessly the sundress fit, "but it's getting late, and my present is sort of time-sensitive..."

Her gift came in a tiny envelope, which piqued Lacey's curiosity. This shifted to perplexity as she pulled out a piece of plastic: a driver's license printed with the name of a stranger... and her own picture.

"I know you disapprove of fake IDs, but trust me, this is worth it," Tess insisted before Lacey could protest. "You may not be twenty-one yet, but you're definitely old enough to date. Even your mom can't deny that. And you know that local bar Grant always hits up with his military buddies? A little birdy told me that somebody you really want to meet just got back from his latest deployment - no doubt he'll be hanging out there tonight."

Lacey shut her eyes. Oh, this was not a good surprise. It was all happening too fast. She knew exactly who Tess was talking about, and just the thought of him was sending her heart into overdrive. Up till now, all she knew of her brother's best friend was from the stories that Grant shared, and from the photos that she'd seen. But even so...

She was suddenly painfully conscious of Dan's presence beside her, of the sharp drop in the cadence of his heart. He'd already known all about her intense infatuation with this soldier. Their friendship was too close for Lacey to hide the way her own heart's cadence always changed, whenever she beheld this stranger's picture or so much as heard his name.

And Tess knew that the crush was no secret to Dan, and that Lacey had never seen Dan as anything but a friend - so it really wasn't Tess's fault that she had been so blunt, in front of him, Dan told himself as he stood up.

"I'm gonna head out," he announced, barely strong enough to bear his best friend's goodbye hug, blue-greys not brave enough to meet her gaze. Pressing a card into her hands, before he left; he'd meant to give it with the dress.

Lacey opened it as he walked out and read it now: 'Here's to dreams, and never giving up on them. Happy birthday, Lace. Hope all your dreams come true.'

If Tess picked up on any of the tension in Dan's wake, she did a fine job of pretending that she didn't. Lacey let the card fall to the floor, too dumbstruck to object as her friend clutched her arm and led her away, sneaking out of the house, hastening to the bar across town.

"So should we call him Matthew or Ryder?" Tess wondered aloud once they'd gotten past the bouncers, fake IDs gaining them entry with ease.

Lacey swallowed, the hummingbird inside her chest completely freaking out. "Matthew, I guess. Given how my mom is about going by middle names. That's what the family would have to call him, if we - if anything... happens..."

That was when they reached the bar and stumbled in. Lacey's gaze rose on the instant to a figure at the far end of the room, his broad back facing her from here, but recognizable somehow in all its beautiful strength, capable of shouldering any burden in the world, it seemed to her, and then...

"There they are! Grant and his buddies - and that must be Matthew," Tess guessed as the broad-shouldered stranger pivoted his head a bit, statuesque profile coming into view.

Lacey felt faint.

"Come on," Tess coaxed her motionless, speechless friend, tugging at Lacey's arm. "What's wrong?"

"I... don't know if I can do this," Lacey stammered, shaking her head. "Something - something doesn't feel right." It was as if some force deep in her soul was waging war against the urge to take another step toward him, even as her heart and body, every fiber of her being, desired nothing more. As if destiny itself had already decreed that they weren't meant to be...

"But look at him!" Tess urged, oblivious to destiny. "He's beautiful."

"I know," Lacey couldn't help but confess.

Then her heart held its breath as the man turned and met her gaze, dark eyes catching the gleam of a same-hued blue light overhead, in just a certain way. She felt herself drown, for the first time, in that deep, beautiful bay. And then she knew. It was too late. There would be no turning back now, even if it meant denying everything, defying destiny itself, the force of fate.

She swallowed. Took a step forward. "I... I know."

A.D. 2015

He was saying her name, again. Asking what was wrong.

Lacey blinked her bleary eyes. "Nothing. Nothing at all," she lied.

Those bay-blues didn't look convinced. "You're shaking."

"Sorry..." she murmured, shifting in her seat, as if to disappear.

"Don't be," her husband reassured her, running a hand gently over her bare arm, to warm her up or calm her down. Though it was neither cold nor nerves that made her shiver now. "It's not your fault."

"What if it is?" she blurted out. "What if it's my fault that we - that anything... ever happened..."

Ryder blinked. It almost looked as if he knew what she had meant.

"Never mind. I think this drink is way too strong for me. And you - you're just too beautiful," she slurred, unable now to stop the words from spilling out. "I... I love you."

He smiled, and it was the saddest thing she'd ever seen. "I know."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thoughts? Feels? I hope all my dear #Dacey fans liked seeing Dan again!! Even if the flashback was a bit sad :( ...

Next scene , we'll check in with Atria and her unexpected visitor in Athens...

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