Subj: Collinsport -- 62
Date: 7/26/99 2:04:55 AM Central Daylight Time
From: DSRules

Rosario knew as they shared their first kiss in 28 years, where it would lead. She pushed away the nagging doubts and questions in her mind. He loved her, and she loved him, and that was all that mattered.

He moved his kiss from her lips down to her neck. She began working on his necktie, dropping it on the floor as she removed it. Barnabas stood and helped her to her feet. He began to lower her onto the loveseat, but she stopped him. She kissed him with all of the love she had in her as she slid his suitjacket from his shoulders. As the jacket dropped to the floor, his wallet fell out.

She grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him onto the loveseat with her, her eyes rolling back in her head with the pleasure of his kiss. Just before her eyes closed, she saw his wallet. It had landed, open to a photograph. A picture of Julia, Ben and Tori.

Blinking back the tears that were beginning to form, Rosario rolled quickly out from under Barnabas, returning to the armchair and curling up into a fetal ball. "I can't, Barnabas."

"What do you mean?"

"You never asked why I didn't come find you as soon as I remembered being Angelique."

"Well, I . . . "

"It was because you don't belong to me anymore. You belong to them." Her heart breaking, she picked up his wallet, showing him the picture that had been displayed when it fell open.

* * * * *

Sunrise found Azura asleep on Quentin's lap. He was still chained down. She had asked if he wanted her to unchain him, but he'd refused. "After all." He had said. "It would be just my luck to make the transformation after you released me."

So, they contented themselves with spending the night there in the attic, watching the moon as it finished rising, crested above the house, and began its descent.

Azura stirred as she awoke.

"Good morning." Quentin greeted her with a smile.

"'Morning." She returned his smile, following it up with a kiss.

* * * * *

"I don't belong to them. I belong to you. I belong with you." Barnabas assured her.

"No. You don't. Not anymore. The day Ben was born, your destiny was sealed. You had all that you've ever wanted - a wife, a child, a home."

"But we could have that. I know that I'm a little old, but I'm sure that I could still give you children."

"And what about Ben? How would he feel? Or Tori? Not to mention Julia. She's loved you faithfully since 1967, Barnabas. It would be a poor way to repay that devotion by putting her aside now."

"But -"

"Our time ended in 1971. Your time with Julia isn't over. Please, Barnabas. Please go back to her."

* * * * *

As Sarah came downstairs for breakfast, she heard David on the phone in the drawing room. "Yes, Hallie. I'll be right there."

"Be right where?" She asked.

He jumped, startled by her entrance. "That was Hallie. You might want to sit down. Hell, *I* might want to sit down."

Sarah imagined all sorts of disastrous things, including that David might be about to tell her that he was planning on divorcing her and reconciling with his first wife. She walked over to the sofa and sat down.

David sat close to her and took her hand in his, quickly blinking back tears. "Roger's missing."

* * * * *

Now certain that it was safe, Azura released Quentin from his chains. He stood up, groaning as he stretched the kinks out of his back. "How does Chris do that every month?"

"You do what you have to to survive." Azura shrugged with a slight grimace.

Just then, Zoe came upstairs. "Grandpa's here."

Quentin and Azura exchanged a startled glance.

There was no way she could mean Geoffrey Collins - at least Azura didn't think so, so she hazarded a guess. "Do you mean my father?"

Zoe nodded. "He's your father, and you're my mother, so that makes him my Grandpa. Right?"

Quentin and Azura shared a smile. "I guess it does, sweetie." Quentin told his daughter.

"Let's go downstairs and keep your grandfather entertained while your Daddy takes a shower, Zoe." After quickly kissing Quentin, Azura took their daughter downstairs.

* * * * *

"What happened to Roger?" Sarah asked David as they put on clothes suitable for their drive to Ellsworth to see Hallie.

"We don't know." David shrugged helplessly. "Hallie's afraid that he's joined a cult."

"A cult?" Sarah's tone was incredulous.

"I know." David shrugged. "I guess we'll have to wait until we get to Ellsworth for an answer."

* * * * *

Neil came to visit Rosario, grinning from one ear to the other. "Ah-ha! So he spent the night with you, did he?"

Rosario looked at him from under heavily-lidded eyes.

"And it looks like you didn't get much sleep, either" Her old friend hinted slyly.

"We talked. That's all."

Neil crossed to the armchair, where he picked up the necktie which still lay where it had fallen. "Talked, huh? That's not what they called it in my day."

She snatched the necktie from his hand, stuffing it into her dresser drawer. "Yes. We talked. That's it. He's married, Neil."

"And you let a little thing like that stop you? That's not like you."

"Neil!" Rosario cried, getting exasperated. "You know what I mean!"

"I know. I was just sorta hoping I could get you to . . . change your mind."

"Well, as long as he and Julia are married, it's never going to happen."

* * * * *

Azura and Zoe reached the living room several minutes before Quentin did. In deference to Zoe's presence, they didn't discuss what happened, or hadn't happened, the night before.

Once Quentin came downstairs, the group left for Collinwood.

Subj: Collinsport -- 63
Date: 2/15/00 2:47:16 AM Central Standard Time
From: DSRules

I've been putting this off and putting this off, and finally I've decided that rather than writing this next storyline out, I'm going to sort of gloss over it. Too many things depend on this storyline for me to be able to change it, but I'm not emotionally up to writing it. As many of you know, I had a baby in October of 1999. I came up with this storyline in November of 1998, three months before I got pregnant (Ryan's due date was originally November, for those of you who're doing the math). Once I was pregnant, I couldn't bear to write it out in detail, so here's the Cliff's Notes(tm)
version:

Sarah and David infiltrate Reginald Strong's cult in an effort to locate David's son Roger, who has run away to join the cult.

Quentin figures out that Reginald Strong is actually Petofi in Aristede's body, and, after explaining to Azura that he has to convince Petofi that he's genuine, goes to Petofi and convinces him that he has sort of "seen the light" and that he's now on Petofi's side.

Months pass and Sarah and David are led on a wild goose chase looking for Roger. They're told that he's in one place, only to find him gone once they get there. Once David realizes that Sarah's pregnant, he tries to send her home, but by then it's too late -- she'd have to risk her life to get out of the complex and get home. Once Sarah has entered the eighth month of her pregnancy, she's following another lead to Roger when she feels a stabbing feeling in her arm and loses consciousness.

From his vantage point in Petofi's employ, Quentin sees what has happened -- a cult member has drugged Sarah -- and follows them. That's when he finds that the cult is actually an elaborate plan to get the baby away from Sarah and David. While Sarah's unconscious, they induce labor, and when she awakes, she's told that her baby has died.

Quentin, on the other hand, knows where the baby is. Petofi has taken her and plans to raise her as his own, to do his bidding. Petofi then disbands the cult, returns Roger to his father and stepmother, and sends a brokenhearted Sarah and David home.