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Disclaimer: Again, a silly little story that I've written for entertainment and not for money. I borrowed two names of two people who I do not know.
Rating: PG-13

Night and Day 8/20

"Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight, when it's exactly twelve o'clock that night, welcoming the New Year. New Year's Eve. Maybe I'd be crazy to suppose I'd ever be the one you choose." What Are You Doing New Year's Eve Ella Fitzgerald



"It was absolutely wonderful," Kathleen laughed. "I'm very happy we went, Daniel."

"I'm glad, Katie-girl," he smiled at her. They had just returned from a play after spending most of the evening with each other. Mr. De Leon had told him that morning that his daughter was beginning to feel quite neglected, and Daniel had to do something about it. Therefore, Daniel had taken Kathleen to dinner and then to this play, and now they were going to go dancing. He had regretted cancelling on Darren that evening, but spending time with Kathleen reminded him why he had fallen in love with her in the first place. She was youthful and rather amusing, and absolutely beautiful. Tonight, she wore a cream silk gown and had a white fur stole around her shoulders. She had diamonds in her dark brown hair and her entire face was bright, as if happiness lived there, and nowhere else. "You look absolutely stunning tonight, Katie."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Daniel," Kathleen laughed as they linked arms and walked to the car.

"Will it at least get me a kiss?" he grinned.

Kathleen giggled and she looked around slowly, as if she were making sure no one would see them and then reached up and kissed Daniel on the cheek. "There. You got your kiss."

Daniel at that moment wanted to hit her. He wanted to tell her how exactly he wanted to be kissed, that a kiss on the cheek was nothing. But when he looked down at her and saw how her brown eyes sparkled with love for him, he calmed a bit. She wasn't Darren, he had to understand that. "Katie?"

"Yes, Daniel?"

"Do you love me?"

"What?"

"Do you love me?"

"Good Lord, Daniel," she shook her head, "where in the world did that come from? I thought women were supposed to worry about such things."

"Kathleen, I need to know."

"Of course I love you," she laughed. "Why are so concerned, Daniel? Why would I have moved you here to the States if I didn't love you?"

"We were supposed to be a summer affair," he said. "I never thought you were serious about getting married until you presented me with tickets. You knew I loved Australia and couldn't leave my mother."

"Daniel, don't ruin a wonderful evening."

"I'm not trying to ruin a wonderful evening, Katie," he retorted. "I'm just trying to understand why you brought me to the States."

She stared at him for a second, her brown eyes beginning to water. "What are you saying, Daniel? Do you love me?"

He stopped walking then, wondering what the answer to that question actually was. Did he love Kathleen or did he find her an interesting friend? He looked down at her, stared into those beautiful brown eyes that were now sparkling with tears. She was so small and she needed protection from her overprotective father. She needed to be held and loved. All the time. "Of course I do, Katie girl," he murmured.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Because you spend so much time working, Daniel. And you know you should probably start working with Daddy. He wants you to so much."

"Kathleen, we've been through this. I am not going to start working with your father until we are married. I love playing the piano."

"Yes, more than you love me," the girl murmured.

"Katie," Daniel murmured, bringing her into his chest, "let's not fight. I'm going to take you home and I'll come by tomorrow, all right?"

Kathleen nodded and they walked, side by side, until finally they came to the de Leon car. Daniel kissed his fiancee on the cheek and then watched her climb inside, walking away with his head down. Kathleen was driven back to her house by herself, where she went inside to find her father sitting in a brown leather arm chair, reading. "Hello, darling," he smiled. "Did you have a good evening?"

"Daddy," she murmured, "Daniel is acting odd."

"What exactly do you mean, Katie?"

"I don't know how to explain it," she sat at his feet, "but he just seems distant and he has been working so much. I thought perhaps he is just nervous about the wedding."

"Katie, you know how I feel about Mr. Jones."

"I know, Daddy," Kathleen nodded. "But what if he has found someone else, Daddy?"

"Katie, why don't you go to bed? I'll handle Daniel."

"I do love him, Daddy."

"I know dear heart," Mr. De Leon stared at his daughter as she went up to her room. He would have to deal with Daniel Jones at a more decent time.

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

Darren sat in his bedroom that evening, trying to read. Daniel had telephoned and cancelled their usual meeting, stating that he had a family thing to attend. This, of course, meant Daniel had a social obligation with Kathleen. He and Colby had attempted to have a normal evening, but since her threat to tell Mr. De Leon about the affair, he hadn't even been able to look at his pregnant wife, though she had been trying to tell him something through out their dinner, but he had shushed her, telling her he wanted to eat his food in private. Now he was alone in his room, desperately planning when to leave his wife. The gentleman in him was telling him that if he must leave, then he should certainly do it after the child was born, but the more rogue within him was telling him to leave immediately. He wasn't entirely sure what to do yet but was thankfully interrupted by a knock on his door. "Yes?" he called, wondering what in the world Colby could possibly want.

"May I speak to you please?" his wife came into the room, dressed in a white, silk, nightgown.

"Yes," Darren nodded.

"I received a letter from Mother today," Colby stood before her husband.

"Well that's certainly nice seeing as we haven't heard from the old bat since we left London six years," Darren snorted.

"She's coming to visit, Darren."

"Oh Christ," Darren rolled his eyes. "And where would she get the sudden idea to come and visit her daughter, Colby?"

"I wrote to her to tell her I was expecting."

"Colby Taylor!" Darren stood. "Every single deal we made this marriage have been completely disregarded. Jesus." He paced for a second, running his fingers through his hair. "Fine, Colby, how long is the Baroness going to be here?"

"Until the birth. Perhaps a little bit longer."

"What does that mean for me?"

At this, Colby rolled her eyes. "You are incredibly selfish, Darren. Over the past few days, you have continued to amaze me when it comes to your selfishness. You probably shouldn't leave the house every night to have sex with Daniel. And I'm so incredibly sorry if that disregards another deal, but I want you to at least somewhat act like the dedicated husband while Mother is here. Good night, darling," she kissed him on the forehead before he had time to react and turned to go. "Oh, I invited Kathleen and Daniel over tomorrow for a bit of a New Year's Eve dinner. I do enjoy watching you squirm." She closed the door and Darren picked up a glass and threw it at the solid wood, wishing it could somehow hit the woman he had been forced to marry.

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

Mr. De Leon awoke the next morning and went through his usual routine of having a cup of coffee with the morning newspaper while listening to his wife and his daughter plan the day. He was dressed impeccably in a navy Italian suit and his graying hair was also styled perfectly. His entire life was about order and nothing else and he had not been amused when his daughter had introduced him to the Australian piano boy at their hotel. What he had believed to be a silly love affair had turned into the single most stressful part of this stage of his life. His only child was about to marry a man who hadn't finished school, much less attended Harvard or Yale, a man who played piano for a living, a man who couldn't conduct himself correctly in public. Daniel wasn't at all what Mr. De Leon had intended for Kathleen.

He left the house at exactly eight-thirty and arrived at the office at exactly eight-forty five. He smiled at his assistant as he walked to his office, "Miss Carrier, will you please get Mr. Johannsen's number for me?"

"Yes, sir," Miss Carrier nodded and immediately went to work.

He went into his office, took off his coat and hat, and sat down on his desk, already taking his pen to look through paperwork. He hardly looked up when Miss Carrier came in with Mr. Johannsen's telephone number. He quickly called the man and asked him to come in as soon as his schedule allowed. Mr. de Leon then got back to work as he waited for his private investigator to make an appearance.

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

Darren adjusted his tie at six thirty that evening, wishing to God he could somehow make this evening non existent. He and Daniel had been planning a romantic New Year's rendezvous, hoping to meet at the hotel at midnight. But instead, in fifteen minutes, they would be forced into another act of the tiresome drama they had created, and Colby seemed to be enjoying a bit too much. He had discovered his wife had invited ten other couples and yet, Daniel and Kathleen were sitting next to them. "Well, old son," he said to his reflection, "another show. Make this one the best of your life."


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

"What can I do for you, Mr. De Leon?" Mr. Johannsen asked as he walked into the man's office. "You said it was rather urgent."

"It most certainly is," Mr. De Leon nodded. "My daughter Kathleen is engaged to an Australian named Daniel. A poor foreigner whose only talent is playing the piano. Katie told me last night he's been acting rather odd, and of course, I want to know why."

Mr. Johannsen shrugged. "Could be pre-wedding nerves."

"Katie thought so as well, however, I think it's something else. Another woman perhaps."

"Christ," Johannsen cursed. "You want me to follow him then?"

"Yes."

"And if I find anything?"

"Contact me and I will deal with it in the correct manner."

"Of course, Mr. De Leon. I will start tomorrow."

"Good," Mr. De Leon nodded. "Here is Mr. Jones's address. Thank you for doing this, Johannsen. And remember, you tell no one about this."

"Of course, Mr. De Leon. No one will ever find out about this."

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

The evening seemed to wear on and on, the end nowhere in sight, as Darren watched Daniel with Kathleen. They seemed like the perfect little couple, absolutely in love, two people who were about to get married and were absolutely ecstatic to be spending New Year's Eve together. The two men hadn't had a moment alone together and Colby watched this with an apparent smirk on her face. Anytime he attempted to speak to Daniel, Colby would immediately interrupt, sometimes saying coy little things that suggested some sort of romantic relationship between the two men to Kathleen. Kathleen, however, seemed completely oblivious to the comments and the looks Daniel sometimes passed to his lover.

As midnight neared, Colby dragged Darren further and further from Daniel, pulling him to other couples and even to corners completely alone. "Will you let me talk to whomever I want?" he growled at one point.

"No, Darren, I want you and Daniel to suffer. So close to each other and yet completely unable to touch. How brutal."

At that moment, Darren realized what was happening. Colby was not going to let go of him without a fight. She was taking a stand and she was going to fight for his attention and his heart and he had a feeling she was going to do everything possible to ensure Daniel did not win. "Well, Colby, I'm not entirely sure you understand the nature of relationships. Absence does make the heart grow fonder."

"Not this time," Colby shook her head. "Now, hush, it is two minutes until midnight."

Darren turned and met eyes with Daniel, who looked close to tears. "I'm sorry," he murmured, hoping Daniel could at least read his lips. But Daniel was then called to attention by Kathleen as the countdown began and then Darren suffered, not only kissing Colby, but also watching Daniel kiss Kathleen, though it was hardly anything to be jealous of, as it was a peck, but still, proof that he could not have Daniel, not on New Year's, and quite possibly, not ever.