The Bed You Make
Chapter 32, continued

The single chirp of the phone had barely ended before Stefan picked it up and answered. He was a notoriously light sleeper, able to slip easily between sleep and wakefulness. "Yes?"

"Forgive me, Master Stefan." It was Alfred the butler. "Police officer Garcia is here. He refuses to vacate the premises until he speaks with Miss Dara."

Stefan carefully sat up. " I will speak with Detective Garcia." In the background Stefan could hear Garcia challenge the butler's response. The two men went back and forth for a moment before Garcia relented. "Detective?"

"Yeah. I'm here."

"You have matters you would like to discuss with my wife?"

Garcia snorted at the term wife. "Yeah, I have matters ," he shot back. "Matters you can't address. So go get Dara and put her on the phone. And for your sake you'd better hope she convinces me that she's all right. Or I am gonna start waking up some judges. Or maybe I'll go cause a scene at the Embassy."

Garcia's threats did not faze Stefan. "You claim," Stefan countered calmly, "to act out of concern for my wife yet you think nothing of calling her needlessly at what is, for even one such as you, an unseemly hour."

"Spare me, Cassadine," Alex growled. "Dara knows I'm concerned about her. So, why don't you go wake her up?"

"There is no need for me to … go," Stefan taunted Garcia. "My wife is asleep beside me." Stefan shook her gently. "Dara, I am sorry to awaken you-"

" Stefan ," Dara moaned loudly, "it can't be morning already. We just got into bed. Go back to sleep!"

"There is nothing I would like more," Stefan replied, aware that their conversation could be clearly heard by Garcia. "Unfortunately, Detective Garcia is on the line demanding to speak with you. He has caused quite a disturbance at Wyndemere, I am told."

"Alex?" Dara sat up in bed. "Why is Alex calling me ?"

continued