Strange Bedfellows

Epilogue

Nikolas took a seat in the west parlor and thought about all the unusual happenings of the past few days.  His uncle Stefan had gained a bride, Wyndemere had gained a mistress, the Cassadine Estate had gained an honest trustee, and most importantly, Nikolas had gained a renewed hope that under his care the family might move toward the higher vision he held for them.

And it was all because of Dara Jensen.  Dara Jensen Cassadine, he corrected himself.

Nikolas still could not believe that the lovely attorney had ever agreed to Stefan’s unusual business proposal.  He found it difficult to believe that Dara had even considered it in the first place.  Yet, here they were, about to celebrate the fulfillment of a plan that Nikolas had privately given no hope for success.

Tonight’s celebration would certainly be an interesting one.  Nikolas could not think of a single person in Port Charles who would give the newlywed couple the benefit of the doubt regarding their marriage.  And there would definitely be no one who would wish the new couple well.

Except Nikolas.  He had seen something pass between Stefan and Dara that no one else had, including, he believed, the two of them.  Since Dara moved into Wyndemere, Stefan seemed to possess a new energy.  Some would say that it was the energy borne of scheming and manipulating.  And perhaps, Nikolas granted privately, that was true.  But if there was one thing that he had come to believe of late, it was that Dara was more than capable of holding her own against his uncle. 

In so many vitals ways, Dara was unlike any woman his uncle had been involved with in Port Charles.  She was emotionally straightforward, unlike his mother Laura, who pushed and pulled Nikolas in and out of her orbit haphazardly.  A relationship with Dara came without the enormous emotional baggage that being involved with Bobbie Spencer entailed.  And Dara was governed by her beliefs, not her goals, like Katherine Bell.

Nikolas did not know what would come of the marriage between his uncle and Dara.  But he could say without reservation that it would be a most interesting two years in which to watch and see.

For a look at the prologue of the next arc of this story...