Auld Lang Syne

“Happy New Year!”

The crowd shouted as the ball dropped at the back of the stage. A small number of balloons and confetti fell from a section of the ceiling as revelers made noise. They blew into their noisemakers, shook, or honked them. Many skipped those actions, going straight in for the kisses. And people sang along to the traditional New Year song, butchering its lyrics as always.

Rachel and Clive shared a passionate kiss that lasted longer than most. Then, pulling back, Rachel could tell that her husband seemed on edge by everything that had occurred already during the holiday.

“I love you, hun,” Rachel stated, earning back the same from the man she’d loved for over twenty years. “Everything’s going to be alright. Just wait and see.”

Next to the Strattons, the Locketts shared an even more tongue-filled celebration.

“And where have you been all night, Jefferson?” Gabriel asked once her lips were free.

“Uh, well, there is this really good–I mean, crazy good college bowl game on. So I’ve been checking it out here and there in the lounge,” Jeff explained sheepishly.

“Here and there?” Gabby questioned.

“I was also helping Larry keep an eye on Fred in the lounge. Sounds like he slipped his leash earlier,” Jeff added hastily.

“Hmmm, you and your son are too alike. I haven’t seen Jared since he helped Sean pack.”

“I’m sure he’s with JoJo.”

“That’s what worries me,” Gabby admitted.

“Well, can you blame him? That girl’s developed some major assets!”

Jeff’s comment earned him a mild slap to his chest.

“She’s barely legal, sweetie! So get your mind out of the gutter.”

“And you didn’t go down into the sewer with Sean the other night?” Jeff leaned in to whisper. “Besides, having Jared focused on JoJo has saved us. Without her, you know the kid would be racing around the ballroom, trying to add as many notches to his bedpost as possible. Almost certainly stirring up trouble.”

“True. I just don’t want JoJo to get hurt,” Gabby worried.

Before anything more could be said, Monty Rusk drew the attention of people around them by dramatically dipping Lauren Rogers down to almost the floor. And Monty, being Monty, opted to kiss Lauren’s nose playfully rather than kiss his old classmate on the lips. That livened up the mood of Cassandra’s old friends even more.

In the center of the dance floor, Lana and Nate performed a heavy, sloppy kiss after they’d already shared a somewhat less-tongue-filled one. This performance was Lana’s way of showing her uptight best friend how to kickstart the new year.

“See? That’s how you do it!”

Peyton shook her head before turning Eoin in their slow dance so that she faced the opposite direction. Already, Eoin had turned into a surprise as Peyton expected him to act like Lana moments earlier. Instead, Finn’s good friend shocked the blonde by laying a sweet, chaste kiss on her cheek after the ball dropped. Naturally suspicious, Peyton wondered if Eoin had attempted to play her or if she’d misread him over the years.

Not far away, a pair of best friends shared a sweet peck on the lips. Despite being on the prowl for a holiday fling, Teresa wouldn’t choose anyone but Reece to hold her at this moment. Partly because she loved him like a brother and partly to keep other bitches away from him.

Nearby, Finn's oldest male friend blushed profusely after Poppy laid a kiss on each of Barney's cheeks before delivering one to his kips. Although he knew she wasn't romantically interested in him, Barney still appreciated how Poppy had chosen him to be her midnight dance. He'd seen the scowls on some of the other guys' faces at her choice.

And as for Finn, his little cousins had somewhat managed to perk his spirits up. Holding each Bank sister in one arm, Finn slowly turned them in a circle as they danced to the music. Serinda and Sanna had kissed his cheeks before Finn returned the gesture. Now, he chuckled as their legs getting out of synch occasionally caused them to stumble.

Moving to the farthest end away from the parents, Evan told Daisy that he’d missed her tonight after their kiss ended.

"I'm sorry. But there is so much going on. I thought we'd only need to cover the Whitney story tonight. However, now we have the campaign stuff and something else going on upstairs that I need to investigate.

“So you’re leaving me again?” Evan didn’t mean to whine, yet it came out that way.

“I’m sorry, Ev.”

The younger Kirby sibling's dance also turned awkward. Dexter and Kizzy had both gone to kiss the other's cheek simultaneously. But instead, they accidentally ended up kissing each other's lips. The next-door neighbors blushed at having their sort of first kiss with each other.

Another member of The Buzzy Bee also experienced an awkward dance. No, not Norah, as she’d already threatened Chris if he attempted anything. It was Ramsey who did the polite thing by issuing a superfast peck to Newt’s cheek that caused the socially inept boy to nearly faint. So, Ramsey found herself having to hold Newt up until he regained his senses.

Fortunately, no one saw Rammy’s embarrassing predicament as Yumi drew attention away from Newt’s sagging forward. The perky cheerleader applauded as Rory and Kieran shared their first kiss. Only Kaitlin physically stopping the clapping ended Yumi’s joy.

“Don’t draw attention! Austin can’t see Rory with a boy,” Katie reminded, which Yumi didn’t understand.

“Why? Everyone is always saying that Rory needs a boy.”

“Austin can’t know,” Roxie added.

“But why?”

And as the cheerleaders attempted to explain why in the simplest terms, Lacey slow-danced with Austin. After sharing barely a word, they kissed far less passionately than the quarterback had hoped. Meaning Austin failed to issue the toe-curling kiss that he’d intended to cause an orgasm in his girlfriend. Now, Lacey looked over Austin’s shoulder, paying more attention to how her matched pairings had celebrated the start of another year.

I wish Whitney could’ve been here. Sean too. It doesn’t feel right without them.

Harvey heard the “Mwah!” just before he felt the kiss on his right cheek. Taking his eyes off the road only briefly, he gave Bridget a strange look.

“Happy New Year!” she cheered, sitting back in the passenger seat.

“Oh, it’s midnight already,” Harvey said, sounding confused as he risked another glance down at the clock.

“Haven’t you been paying attention?” Bridget questioned, her voice dripping with amusement.

“No. Besides the weather, I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“The rain or sleet is coming down much heavier,” Bridget acknowledged, leaning to peer out the front windshield. “Are the roads bad?”

“Terrible! They’ve turned into an ice rink,” Harvey revealed, causing Bridget to now feel like the clueless fool. “Every time I brake, the car keeps sliding.”

“Shit. I’m sorry, Harv, for not noticing. Do we have much farther? I can’t tell in the dark.”

“We should’ve passed Wirchie’s by now, but we still have a little way to go until we get there. I’ve been slowing down more and more. And we’re about to hit the winding stretch of roads. All those curves are going to be a bitch.”

“Are we in trouble?” Bridget asked, glancing in the backseat.

“The good thing is that I’ve driven in these conditions plenty of times over the years out here. The bad thing is that it’s been a few years since,” Harvey answered. “But we’ll be fine as long as we take it slow and steady. Luckily, we have the roads all to ourselves.”

“Crap. I’m not getting a signal,” Bridget said, referring to her phone. “I wanted to check the radar.”

“Try again once we get closer to Wirchie’s and the ranger station. It’s always strongest around there,” Harvey suggested before gesturing behind him. “They’ve been awfully quiet.”

“They’re both sleeping,” Bridget revealed. Then, knowing Harvey couldn’t take his eyes off the road, she explained the scene. “It’s almost exactly like the other morning on the couch when they fell asleep to cartoons. Sean’s head is tilted back with Whitney’s on his shoulder. The big difference is that your girl looks nestled into his side as Sean’s arm is around her. They look…adorable.”

“Adorable? And here I thought Rachel and Lacey were the matchmakers on this trip.”

“Actually, I don’t mean it like that. Sean and Whitney just look natural together. Not like a couple, but…I don’t really know how,” Bridget commented. “I mean, it’s not like they won’t be screwing each other soon. That’s a given.”

“Bee!”

“Oh, have you grown delicate sensibilities suddenly, Harv?”

“No, I just don’t need to hear that about my daughter.”

Bridget giggled at that response. “So, you have a problem with my son playing doctor with your daughter?”

“I have zero problems with Sean…doing that with Whitney.”

“Good. They’ve done almost everything but that,” Bridget said, earning a quick glance from Harvey. “Your daughter is very open with what she’s been doing to my boy.”

“Of course she is,” Harvey mumbled before raising his voice. “Sean and Whitney can do whatever they like whenever they want in my book. I meant what I said before. I can never repay your son enough for what he did. And having him in her life gives me more reassurance that she’ll be fine if anything ever happens to me.”

“Okay, that’s a weird thing to say,” Bridget remarked, studying his face. “Harv, what’s going on? You’ve looked tense this whole trip, but it shot up at some point tonight. And I’m not talking about the mysterious reason we had to leave. No, this started during dinner, when most of your table rushed off.”

“I, uh, I’m…Dalton’s dying, Bridget,” Harvey revealed, causing her to gasp. “Cancer. And it’s bad.”

Grateful to have someone to vent to, especially a doctor, Harvey filled Bridget in on all the details. Despite not having much interaction with Bridget since they were younger, Harvey trusted her wholeheartedly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Harv. I know how much Dalton means to you," Bridget said, reaching over to pat his thigh. She'd almost touched his arm but remembered about the icy road. "First Whitney and now this; you've gone through so much lately."

“That’s not all. Remember the guy we thought worked for The Stinging Truth? Well, my dad might be behind it.”

“What?!” Bridget exclaimed before catching herself. A quick look in the back showed that she hadn’t woken the kids.

“Do you remember Tomahiro Tenno?”

"The guy who looked like Goldfinger's henchman and dragged you out of Sterling Penfold's party? What? I might've been too young to be there, but Shelly loves to tell the story."

"Yep, that guy. Chastity saw him leaving the Witzler when she arrived. Now, I don't know much about what my dad has been up to lately. However, Tommy Tenno only works for Hannibal Diamond. He's absolutely loyal to him."

“So wait, your dad is funding the smear campaign against Dewey? And he’s behind the articles about us? And he’s helping Orrin Rusk and Eddie Laffont get elected?” Bridget rattled off.

“Yeah, this is the part where Graham makes some good points. He’s skeptical about our father backing their campaigns. Orrin’s populist angle doesn’t match Dad’s view of society. And Eddie’s connected to the Oleskys through Alexis’ marriage. The only family Hannibal hates more than the Oleskys are the Wynwicks.”

“Still, I know things ended badly when your father was **** out of Diamond Corp, but he’d actually publish those smears about you? And am I collateral damage?” Bridget queried.

“I have no doubt that he would do so about me. Hell, Dalton worried for years that Hannibal might have him killed,” Harvey revealed, making it sound like a normal, everyday concern. “As for you? Dad has hated Seamus for years. That whole thing with Aunt Demi is probably the largest reason.”

“Your dad’s a piece of work. Ungrateful bastard.”

“That he is.”

A groan from the backseat caused Bridget to turn around in time to see Whitney waking up.

“Are we there yet?” the teen asked sleepily.

“Uh, not yet, pumpkin. The, um, weather is slowing us down.” Harvey chose not to mention the icy roads, as he didn’t want to frighten his daughter. “We should be getting to Wirchie’s soon.”

“Happy New Year, Whitney,” Bridget added.

“What?! I missed it?” Whitney questioned, getting confirmation back. Then, she elbowed Sean in the side. “Wake up, drool-face! I need a midnight kiss from somebody!”

Note: A relatively short chapter, as I wanted to get the obligatory midnight kisses out of the way. I think the scenes I have coming up, as people mingle and kiss, will be more entertaining.