Disclaimer: Procter and Gamble owns Another World, Bay City, the surrounding environs, and all the inhabitants who reside there. I'm only borrowing a few of them for a while. I promise to return them when I'm done playing.

Acknowledgements: A big thanks to Sandy and Mike, whose stellar performances during their break up scenes inspired me to write this story. Paula, this one's for you. I promised that Cameron and Amanda would be back together by Christmas, and I keep my promises.

Upon entering the lobby of the hotel, Cameron looked around with anxious eyes. Expecting opulence and grandeur, he was relieved to find a middle class state of elegance which was still more than his working class upbringing had prepared him for. But Amanda's choice told him with more than mere words that he was more important to her than the luxury she was accustomed to living with.

The lobby was festively decorated for Christmas. A tall tree twinkled merrily in one corner, all the packages glittering in multi-colored grandeur beneath its limbs of green. Garlands of holly with sprigs of mistletoe were draped gracefully around the doors. Fake snow was sprayed in the corners of the windows also surrounded by twinkling lights and garlands of tinsel and holly. All of the Christmas decorations seemed a little out of place in sunny Florida, but they did remind him of the small package he carried in the pocket of his jeans. Taking in a deep breath and clutching the handle of his carry-on more tightly, he approached the front desk on slightly shaking limbs. He only hoped Amanda was still here and would listen to him.

Since no one was standing at the desk, he rang the bell. A somewhat rotund man with a full white beard, and long white hair bustled out from the office. "Hello, there!" he exclaimed in a jolly voice. "Can I help you?"

Cameron, somewhat taken aback by the clerk's physical appearance, set his bag on the floor and leaned on the counter, tapping his fingers nervously on the top. "Yeah. Could you tell me if Amanda Cory is registered here?"

Stroking his beard, the clerk stared at Cameron with piercing blue eyes. Feeling as if the old man could see deep into his soul, Cameron began to fidget even more as his nervousness increased tenfold. "Let me check," the clerk said. After tapping a few keys, he said, "Yes, she is registered here, Mr. Sinclair."

Head jerking up, Cameron glared at the clerk warily. "How . . .?" he began.

"You'd be surprised at what I know, Cameron," the clerk responded, eyes twinkling. "But Miss Cory left a message for you, if you should arrive unexpectedly."

Cameron's heart began to beat painfully hard. "Yeah? What's the message?"

"Meet me on the beach."

Swallowing hard, Cameron repeated, "The beach? She said to meet her on the beach?"

The clerk nodded, and Cameron could have sworn he heard the tinkling of silver bells. Dusk was falling as Cameron stared out the glass doors leading to the hotel's private beach. "Can I leave my bag with you?" he asked.

"Certainly, Cameron," the clerk said with a smile. "It will be safe with me." When Cameron still hesitated to go through the doors to the future which awaited him, the old gent prodded, "You don't want to keep her waiting any longer, do you, Cameron?"

Throwing back his shoulders, Cameron answered, "No. I don't."

When Cameron's step faltered at the open doorway, the old man said, "Everything will be all right, Cameron. Trust in your heart. Trust in Amanda." As he stepped across the threshold, Cameron could have sworn he heard the old man say, "Merry Christmas, Cameron. May all your dreams come true."

The beach was deserted except for a solitary figure wearing shorts and a hooded jacket. Cameron stared at the figure for some time, remembering the advice given him by Gary and Josie. "Go to her, Cameron," they had both said separately. "Tell her the truth," Josie had said. "Make the commitment," Gary had urged. But Cameron was afraid, knowing he would probably lose Amanda forever once she knew about the baby. But he couldn't lie any longer. Not to the woman he loved with all his heart and soul.

Something in the figure's dejected walk spoke to Cameron's heart, and he knew what he had to do. *Trust in your heart,* the old man's words repeated endlessly in Cameron's head.

Approaching the lone figure, he said, "Amanda?"

She spun on her heel to face him. "Cameron? What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't stay away," he said, all his love and fear exposed on his face. "And the old guy in the hotel told me you were waiting for me on the beach."

"Old guy?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah. The clerk. Funny old guy, wasn't he?"

Amanda looked at Cameron strangely for a moment. Then she shrugged. "I suppose there's more than one clerk in the hotel. The one I had was a young woman, although she was a little strange, too, now that I think of it."

Gazing at Amanda's face with longing, Cameron said nothing for several seconds, wanting to etch this moment in his heart for the future. A future he was certain would be without Amanda. He dipped his head for a moment as he gathered his courage. Throwing back his shoulders and staring into her wary eyes, he said, "I'm here to tell you the truth, Amanda."

"And what truth would that be?" she asked sarcastically. "The truth about the baby? That you are the biological father of Josie's child?"

~*~

A young woman with jet black hair worn in long ringlets past her shoulders stepped out of the office after Cameron left the lobby to meet his one true love. "Are you sure that was wise, Nick?" she asked. "Amanda told him to drop dead in her message not to meet her on the beach. What are you up to?"

"After all these years together you doubt me, Celeste?" he chuckled. "I know what was in Amanda's heart. I've always known. I gave Cameron her true message."

One of her slightly upswept eyebrows raised sardonically. "Are you sure, Nick? She seemed pretty adamant to me."

"Celeste, Celeste, Celeste," he said with a shake of his head. "Trust me. Christmas came early this year for Cameron and Amanda."

Frustration at the old man made her brows draw together, making the upsweep of her brows more apparent. She pulled her hair back for a moment, and the small silver bell earrings she wore pealed softly on the lobes of her pointed ears. "I think you're wrong this time, Nick. Amanda won't find it so easy to forgive Cameron's lies."

Throwing back his head and laughing, Nick said, "Look out the window, Celeste, and tell me what you see."

~*~

Cameron's jaw worked furiously for a few seconds as he fought back the tears he felt filling his eyes. "Yes. I am the biological father of the baby Josie is carrying."

"Why did you lie?" she asked, rage filling her voice. "I asked you several times if the baby was yours, and you said it was Gary's. Why, Cameron? Why?"

"Because Gary can never know about the baby," he told her. "It would kill him. And I don't want to lose my brother again, Amanda. I just can't."

Amanda shook her head sadly. "You can't keep this a secret forever, Cameron. Gary will find out some day."

Looking away from her, lip quivering, he said, "I know. But this way I can delay the inevitable for a while."

"Cameron," she said, "it still doesn't explain why you lied to me." She gazed at him with eyes of steel. "You don't trust me, do you? You think I'll tell Gary about the baby."

"No, Amanda," he told her, eyes pleading for her to understand. "You've never told Gary about Boca Lynda; you wouldn't tell him about the baby. I know that. But I couldn't make you part of the lie."

"You just did," she answered. "What's changed?"

"I love you," he said. "I will always love you, Amanda. I'm only half alive without you, but I can't live a lie anymore. I can't be less than you need me to be--honest." He took a deep breath. "I'm no Lancelot or Galahad, Amanda. I'm just a guy who loves you with all his heart and soul. You told me once that you'd be gone if the guy you were involved with had a kid with another woman. You wouldn't go through what Sophia was going through at the time. Is that still the deal?"

More hurt now than angry, Amanda asked, "Is that what this was all about, Cameron? Is that why you lied about the baby being yours? You thought I'd leave you?"

Heart and soul were in his eyes, leaving him open and vulnerable. "That's what you said, Amanda. I believed you. I knew if you found out about the baby, I would lose you. I was afraid."

Touching his face with her hand, she smiled sadly at him. "I'm sorry, Cameron." When he looked away from her, she forced his eyes to meet hers again. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Cameron. I'm not going anywhere. I love you too much to let you go now."

The smile which crossed his face was blinding in its intensity. Swinging her up into his arms, he spun them around in wild circles until they both were dizzy. When her feet were firmly on the sand once again, he touched her face with gentle fingers. "I love you so much, Amanda."

"Show me, Cameron," she said huskily, as his lips descended on hers.

~*~

The sunset over the water illuminated the couple on the beach caught in a passionate embrace. Their silhouette was captured on the glass of time by the master engraver. The tiny glass bauble hung on the Christmas tree in the lobby of the small hotel, placed there with care by Celeste.

A few days had passed, since Cameron had found Amanda on the beach. The two lovers had returned to Bay City to spend Christmas with their families. For the first time in his life, Cameron would experience a true celebration of Christmas, replete with gifts, feasts, and lots of love.

"What did I tell you, my dear?" the old man said, shrugging into his red and white suit.

Planting a kiss on his chubby cheek, she said, "Love conquers all?" Celeste chuckled with delight. "Drive carefully, dear. Air traffic is terrible on Christmas Eve."