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It's September of 2000 and Ethan is about to break things off with Gwen. Theresa, heartbroken, believing that Ethan has chosen Gwen, has gone to the airport to catch her flight to Australia. Theresa blinked her tear-filled eyes and glanced unseeingly out the window. She was here. Her tears threatened to spill over as she realized that in less than an hour she would be gone. No more Harmony. She was leaving behind everything and everyone, including her beloved family. Mama, Luis, Miguel ... she couldn't bare to think of their pain when they realized she was gone. They were going to be devastated, especially Mama. And Luis ... He was going to be so angry. He was going to tear up Harmony looking for her. And Miguel ... "Any time now sweetheart." "Oh ... sorry." She said, as the cab driver stood holding open the door, a customer behind him waiting on the cab. "It's alright Miss," He said kindly seeing the tears in her eyes. "You have a good trip." "I ... thanks." Picking up her suitcase, Theresa entered the airport. More tears brimmed as she thought again of her family and even more as she finally confronted the reason for her leaving her beloved Harmony. Ethan was going to marry Gwen. Fate had deserted her, she decided as she paused by a column to dig into her bag for a tissue. She'd left everything up to fate and had lost. "Oh Ethan." She whispered tearfully. Finding no tissue she gave up, quickly stepping from behind the column only to find herself falling as she bumped into someone going in the opposite direction. "Oh, I ..." "Whoa there." The man said, catching her before she fell. Unfortunately her bag had already slipped and fell to the floor, spilling out its contents. "Oh great ... just what I need." She said, tears falling rapidly at the sign of her continued bad luck. "Hey, hey, it's not that bad." The guy said, as he bent with her to pick up her things. "I'm sorry about bumping into you. I didn't hurt you did I?" "No," She sniffed, not bothering to look up. "It was my fault anyway. I ..." "No I was my fault, I wasn't paying attention." "Neither was I." He paused, handing her the last item on the ground, a tube of lipstick. Taking in her tear-filled eyes he pulled a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her as well. "Well since we're both at fault, I'd really love for you to stop crying. It's really breaking my heart and I'm not sure I believe that I didn't hurt you. You're very small, likely very breakable." She laughed softly as she wiped away her tears. "I'm stronger than I look ... in spite of all the tears." "Well that's good to know." He smiled, holding out his hand and helping her to her feet. His smile caught her full attention, forcing her to focus fully on him. He was very tall, at least a foot taller than she was. Taller even than Ethan, she realized. And very good-looking. Blonde, spikey hair framed a well featured face with the most beautiful dark eyes. He was so different to Ethan, she thought taking in his face. They were almost opposites. "You're very tall." She remarked, looking up at him. "And you're not." He grinned down at her. "You're all tiny and adorable." "Thank you." She smiled, blushing slightly. "Well I got you smiling at least." He smiled looking into her lovely eyes. "I don't like seeing beautiful women cry." His words brought back the reality of her situation and her eyes welled up again. "Hey, please don't start crying again." He said, reaching down to pick up her bag and lead her over to a row of chairs. "How about I treat you to some coffee huh?" She shook her head, trying to will away the tears. "No, I have to check in. My flight leaves in half an hour." "Alright, well then ..." He paused, frowning as he looked around. "How about I walk you to your check in then? Make sure no one else makes you cry." "No, I'm fine I ..." "No you're not fine. You're leaking all over the place." He said. "So you just tell me what's making you cry and I'll take care of it, how about that?" "No ... I ..." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter." "Clearly it does." He contradicted. "But if you won't let me help, then I'm going to end up thinking that I'm the one who hurt you and that would just break my heart." "No, you didn't." She protested. "You didn't hurt me ... truly." He gave her a look. "I'm not sure I believe you." "I'm crying ... I'm crying for myself." She said finally. "Now why would you do that?" He asked in concern. "Beautiful girls like yourself shouldn't have any problems." "Well I do." She said sadly. She shook her head, getting to her feet and reaching for her suitcase. "Thank you for being kind, but ..." "No, don't go like this." He said reaching out to stop her. He frowned looking down at her. "I don't know why but I just can't let you walk away crying." "Thank you for being so nice, but there's nothing you can do." "Well ... let me buy you that coffee please?" He said still holding her hand. "It'll at least convince me that I didn't really hurt you or step on you with my giant feet." "You don't have to do that. I swear, you didn't hurt me." "I'm afraid I won't believe you until you consent to having coffee with me ... tea? A soda? Champagne?" Theresa laughed. "You're very persistent." "Part of my charm." He grinned. "So is that a yes?" "Alright." She smiled. "But only for a few minutes ... I can't miss my flight." "Excellent." He said, taking her suitcase from her and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "By the way ... I'm Fox." "I'm Theresa." She said walking with him towards the coffee shop. "Fox ... that's nice." "Yeah, well no one calls me by my first name." He shrugged. "And I gotta admit I like Fox better." "It's a great name." She agreed. "How old are you?" He asked suddenly, looking down at her. "With those tearful eyes you look about twelve." She laughed as they sat at a table. "I'm legal. I'm 18, I graduated high school earlier this year." "Whew." He joked. "So I don't have to worry about people thinking I'm plying young girls with caffeinated beverages." Theresa laughed again. "No, you're safe ... unless my brother catches you. He's a cop. And he doesn't like any guys giving me any drinks." "Oh boy." He said, pretending to sink down in his chair while looking around fearfully. "Don't worry about it. He doesn't know I'm here." She smiled sadly, blinking back tears again. Shoving aside her sadness she smiled at him. "How old are you?" "Oh I'm a great mature twenty." He grinned. "That's right ... with age comes experience. Why I can still remember when I was your age." "So long ago." She laughed. "Seems like it." He smiled. "So ... you're headed to Australia?" "Yes, how'd you know?" She asked in surprise. "Well I'm psychic." He smiled, before laughing out loud at her expression. "Or I just saw your destination on your ticket when it fell out of your purse." Theresa laughed. "Oh." "So are you going to visit family? Friends? Ex-boyfriend that you have no intention of getting back together with?" "No." She said, her sadness returning. "I don't know anyone in Australia." "Is that why you're crying?" He asked curiously. "Because you're going to be alone in a strange country?" "No." "So it's someone here in Harmony that made you cry, so you're leaving." He tested again. "I ..." "Forget it." He said, frowning at the tears in her eyes. "I won't pry anymore. I don't like seeing you cry. I like your laughter better and your gorgeous smile." "Thank you." "Besides ... I can understand wanting to get away from your problems." "Is that what you're doing?" She asked curiously. "No ... more like confronting them." He sighed. "Actually if my family had to tell it ... I am the problem." Theresa nodded. "I understand that. I'm a problem for my family too. But they're going to be so hurt when they realize that I'm gone." "Well at least you know they care right?" He said quietly. "You're lucky. I dropped out of college months ago and neither of my parents care that I've gone MIA." "Maybe they don't know." "Oh they know." He assured her. "They just don't care. My brother ... the golden child is all they care about." "I'm sorry Fox." "Forget about it." He shrugged. "I'm used to it. But no pity for me. I've come home to change things though." He smiled at her. "Too bad you're leaving. You're pretty much the only friend I have in Harmony." "I'm sorry too." She smiled. "I wish I could stay, but ... I just can't." "Why not?" "Because my life's going to be over tomorrow. And I can't bare to stay here and live through it. So I'm going to Australia, where it's already tomorrow over there. And by the time I get there, it'll be the day after tomorrow over there and tomorrow will already have happened over here, so I can at least pretend that tomorrow never happened." Fox stared at her, before bursting out laughing. "Clearly we were meant to be friends, because I completely understood what you just said." Theresa grinned. "Well you're one in a million because most people don't understand me. My family sure doesn't." "Well maybe that's why. We're both misunderstood and sorely under appreciated by our families." He smiled. "So ... since we both kindred spirits ... so to speak ... mind telling me what's wrong now? Maybe I can help and then you won't have to leave Harmony and I'll have my new best friend here in my corner to support me when I deal with my family." "You can't help." She said, her smile fading. "Not unless you can perform miracles." "Hey try me." He smiled. "I might surprise you." "I think you're the kind of guy that's always full of surprises." She remarked watching him. "And I think you're the kind of girl that enjoys surprises." He decided. "We'd be perfect together." "Maybe in another life." She sighed. "In this one ... it's too late for me." He stared at her thoughtfully. "I don't think so. But we'll deal with that later. So, tell me about your wonderful family ... but not the sad parts." He said quickly to reassure her. "Well, I have three brothers and one sister, but she lives in Mexico with my aunt. My oldest brother Antonio, we don't know where he is, he ran off when he was a teenager after my father disappeared." "Your father disappeared and your brother ran off." Fox repeated. "And now you're doing the same thing." "No ... well yes, but I don't have a choice." She insisted, tearfully. "That's too bad." He said sadly. "I could really use a friend right about now." "Oh my god." She said bursting out laughing. "You just met me and you're already trying to guilt me into staying." "Hey whatever works right?" He grinned. "But I'm being serious ... I've never met anyone like you, where it's been instant kismet ... fate if you will. We're so alike." "Oh you have no idea." Theresa said, her eyes widening at his choice of words. "You believe in fate?" "Well ..." He paused to consider. "I guess I do ... never really thought about it. Yeah I do. Well ... to the extent that if I think something's meant to happen I'm going to do my damnedest to make sure it does." "I do that too." She said staring at him incredulously. "Only it doesn't always end favorably for me. And my family ... they hate when I start talking about fate. They think I'm crazy." "Oh forget that." He scoffed. "Believing in something so strongly is what life's about. You believe it'll happen ... so you make it happen. Isn't that what teachers and whoever are always trying to teach us when it comes to our goals in life? Can't have it both ways." "Exactly." She said her voice excited. She laughed as she stared at him. "This is so weird that you know exactly what I'm talking about." "Well that's why I'm back in Harmony. There's something here I want ... that I deserve. And I'm not going to let anyone or anything stop me from achieving that." "Good for you." She smiled proudly. "Oh where were you all these years ... especially the past few months when I needed someone to believe in me and tell me that I'm not crazy to be in love with Ethan Crane." Fox froze. "You're in love with Ethan Crane?" "You know him?" "Yeah ... kinda." He said warily. "I used to know him pretty well ... but these days I get most of my info on him through the tabloids." "Yeah, well I guess you're here for the wedding tomorrow." She said sadly, blinking back tears. "Not really." He admitted. "I wasn't invited." "Oh I'm sorry." He waved off her concern. "Don't worry about it. I'm used to being forgotten. So is that why you're running away to Australia? Because you love Ethan and he's marrying um ..." "Gwen Hotchkiss." "Right." "Yes." She said softly, tears spilling over again. "I didn't think it would happen. I thought I could get him to fall in love with me, and I thought he did, but I guess it doesn't matter, because he's still marrying Gwen." "So you two must have been pretty close?" Fox said watching her carefully. So she was in love with Ethan. She didn't seem the gold digger type ... those tears of hers looked real. Not like they were brought on by the idea of losing out on being Mrs. Ethan Crane. "We were. I ... I worked for his mother. I was her social secretary and ..." "You're Pilar's daughter." He said suddenly. "Wow ... alright." "Yes. How did you know?" "Just more ah ... tabloid fodder I guess." He said quickly. "Or maybe one of my family members might have mentioned it." She nodded, accepting his word without a second thought. "Ethan and I got really close, and I could have sworn that he really did fall in love with me. Gwen shouldn't be his wife. The fortune teller said ..." "Fortune teller?" Theresa paused, realizing what she'd just said, before laughing at the skeptical expression on his face. "Oh my god you're going to think I'm crazy." "That's a distinct possibility." He agreed smiling. "But let's see where this goes before I call the guys with the white jackets." She laughed, before taking a deep breath. "Well I might as well tell you everything, since I've already said so much. Okay, I guess I fell in love with Ethan when I was a little girl and Mama took me over to the Crane mansion and Ethan gave me a little doll. I thought he was so amazing and over the years Mama has just always talked about what an amazing man he's become, how successful and how intelligent. I guess he's been my fantasy guy forever." "Yeah, lucky him." Fox said quietly. "Lucky me." She said, before continuing. "Then one day last year, there was a carnival and Whitney ... my best friend ... we went to see a fortune teller and she told me that I was going to marry a man whose name was Mr. C and that I'd live in a mansion and be rich and famous and affluent." "Nice fortune." "I know right? And I just knew she meant Ethan. And right after that Ivy offered me the job as her social secretary and Ethan and I just started working so close together and we became friends. We even kissed. It was definitely fate." She wiped her teary eyes. "I know the fortune teller was right. Ethan and I ..." She sighed sadly. "But he didn't break it off with Gwen. He stayed with her and now he's going to marry her." She wiped away another tear. "And now I'm leaving my home because I can't bare to watch them be together and have the life together that should have been mine with him." "I see." Fox said, going over her words in his mind as he watched her. "So she tells you you're going to marry a guy whose name begin with C." "Yes." She sighed. "I know it's crazy ... you don't have to pretend it isn't." "Well now I didn't say that." He said shaking his head. "I'm just wondering ... that's all she said right? Mr. C ... live in a mansion ... rich and affluent. That's it?" "Yes." "So she didn't specifically say Ethan Crane." "Well no, but it has to be him." She said shrugging. "Who else would I marry? Not his father or grandfather for sure." "But he does have a younger brother." Fox said. "Closer to your age. Good-looking ... who's to say the fortune teller didn't mean him?" "Well I don't know him." She said simply. "And I'm in love with Ethan ... so how could I end up married to his brother?" "Well like you said, you don't know him ... yet. So who knows what the future holds." "I guess." She said skeptically. "But I'm not sure we would work out. I've heard some things ..." "I'm sure you have." Fox said drily. "Nothing complimentary I'm sure." "Not really." She agreed. "He's always doing outrageous things at school and getting suspended." "Or kicked out." Fox said softly under his breath. "The black sheep of the Crane family." "I don't think he's that bad." Theresa said in his defense. "He's just ..." She shrugged. "His parents aren't very attentive. And they seem to only think about him when he's in trouble. So maybe his antics are more about his feeling alone and separated from his family." "To get attention you mean." Fox said smiling at her defense of a guy she barely knew. "Maybe." She nodded. "I've lived all my life with a family that's always been there for me. They're attentive and they're always involved in everything I do. Nicholas doesn't have that. Don't get me wrong, Ivy is a really nice person, she's been very kind to me ... but she just doesn't seem as interested in her other kids as she is in Ethan." "That's cause she's not," Fox said bitterly. "Ethan Crane is the prince of the Crane empire. The heir. I ... Nicholas is just the spare. So unless your beloved Ethan bites the big one ... no offense ... Nicky boy will never be more than second best." "Poor Nicholas." Theresa said sympathetically. "I can't imagine how he must feel." "Yeah, well I wouldn't pity him too much." Fox announced. "I'm certain that sooner or later he's going to make his presence known. Then no one will be able to ignore him." "Well if he's anything like Ethan I don't see how they can." Fox smirked as he looked at her. "Well aren't you just Ethan's biggest cheerleader." She grinned sheepishly. "I can't help it." "Even though he broke your heart and basically drove you out of town?" "Even then." Fox stared at her, an amused look on his face. "I can't decide if you're for real or just really really ..." "Crazy?" Theresa laughed. "No not crazy." He smiled shaking his head. "You're far from crazy ... you just have such great faith. Even in a guy like Ethan who doesn't sound like he deserves it." "Well if I don't have faith then I have nothing." She said simply, her face shadowed with sadness. "It's gotten me through some tough times." "Just not this last time huh?" Fox observed. "Or were you secretly hoping that Ethan would show up and sweep you off the plane?" Theresa smiled. "Well I can't say that thought didn't cross my mind." Fox smiled as he looked at her. "My ... Ethan has no idea how lucky he is to have someone love him as much as you do." "Yeah ... that's the problem. He has no idea." "Or maybe he does and just doesn't feel the same way." Fox said gently. At her stricken look he reached for her hand. "Either way it's his loss and he's a fool for ignoring or simply not knowing. You're not the kind of girl that should be ignored. And any guy that does, simply doesn't deserve you." "You say the nicest things." She smiled. "Regretting not meeting me first are you." He grinned. "Forget about Australia. Let me help you forget about Ethan Crane." Theresa laughed. "You probably could. You're so different to anyone else that I know." "Another part of my charm." Fox teased. "I'm unique and unforgettable." "And so modest." She laughed. "Hey if I don't hype myself up for you who will?" He laughed. "But seriously. Forget Australia. Stay here in Harmony. If not for yourself then do it for me. I'm going to be going through some hard times soon ... I'm going to need a friend." "Here comes the guilt again." "Yes but is it working?" He grinned. "I think it is." She smiled. "Suddenly I'm not so sad anymore and leaving doesn't seem like a good thing." "Excellent." He said smiling. "You're officially my new best friend. And possible future wife." "You're crazy you know that?" She laughed. "You inspire me to do crazy things." He said getting to his feet. "And since no other woman's ever managed to get me to do that before. I'm thinking this must be fate." "Oh you keep that up and we'll be married before we get back to town." She laughed. Fox laughed as he picked up her bags and they began walking towards the exit. "I'm taking that as an official proposal. My answer is yes. We'll deal with the details later." Theresa laughed again, wondering to herself what it was about this guy that made it so easy for her to forget her problems and the pain that she felt. There was something so familiar about him. In fact he kind of looked like ... "Listen to me, I'm Ethan Crane and you're going to stop that plane right now or you'll wake up tomorrow and find yourself jobless." "That's Ethan!" Theresa said shocked, turning around. "Oh my god!" "I don't give a damn about FCC regulations." She listened to him say as he stood by a counter, glaring at a man standing in front of him. "Crane regulations says the plane turns around!" "ETHAN!" Theresa said running forward, her new friend Fox completely forgotten in her joy. "You came after me." "Theresa!" Ethan shouted, before grabbing her. "Thank god." Fox watched as they embraced and kissed in their elation. So ... Ethan wasn't such a fool after all. Then again, Fox thought as he paused to consider ... the fact that it took this to bring him to his senses said clearly that he had no idea what a good thing he had with Ms Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald. But as usual ... what Ethan wanted, Ethan got. Even if he didn't deserve it. "Well not this time." Fox said softly to himself as he watched them. "This time I'm going to get what I want ... and Ethan's just going to have to accept second best." "But why weren't you on the plane?" Ethan was asking Theresa when Fox focused on them once again. "I was ready to tear this airport apart to get to you." "I heard." She said laughing softly. "But I ..." She turned to look in Fox's direction, blushing slightly. "A friend convinced me to stay." "Friend?" Ethan asked, following her gaze. "What frie... FOX??!!" "Hello Ethan." Fox said casually stepping forward. "Long time no see." "Well it's great to see you." Ethan smiled. "But what are you doing here?" "Well after reading in the papers that my illustrious older brother was about to get married, I naturally assumed my invitation was lost in the mail, since I never got one, so I came home." Fox said simply, forcing a neutral look to his face. He glanced down at Theresa's confused face and smiled. "Well I'd offer you my congratulations big brother ... but somehow I don't think that wedding's going to happen." "Yes well ..." "Big brother?" Theresa repeated staring at Fox. "Yeah, this is my brother Fox." Ethan said smiling at her. "Although I guess you only know of him as Nicholas Crane." "Nicholas 'FOXworthy' Crane." Fox said looking down at her. "And since we're best friends now and it was my ... good advice that got you to stick around Harmony for this ... touching little reunion ..." He smiled. "I'm hoping you'll be sweet enough to overlook my omission and remember our kindred spirits." This site built and hosted for free by FreeWebs.com. |