-- Chapter 1
It's 5yrs into the future so obviously Ethan Martin is a teenager.  He's still unfortunately living with Gwen and Ethan who managed to get the baby girl, which turned out to be Theresa's ... after Bex slept with the judge, Theresa's lawyer and the guy selling hot-dogs outside the court building.  The judge ruled in their favor and Theresa was left with nothing.

Distraught, she watched her kids grow up from afar.  Little Gabriella growing up to look quite a lot like her mother.  Her actually being Theresa's kid was obvious, but none of that mattered once Bex started spreading, her legs and venereal diseases.

Theresa's one true friend Fox gave her a job as his secretary at Hotchkiss Industries, after Jonathan had hired him because of his extensive knowledge of Crane Industries.  Gwen at first objected to her father allowing Theresa to work for his company, but Jonathan ignored her protests after seeing how furious the situation made Bex.

And as Fox had said to Gwen back then.  "What the hell is the matter with you Gwen?  You've managed to take everything she's ever wanted from her.  Her kids, the man she loves ...  why can't you just leave her in peace?"

Gwen had smartly backed off particularly after Fox also pointed out that an unemployed Theresa was a Theresa who would have plenty of time on her hands to do some scheming.

Fox meanwhile had cluelessly married Whitney believing her preggers with his kid.  He was now the father of little Nicholas Russell Crane Jr.  Nick for short.

Meanwhile, young Ethan Martin grew up to hate Julian ... his father.  After overhearing a discussion one day about how he came to be Ethan and Gwen's adopted son, he realize that 'his father' had basically sold him to Bex in order to protect Eve.

He likes Gwen, but has never been as close to her as he knew she would have liked.  He's well aware of her relationship with his real mother Theresa and has tried over the years to come to terms with his feelings for them both.  While he didn't get to see Theresa much over the years, his brother Fox had always made sure he got to see something of his mother, who was ordered by the courts to stay away from him and Gabriela.

He's a confused kid, who is unable to reconcile the loving person he's met covertly over the years and the evil conniving person that his 'grandmothers' Bex and Ivy, have always described Theresa as.  He gets no help from Ethan, who shuts down whenever Theresa is brought up and Gwen who tries to be kind, usually ends up sounding slightly like her mother.

Aside from adoring his older brother Fox, the love of Ethan Martin's life is Endora.  At this point he has no idea that she is his 'sister', because Tabitha and Julian have continued to keep quiet about her paternity, but Endora has always known the truth about her paternity as well as his, and has developed feelings for him too, but keeps her feelings to herself because she knows Julian would feel forced to admit the truth about her paternity if he thought that brother and sister were involved and since she's unable to tell the truth about Ethan Martin's paternity without raising questions of how she would know, she keeps silent.

So she ... having turned out nothing like her useless mother Tabitha ... valiantly ignores her feelings and concentrated on being friends.  Although she can be a bit of a devil if crossed.  Which is precisely what happened one day after Bex insulted her while she was hanging out with Ethan Martin at the Crane mansion.

Having grown sick of Bex's slurs towards her and her mother, she decides to get a little pay back by somehow maneuvering Ethan Martin into finding the tape that Bex doctored, which had fooled Theresa into confessing to Julian's murder.

Ethan Martin, after seeing the shocking tape, hands it over to Ethan, who in turn is furious to find out that Theresa had been telling the truth about the mysterious tape all those years ago and turns angrily on Bex ... in whose room Endora made sure it was found ... who points the finger at Ivy as her accomplice once she realizes that she couldn't get out of it.

Furious Ethan turns away from his mother who turns on Bex.  He expresses his anger to Gwen who grows furious with her mother for not listening to her.  Hearing this Ethan gets angry with her for knowing something was going to happen, but never said anything or tried to stop it.

Later when they're alone, Gwen rails at Bex, who grows tired of this abuse and calls Gwen ungrateful for turning on her after all the things that Bex has done for her over the years.

Gwen gets snotty and says "Don't blame me for those things, you wanted to do them.  You would have done them with or without my consent."

"Consent?"  Bex scoffed.  "You were doing a hell of a lot more than consenting when we sent that letter about Ethan's paternity to that tabloid.  As I recall you were the one who called old Mort up and told him that it was Theresa who had sent it."

Unknowing to them, Ethan Martin is outside listening and gasps out loud at Bex's words.  Having grown up listening to Gwen and Bex talk about how horrible Theresa was and all the bad things she'd supposedly done, including the tabloid situation, this news was unbelievable.

They turned at this gasp, but he slips away unnoticed and goes into Alistair's study where he'd long ago found all the tv's with the cameras.  Finding the one taping Gwen and Bex he watched as they continued arguing and listened in horror as Bex ranted on Gwen about how she was partner in everything.  Including when they had stolen him from his mother for revenge and how they'd taken his sister as well.

Gwen shuts up eventually realizing that her mother is as much a danger to her as she always thought Theresa was.

When they left, EJ removed the disc recording it and slipped it into his pocket.  Leaving the mansion he goes to find his best friends.  Endora and his cousin Maria.

"Wow."  Maria exclaimed when the recording finished.  "I can't believe what they did to your mother."

"They always told me that she hadn't really wanted me.  That she'd just been after Julian's money."

"And it's all a lie."  Endora said sympathetically.  "What are you going to do now?"

"Well first I'm going to make a copy of this."  He said reaching for the stack of blank discs on Endora's desk.  "After that ...  I don't know yet."

"What do you mean you don't know?"  Maria exclaimed.  "You tell your father."

"Which one?"  He remarked sarcastically.

"Both."  Endora said picturing Rebecca's face when the truth came out.

"I've got to think about this."  EJ said.

"What's there to think about?  Look at what they did to your mother."

"I know but ..."

"But what?"   Endora demanded.  "If I'd found out anyone had done that to my mother, then lied to me about her all these years, I'd kick ass first and worry about 'buts' later."

Maria nodded furiously.  "At least tell Uncle Ethan.  From what I've heard about their past, that tabloid business was a the defining moment."

Ethan nodded.  "I know, but I have to do this right.  There's still my sister to consider.  She doesn't even know Theresa's her mom."

"You know I just don't get that."  Endora mused.  "How can she not see how much she looks like Theresa and not mother Gwen?"

"Because she's in denial.  She knows something's not right, but she just doesn't want to acknowledge it.  She likes things as they are."

"Well she's only twelve ... maybe she really doesn't know."

"My sister's never been just anything.  Somehow life managed to make her as practical as I've heard Theresa was fantasy prone."  He stood up.  "I need to talk to someone else about this ... someone who knows more than we do."

EJ knew the only person who would give him any real answers would be his brother Fox.  Growing up Fox had been the only one who had ever been completely truthful to him about everything.

"Hey little bro, how's it going?"  Fox smiled greeting him.

EJ grinned, dropping onto the couch in the corner of the office.  "It's been interesting.  How are you?"

"Couldn't be better."  Fox smiled shrugging.  "Now you don't usually come all the way out here to visit unless you're coming to see Theresa, and since it looks like you came to see me first, what can I do for you?"

"Well," EJ said, fingering the disc in his pocket. "I kinda need a sounding board and a few answers."

"About what?"

"Well ... It's like this.  What if you found out something that you weren't supposed to?  Something that could put an entirely different perspective on your life and the lives of a lot of people.  What would you do?"

"Well that depends."  Fox said trying to gauge the extent of the problem.  EJ was a lot like his mother.  He rarely asked for help.  That he was now said a lot.  "It depends on what you found out and how it would change things.  If whatever this is could hurt people, you've got to decide whether or not it's worth it."

"What if someone's already been hurt?  If what you found out had caused of a lot of hurt and injustice and revealing what you know could change things?"

"Change things how?"

"Make things right.  Right a few wrongs, bring the guilty people to justice."

Fox laughed.  "EJ come on you're sounding like a comic book hero.  What the hell did you find out?"

EJ pondered the situation.  He could give the disc to Fox.  He would do the right thing with it.  EJ knew how close he and Theresa were.  So close in fact that over the years he'd wondered if maybe there wasn't more to their relationship than just friendship.  He knew Fox was married to Theresa's best friend, but there were times when he got the feeling that the line between friendship and more was barely visible.

"EJ what is this really about?"  Fox asked growing serious.

"Tell me about her."

Fox didn't have to ask who he was talking about.  He recognized that look on his face and the tone in his voice.  He always had it when he talked about his mother.  Something was definitely up.  Serious and pensive was not normal for the usually happy EJ.

"Theresa ... well Theresa used to be the most optimistic person I knew."

"Like me."

Fox grinned.  "Yeah pretty much."

"But not anymore."  EJ recited.

"Well ... She lost a lot in her life.  You ..."

"My sister."

Fox raised his brow at that.  While it was pretty obvious to everyone whose kid Gabriella was, he'd never heard EJ talk about it.  "Yeah Gabriella ..."

"Ethan."

A flash of anger moved across Fox's face at his brothers name.  "Him too."

"Why don't you like him?"

"What?  Of course I like him ..."  Fox said.  "He's my brother."

"You just don't 'like' him."

"Well ... let's just say that your dad and I just never saw eye to eye."

"Why not?"

"Because he's not the great guy he likes to think he is.  That everyone thinks he is.  And no I'm not being bitter like I'm sure you've heard.  I got over my mommy and daddy didn't love me issues a long time ago.  Why are you interested in this anyway?  You already know that Ethan and I aren't close."

EJ shrugged.  "I just wondered if it has anything to do with my Mom."

"That's definitely part of it."  Fox admitted, sitting back in his chair.  "He treated your mother like crap.  Like she was his play thing that he could use whenever he wanted and then discard when he was done.  Theresa got the short end of the stick every time.  She loved him and he used her.  Then he let Gwen and Rebecca take you from her, then they took Gabriella ..."

"They said ..."

"I know what they said but it's not true.  Listen to me kid.  It's about time you learned a few truths about your 'family.'  Your mother loved you.  You know that.  You've seen it in her eyes everytime she cried when I had to take you home after one of our secret visits.  She loved you so much that she ended up in jail countless times trying to get you back.  But she was fighting the Crane money and it's not like Julian ..."  He trailed off shaking his head.  "What have I always told you?"

"Not to believe everything I'm told."

"Exactly.  Which is why you don't have to believe me either if you don't want to, but you know me Kid.  You know I've never lied to you.  So when I tell you your mother loved you and still loves you.  Don't you ever let anyone tell you different."

"I know."  EJ said.  "You were right.  Rebecca ..."

"Rebecca's a bitch who will hopefully get what's coming to her one of these days."  Fox spat.  Taking a deep breath shook off his anger.  "Forget her.  Tell me what this big secret that you learned is.  I know it's got something to do with Theresa.  Otherwise what's with all these questions."

"You know I like to know about her."

"Yeah I do, but I also know that you can go right down that hall and she'll tell you anything you want to know better than I can.  So what's the real deal here little brother?"

EJ stared at him, wondering what to do.  Fox would fix everything.  He knew it ... but there was so much at stake.  Gabrielle for one.  Shaking his head he sighed.  "I can't tell you."

"God you're just like your mother."

EJ grinned.  "You always say that."

"Cause it's true.  Just like you're as optimistic as she used to be, you're also as stubborn as she still is."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it.  Just know that I'm here for you whenever you're ready to tell me okay?"

"I know."

"Good ... and promise me one thing."

"What?"

"If whatever this is gets sticky ... you come to me first got that?  Don't go trying to fix this yourself.  That's a habit of your mother's that I could never get behind."

"I'll try not to ... but I can't promise anything."

"I guess I can't expect anymore than that."

"Don't worry."  EJ smiled.  "Everything's going to work out as it should.  It has to."

"God you sound ..."

EJ paused by the door and grinned.  "Yeah I know ... I never realized how great that was."