A Brand New Twist, Chapter 25
by Luvin_Evian

Eve pulled the belt of her mid-length wool coat tight around her and smiled. Sheridan was as overprotective as Julian, and she didn’t even know about the pregnancy. “You sound just like your brother,” Eve said, pushing the door closed before stuffing her hands into her coat pockets to ward them from the brisk fall temperatures as they walked toward the hospital entrance. “Yesterday was very stressful, but I’m fine. I can’t thank you enough for staying with me, offering me reassurance, and keeping me calm. I would have been lost without you.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking me, Eve. I needed to be here, and I’m glad I was of some help to you.”

Eve felt Sheridan staring and turned to have her suspicions confirmed. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No, it just-- I still can’t get over you and Julian. I think it’s wonderful, I really do, but it’s just so…so…” her hands flailed like limp noodles as she struggled for the right word.

“Surprising? Unexpected?”

“Yeah,” Sheridan answered with a nod. “And I get the feeling this didn’t just happen. Long before I was kidnapped and locked in that pit for what seemed like forever, I noticed a change in Julian. He was nicer, and he smiled more. Now, I know you’re the reason behind that change. Your love changed him. It’s made him a better person, a good person. The brother I always wanted and needed him to be.”

“Oh, Sheridan, I didn’t change Julian. The man he is now is the man he’s always been. Alistair’s cruelty just caused the kinder, gentler Julian to retreat so far within himself no one knew he was there. Showing love and concern for someone is a sign of weakness, and no Crane man can be weak,” she said, her words dripping with bitter sarcasm. Eve closed her eyes and turned her neck from side to side. The mere thought of Alistair caused tension to attack her body quickly and suddenly, like a thief in the night. “I know Alistair’s your father, but he is the worst kind of evil. That man has done so many horrible things.” Her heart ached with loss for her missing baby. The son Alistair stole soon after she gave birth. “So many things.”

“I’m well aware of Father’s evil, but you sound like you’re talking from experience, too.”

“I am.” The threat of tears burned her eyes. “Sadly, more than I ever wanted to have in my life.”

Sheridan stopped walking. “Eve?”

She didn’t have to be clairvoyant to know what Sheridan was about to say. Heartfelt compassion and tons of unanswered questions filled her blue eyes. It constantly amazed her that Sheridan could be so caring and understanding when such warm emotions were denied her for so many years. Julian had his mother’s love until he was an adult, yet Alistair’s influence controlled him for many years. All Sheridan had for most of her life was Alistair’s warped guidance to measure human kindness, yet she was one of the most genuine and thoughtful people she ever met. If anyone could understand and sympathize with all she and Julian had gone through at Alistair’s hands, it would be Sheridan. Still, she had hoped to talk with…

“Mom!”

Eve turned to the familiar voice. “Simone!” she cried, meeting her approaching daughter with outstretched arms.

“Mom, I was so worried,” Simone said through sniffles as she tightened her embrace. “You were gone for so long, and then Daddy left town, too. And when you came back to Harmony, you didn’t come home.” Simone pulled back. The same unanswered questions in Sheridan’s eyes swirled in her daughter’s brown ones. “Why did you stay on the Crane estate, and why wouldn’t Daddy tell me what’s wrong? He just got home himself, and he’s gone again. Mom, I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

Eve stroked Simone’s dark tresses, trying to calm her as she searched for the words to answer her questions.

Sheridan cleared her throat. “Excuse me. Eve, I see you need to catch up with Simone, so I’m going to go on up to see Julian. I’ll tell him you’ll be there as soon as you can. Simone,” she said with a cordial smile.

“Sheridan, wait,” Eve said, stopping her as she turned to leave. “I think you should stay. I know you have questions, and you deserve some answers, too.” She met Simone’s watery gaze. “You both do.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose on--”

“It’s not an imposition, Sheridan.” Eve sucked in a breath and wrapped her arm around Simone’s shoulder. She brushed the tears from her daughter’s cheeks. Now was the time to set the record straight. “I wish Whitney was here, but I still need to do this. Come, let’s go to my office. I’ll explain everything.”

“For God’s sake, would you get on with it!” Julian roared. He pressed his head into the pillow and rubbed his sore chest. “What is this about my son?”

Alistair met him with a sinister grin. “You were never big on patience, were you, Julian?”

“Either you tell me what this is about my son, or you get the hell out. I don’t have time for this.”

“Yes, I see you have quite the busy schedule--laying flat on your back.” Alistair moved closer to the bed and dropped into the nearby chair. “There is a thing called delicacy, Julian.”

“You wouldn’t know delicate if I pointed it to you in a dictionary. Just spit it out already.”

“Very well. I’ll begin at the beginning.”

“No, you’ll begin at the point. End this song and dance and get on with it!”

“Son, you have to let me do this my way.” Alistair pressed his finger to his lips. “Just listen, it’s a wonderful story. The true ones are always the best.”

Julian closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. Moisture covered his hand. This waiting was killing him, and Alistair knew it. He couldn’t shake those ominous words from Death or the feeling that whatever Alistair was about to say was directly related to those words. Where was Eve? She should have been here by now. Julian opened his eyes to find Alistair rolling an unlit cigar between his smiling, spit-shiny lips. On the other hand, she didn’t need to be here for this. Wherever she was, she was much better off.

Alistair pulled the cigar from his mouth with a pop. “Where were we?” He snapped his fingers. “Oh, that’s right, my story. Okay, as I was saying, this was a particularly brutal winter. Lots and lots of snow and ice. Just bitter cold. You were off in Europe with Ivy, so you wouldn’t remember this.”

“I was in Europe with Ivy because you forced me to marry her and go off and make perfect little white Crane children. Forget my heart was broken because I had to give up the woman I loved more than anything, or that she was preparing to have my baby. A child you neglected to inform me about, but what’s a secret like that between a son and his loving father, right? Oh, yes, Dad, I do remember this time very well.”

“Spare me the snide commentary, Julian, this is my story. Anyway, you’ll remember this was also the year your sister was born.”

“And?”

“And, your mother’s delivery was an extremely difficult one. She wasn’t exactly a spring chicken when she got pregnant, and the birth was particularly hard on her.”

“What does this have to do with my son?”

“I’m getting to that,” Alistair snapped. He cleared his throat. “As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted, this birth was very hard on your mother. She spent the last months of the pregnancy bedridden, and still the birth was agonizing for her.”

“I remember, Father. I remember Mother was comatose for several weeks afterward. I also remember you insisted I stay in Europe.”

“Well, Ivy was pregnant-- with what we later learned was Sam Bennett’s bastard, but that’s neither here nor there. You needed to stay put. It was for the best.”

“Your best. You didn’t want me to know about Eve.”

“No, I didn’t. Which leads me to the next part of the story. Your beloved Eve. While your mother was recuperating from her toiling labor, Eve was in a county hospital miles and miles away in Boston, preparing to give birth to your mongrel bastard.”

Julian bit his tongue. He wouldn’t take his father’s bait. Not again. He needed to know what the old man was talking about.

Alistair stood and toddled over to the window. “It’s cold out today, Julian, but with the blue sky and the bright, shining sun, you wouldn’t know that.” The old man turned around, his arms crossed at his chest. “Things aren’t always what they appear. I learned the true meaning behind that statement the day Eve gave birth.”

Julian’s heart pounded with anticipation. Finally, they were getting somewhere. Thank heavens Dr. Harmon had that monitor removed upon his arrival this morning, otherwise, an army of nurses would be racing into this room right now and he would never hear the rest of this story. He ached to speak, but didn’t dare. He didn’t want to take Alistair off the course it took him forever to reach. What did he mean by ‘things aren’t always they appear’?

“I didn’t tell you about your impending fatherhood because I felt it better you not know. Getting you to leave that blasted woman was hard enough. If you knew she was giving you a child, it would have been impossible. So, I did what I had to do. And when Eve went into labor, I made sure the doctor knew to call me.”

“You were at the hospital when Eve gave birth?”

“Oh, yes, definitely,” Alistair said with a vigorous nod of the head. “I had to be there. I had to be certain things went exactly as planned. And with the way things turned out…” He released a drawn out sigh. “It was a good thing I was there.”

“Why?” Julian adjusted the bed to a reclining position. His eyes stayed trained on Alistair. Watching and waiting for some sign of duplicity. “What happened?”

“The most unexpected thing.”

The heat of anger fanned Julian’s face. “For God’s sake, man, would you please stop beating around the bush!”

“Fine, Julian, don’t give yourself a heart attack.” Alistair continued talking as he approached the bed. “I watched outside the delivery room as Eve gave birth to your son. She had a bit of a tough delivery, too, but her kind of people are used to hard work like that. She popped that little brown bastard out, and even managed to give it a little smile before falling back to the bed in total exhaustion. She was tired, but proud. She just endured a labor of love,” Alistair said with an evil cackle. “That’s what’s made what happened next all the more incredible.”

Julian groaned. “Father, please, just say it. What the hell happened?”

“Your black s l u t had another baby. A baby as white as the snow that covered everything outside.”