" What it would take for us to get back together? Ethan, are you on drugs?", Gwen asks.

" No, Gwen. It’s a straight forward question."

" Why, Ethan? WHY would you come to me with this kind of a question. Especially now? "

" Is there a chance that we could be together again?"

Gwen sat down in her father’s chair, staring across the desk to Ethan. She shook her head.

" I don’t believe this. I can’t believe this. I thought you WUVED Theresa. What happened….the two of you have a fight, and it sent you back to me?"

" No. I just asked you a question, Gwen."

" You know what, Ethan. I’m going to need a reason as to why I should believe you. Something  that would make me think that you are serious. Why are you here, Ethan?"

" OK, you want honesty, I’ll give it to you. Alistair has told me that I will be cut off as the Crane Heir if I am with Theresa. He’ll never accept her, and my place in the family will be in doubt."

Gwen looked at Ethan. She was very interested in that last phrase – place in the family. The ‘Heir’ is a position, not a place. Every Crane has a ‘place’ in the family, UNLESS….

Gwen swiveled around the chair, so that Ethan couldn’t see her face.  COULD Alistair know that Ethan was Sam Bennett’s son? If he did, that would explain a lot. Ethan CRANE wouldn’t marry for money. But, Ethan BENNETT, who risked losing everything….well, he might.

Especially……if Alistair had threatened Ivy. It would be one thing if Ethan were cast out of the family. But, Ivy? The wrath of Crane brought down on his mother. Gwen had a chill go down her spine. Ivy was tough, but, this was Alistair Crane. People don’t mess with him.

" Gwen? Gwen?"

Gwen turned around and looked at Ethan.

" Ethan, what do you mean, be together?"

" I mean marriage."

" Marriage? Ethan, do you even know what that means? Marriage? You know, I’m getting a sense of déjà vu about this Ethan. I trust you, we get engaged, and poof, you change your mind at the next tart that walks down the street. Um…I dunno, Ethan. This isn’t very appealing to me. WHY, Ethan? WHY would I subject myself to that possible humiliation again? WHY would I give you the time of day? WHY would I be with someone who doesn’t want to be with me. And, WHY would I subject myself to being with a man who will come to resent me and our family. You have an explanation, Ethan?"

" Because, you still love me?"

" God! If that isn’t the most arrogant, pompous thing that I’ve ever heard. "

" But, it’s true, Gwen."

" Say that I do, Ethan. It doesn’t change the rest of it. It doesn’t change that I finally realize what I DON’T want in my life. What kind of fool would I be if I were to marry a man who would only come to resent me, and punish me, because I’m not someone else."

" Gwen, that would NEVER happen. I would never do that to you."

" Why should I believe you?"

" Because, I give you my word."

" Ethan, when a man breaks off his engagement the night before the wedding, let’s just say that his ‘word’ no longer means shit to the woman he dumped. It’s that simple. "

" I think we could have a good marriage, Gwen."

" Ethan, you’re delusional."

" I thought we could get married in 3 days."

" THREE DAYS? Have you heard a word that I’ve said?"

" You think about it. I’ll call you later for your answer."

Gwen sat there dazed, not really believing that anything he had said was true, as Ethan left.
 
 

Rebecca was still in bed when the phone rang.

" Hello?"

" Hello, Rebecca, it’s Alistair Crane."

" Alistair? Nice to hear from you."

" Yes. I thought that it was time we talked."

" Talked? About?"

" Well, Ethan and Gwen of course. I believe that we’ll see a wedding between them soon."

" Oh really. Why?"

" Nevermind why, Rebecca. It’s going to happen. Now, I believe that you are interested in Julian."

" Alistair, no offense, but, my relationship with Julian is private."

" Nothing that concerns my family is private. I’m only going to say this, Rebecca, Julian is going to STAY married to Ivy, do you understand?"

" Alistair, shouldn’t that be Julian’s decision?"

" Hell no, it’s MY decision. You can sleep with my son to your heart’s content. But, there is ONE Mrs. Julian Crane, and that’s Ivy. Do you understand? And, in case you don’t understand, let me make myself perfectly clear. If I find out that you’re trying to cause trouble between Julian and Ivy, then, I will be forced to cause trouble for YOU. Trouble that you couldn’t even imagine. I’m sure the entire world would like to know what Jonathan wanted done with that 10% of floating stock. "

Rebecca sat up in bed, wide awake for the first time.

" Yes, Rebecca, I know. You can be the wonderful mother-in-law when Ethan and Gwen married. But, you’ll never be Mrs. Julian Crane. Try me on this, and you won’t try anything else. Understood?"

" Yes, Alistair. Perfectly."

Alistair hung up on Rebecca, and she sank down in the bed and began to cry once again.
 
 

" Hey Theresa, how’s it going?", Chad says, pouring her a cup of her favorite flavored coffee.

" It’s great, Chad! I’m working on the wedding. See?", she says, pulling out several wedding books.

" You and Ethan are like some fairy tale. I know you’ll be fine. Get to live in that fancy mansion. "

" All my dreams are coming true."

" I’m glad. And, can I tell you something?", Chad said sitting down at the table.

" Anything."

" I’m going to talk to Dr. Russell. Be real upfront with her. Tell her that I love Whitney, and that I’m going to treat her right. "

" Chad, have you told WHITNEY your feelings?"

" No. Not yet. But, I think if I do this old-fashioned thing with Dr. Russell, that it will speed things up. I don’t want her to think that I’m afraid of making a commitment to her daughter. You know, like in olden days, when the guy used to ask the father’s permission for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Well, instead of the father, I’m going to declare my intentions to the mother."

" Dr. Russell’s been hard on you, hasn’t she?"

" Yeah. But, we’ve come a long way. Plus, she’s Whitney’s mother, and she’s a good one. I always think that if I had a mother, I wish she’d be a lot like Dr. Russell."

Theresa nods. " I’ve known Dr. Russell all my life. It’ll be fine, Chad. I’m sure that you and Dr. Russell will come to have a terrific relationship. Do you want to talk about the music for the wedding?"

Chad took Theresa’s pad, and began to jot down the playlist that he had thought of so far.
 

" Gwen, wanna go to the park for a walk?", Bobby says, entering the library.

" Gwen? Gwen?"

Gwen finally looks up at Bobby. Her face was one of mass confusion.

" Gwen? What’s wrong? "

"Wrong? Some would say that there’s nothing wrong. I think Ethan proposed to me this morning."

" PROPOSED? What the fuck do you mean PROPOSED? Am I dense, or isn’t he engaged to someone else?"

" That was my reaction. But, he’s quite serious. "

" WHY, Gwen? WHY would he decide to propose to you?"

" Because, his grandfather threatened him with disinheritance if he married Theresa."

" He said that? That SOB said that? What nerve! What gall!"

" Bobby, I asked for honesty from him, and he gave it to me. I knew what I was getting into when I asked him for the truth."

" Tell me  that you’re not considering it. GWENNY!"

" Bobby, it’s not that simple. When I asked Ethan why he thought that I would remotely consider his proposal…he replied that I still loved him."

" Arrogant prick."

" The thing is, he was telling the truth. Despite all of it, the pain, the agony, the humiliation……I DO still love him."

" Gwen, how could you?"

Gwen shrugged her shoulders. " I don’t know. I don’t know."

" I’LL tell you how can still love him….because, only FOOLS believe that love is that roses and dew crap.", Rebecca says, sauntering into the room. Her children can tell she’s been crying, and, she’s not all put together, but, she tried. " Love isn’t poetry , roses, candelight dinners, and dew in the morning. Love is when the person has torn you asunder, and you come back from that bodyblow, and you realize that being with the person is STILL all you want. Ok, so a shrink will babble on about ‘emotional health’, but, they’re full of hot air. Gwen, Bobby loves you and is outraged on your behalf. That’s being a good brother. The bottom line is that YOU know what’s in your heart. You know how much it can take. And, if your heart tells you that you can take Ethan, then you do it."

" Spoken like a woman who’s been trying to shill Gwen into the Cranes since she was five."

Rebecca slaps her son hard.

" I love my daughter. But, I have age on me. And, even if it’s not wisdom, it’s still more years than you know. ONLY Gwen knows what she WILL and WILL NOT accept in her relationship. And, if Ethan meets those parameters, then it’s NONE of your business how her marriage will work. You’ll never understand it, because a marriage is between the two people involved, and no one else. EVER. Gwen, if you want to marry Ethan, do it. If you don’t, I don’t care. Not anymore. Do what’s right for you."

With that, Rebecca leaves the library. Bobby turns to Gwen and asks. " Who is that woman, and where have the aliens taken our mother?"

" Bobby, I don’t know, but, she’s right. It is my decision about Ethan. I love you for loving me so hard. And for wanting to protect me. But, I have some thinking to do."

Gwen leaves the library and winds up at the treehouse.
 
 

" Julian, I didn’t feel right leaving her.", Ivy says, as they are walking down the corridor to Penny’s room.

" Ivy, neither one of us had eaten in about 24 hours, and my legs were to asleep, I thought they were pieces of lead. Think of it this way…..we can sit for another 24 hours without interruption."

They got to the room, and found it empty. Both of their hearts sank into the pits of their stomachs.

" My baby! Where is my baby! My Baby!", Ivy begins to scream out. Julian grabbed the first nurse he saw, and dragged her into the room. " Where the hell is our daughter?"

The nurse didn’t know any English, and was confused. Julian was going off on the woman, who was becoming more scared by the moment. He wouldn’t let Ivy get a word in edgewise, when suddenly, the nurse that had been attending to Penny, came up to them.

" Mr. And Mrs. Crane."

" Where is our daughter?", Ivy shouts.

" Your daughter has been taken down to x-ray. When her temperature hit a safe point, the doctors thought it was prudent to get the x-rays and cat scans of body. They need to know if there’s any neurological damage."

" So….she’s not….dead?", Ivy asks weakly.

" No, Mrs. Crane. Your daughter is stable, and hopefully, the doctors will be able to treat the rest of her soon. "

Ivy and Julian let out a collective sigh of relief.

" I’ll go check on your daughter.", the nurse offered.

" Thank you.", Ivy said.

She left, and Julian and Ivy looked at one another with relieved smiles on their faces. Julian snapped his fingers, and said, " I’ll be back. You stay here, so that one of her parents will be here when she gets back."

Ivy nodded and watched Julian leave. He was on a mission of some sort.
 

Eve opened the door to her house. She didn’t even have the energy to call out. She drug herself up the stairs to her bedroom, locking the door behind her. Dropping the luggage and her coat on the floor, she immediately went to her closet. Reaching into the back, she found the box that she was looking for, and opened it. She held up the baby outfit. So small. So sweet.

An outfit that she now knows should have been worn by Chad Harris.

Chad Harris. Her son.

Chad Harris. The young man she had given so many hard times.

Chad Harris was her son.

The rest of Orville’s admission had been something out of a bad novel. She couldn’t believe the story he had told her….of Alistair’s involvement, and his last minute guilt. She couldn’t believe what had led her son to come to her doorstep.

Eve began to sob, when she remembered the stories that Chad had told about his life. As she thought of her son being abused and abandoned. Of him being on the streets, her sobs grew louder and louder to where they weren’t sobs anymore. She was screaming. Screaming in agony at what had happened. At the destruction that was going to happen to her family. Her anger spilling over about what she and her son had been robbed of by Alistair Crane. Screams where all she had left. She screamed until her voice had no noise. And, then, she cried herself to sleep.