The Fine Print - Chapter 8
by yhh
"Your honor, we call Mr. Thornton Chandler Russell to the stand," Cass
Winthrop announced, as the bailiff opened the doors of the courtroom.
"Your honor," TC said as he walked into the courtroom.
"Yes," Judge Eugene inquired.
"Sir, may my wife be allowed to enter the courtroom while I testify?"
Eve waited for the shock to course through her body, but it didn't. She
wasn't surprised. TC was just being TC. One of the qualities she had always
admired about him was his sense of right, always wanting to do the right thing.
In his mind if he was living and sleeping with Liz, then he should of course
marry her, make an honest woman of her. And so he had. He had married her
sister.
Was this man stupid? Well, of course, he was. That was stupid of him to
even ask such a question. Thornton pushed his darling Eve out of his bed and
out of his room, in order to bed and marry Liz. Not only was Liz her sister,
but Liz wasn't even a tenth of the woman Eve was and she never would be.
Julian shook his head and discreetly squeezed Eve's hand. TC's stupidity
was his gain. Suddenly he felt his hand being lifted. He watched as Eve
kissed the top of his hand and scooted closer to her. He knew she wasn't
doing this because of TC and Liz, but because she loved him. A normal couple
who were sharing public affection. He smiled brightly.
Fox wrapped his arm around Whitney as her father escorted his new bride,
her aunt turned step-mother, into the courtroom. Great, this was the last
thing Whitney needed. She had just started to come around again, but he
knew. He just knew this would drive her underground again. Damn, TC for
his insensitivity. When had the coach turn into such a creepy, disgusting
guy? He married his wife's sister. Sleeping with Liz when TC didn't know
who she was, was one thing, but willingly continuing a relationship once
the relationship between the two women was known was sick. And had TC conveniently
forgotten that Liz helped destroy his twenty year marriage and family? Was
Liz really that smooth of a talker or that good in bed? He knew she wasn't
that smooth. And from the looks of her, he didn't think she was that good
in bed. He had found that women who were deceitful, conniving, and just all
around kind of evil, were bad in bed. He figured they used all their energy
being bad girls and there was nothing left for the other parts of their life.
He married her? Her dad actually married her aunt Liz? She couldn't even
think of Liz as her aunt without gagging, Whitney thought. Did her family
have a thing for incest? What was wrong with her family? She was sickened
by her father's actions. And there sat Liz smiling smugly with a ring larger
than anything her mother had ever gotten. So Liz was trying to rob her father
blind, too. How long before Liz ended up having a birth control "malfunction"
and all of a sudden she and Simone were faced with a sibling/cousin. She
shuddered at the thought. As if what she was going through wasn't enough,
now she had to deal with this sickness too.
He knew what would be awaiting him when he got home, a phone call from
Mama Russell. She was going to chew him a new one with him "letting" TC
marry that hussy. Sam loved Mama but he was bothered that he was held accountable
for the stupid crap TC and Hank did. But he knew she did the same to them.
When he and Grace separated, TC and Hank were waiting for him at the hotel
when he got off work. He knew from the look on their faces that Mama had
gotten to them. Sam sighed. He knew TC was hurt by Eve's lies, and more than
her lies, TC was devastated Eve had slept with Julian once upon her time.
And beyond that, TC couldn't handle the fact that Eve once loved Julian,
truly madly deeply loved Julian Crane. And from the looks of things, Eve
and Julian were a couple again. He caught Eve's eye and they both silently
acknowledged the stupidity of TC's actions in TC's misguided attempt to do
the right thing by Liz. Did his brother even once give a thought to Whitney
and Simone? Probably not. Theresa's hearing had barely started and he already
felt another massive headache coming on.
"Mr. Russell, how long have you none the defendant?" Cass Winthrop, Theresa's
lawyer asked.
"Since she was a bump in her mother's stomach. I am friends with her lovely
mother, Pilar. And I was acquainted with her sperm donor," TC answered,
glaring at Martin Fitzgerald.
"Mr. Russell, please refrain from the unnecessary descriptions," the Judge
reprimanded.
"I'm just being honest, your honor."
"Please just answer the question directly," Judge Young countered.
TC nodded.
"How would you describe Ms Lopez-Fitzgerald's character?"
"Resa is fierce, loyal, and loving. My Resa would do anything in the world
for those she loves. She's overcome a lot with her worthless father- -"
"Mr. Russell," the Judge warned.
"Martin Fitzgerald abandoned his family and it was left to her hardworking
mother, her upstanding brothers, Antonio and Luis, myself, and Sam Bennett
to try and stand in for him. But I know deep down none of us could ever
replace the place that a father occupies."
"And when you first heard of these charges leveled at my client?"
"I was shocked and outraged. Resa is a sweetie who has been toyed with
by the Crane family. First, that disgusting pig Julian- -"
"Mr. Russell, I will not warn you again."
TC nodded. "I apologize, your honor. She was taken advantage of and impregnated
by Julian Crane. And on top of that- -"
"Objection," the DA said, standing. "Mr. Russell's statements are unfounded."
"Your honor, the witness is expressing his feelings about what he felt
when he heard about these preposterous charges."
"I'll allow it," the Judge responded. "Please continue, Mr. Russell."
"And besides having to contend with Julian and their child together. Her
childhood crush had constantly been giving her mixed signals. One day, Ethan
Cra- -Wint- - whatever his last name is. One day, he would be declaring
his never ending love and the next he would ignore her in public as he stood
by his wife's side. He was using my Resa like his back alley mistress."
"Objection!" the DA yelled.
"Mr. Russell, please recite your feelings and nothing else," Judge Young
stated.
"My feelings were ones of disgust and disbelief. The little girl whom I
considered another daughter was now being charged with raping a man, whom
she loved and whom loved her. A man, she loved enough to engage in pre-marital
sex with, something neither the church or our families approved of. She loved
Ethan enough to go against a lifetime of teachings. And now he was accusing
her of drugging and raping him. He was the one taking advantage of an innocent
young woman, definitely not the other way around," TC concluded, looking
directly into his daughter's eyes.
Theresa cried as she saw the love and trust shining in her Uncle TC's eyes.
He loved her. He visited her in that horrible jail cell. He brought her
goodies. He had faith in her unlike some of her other supposed loved ones.
She was quickly learning her friends from her enemies.
"Do you think Ms Lopez-Fitzgerald would pose a danger to anyone if she
were released into her brother's custody?" Cass asked.
"No, not at all. I will do whatever I can and need to, your honor, so Resa
can come home even if it's under house arrest," TC pleaded to the Judge.
"I will take that under advisement," the Judge told him.
"Mr. Russell, you may step down," Cass informed him.
As TC walked past Theresa, he paused. "I love you, Resa-poo."
"I love you, Uncle TC," she responded.
TC blew her a kiss as he took his seat next to his wife.
Theresa had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at that tramp. As soon
as she got out of jail and had her and Ethan's twins, she was going to deal
with Liz.
Was that how people saw him? As, Ethan Winthrop, a man whom led a poor,
innocent, young woman on? It made him sound like some creepy, almost pedophile
sounding man. Everyone also made it sound like everything he and Gwen had
to endure was his fault. As if he were the one, who made Theresa do everything
she had done. He wasn't the one who tied up the surrogate and locked her in
a closet. He wasn't the one who pretended to be someone else and forced her
to have sex with him. Yet, a voice in the back of his mind asked, wasn't
he to blame for some of this? Didn't his indecision lead to Theresa to do
things so he would make a choice? Weren't they all sitting here because
of him?
Gwen watched the display of emotions in her husband's eyes. Never once
did she see outrage or hurt at the accusations being hurled at him. Why
wasn't he outraged and upset? She was. It was only by the grace of God,
she hadn't jumped out of her seat and slapped all the Theresa lovers and
supporters out of that witness chair. Theresa constantly wreaked havoc in
her life. The wom- -no, the child playing at being a woman, didn't know the
meaning of the words, "stop" and "no." But somehow they could sit in the
chair and claim that Theresa was innocent. Innocent?! Theresa's innocence
stopped the moment she left the womb. Was Ethan one of those who thought
none of this was Theresa's fault? She didn't want to think so but she had
a sinking suspicion that he did.
Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald was as innocent as a prostitute caught with a
john, Julian laughed. Could TC, Pilar, Antonio, Luis, and Martin, all be
this delusional about her? What was she in that family, the Virgin Mary,
the second coming of Christ? He knew first hand, she wasn't a virgin and
was definitely more like the anti-Christ. But he would keep those thoughts
to himself. He knew Eve was torn.
On trial was a woman, she had watched grow up before her very eyes. A young
woman, she had a hand in help raising. A woman who ran up and down her stairs,
ate at her table. A woman she hugged, kissed, congratulated, chastised,
and praised. To even contemplate that her beloved daughter could possibly
do what she was accused of doing, he knew must be hard for her. Yet on the
other hand, there was the son she had longed and cried for for so many years,
who was the victim.
Whom did she believe? Whom did she support? The young woman, whom she knew
and loved like one of her own, or the man, who was flesh of her flesh yet
she knew only superficially? He wished he could ease the pain of her anguish,
but Julian knew he couldn't.
Eve covertly looked from one to another. Her precious Theresa being accused
of unimaginable crimes. Part of her wanted to bury her head under the sand,
like TC and Pilar were obviously doing and Luis and Antonio to some degree.
But she knew better, she knew how stubborn and determined Resa could be.
Resa would sacrifice any and everything in order to get what she felt was
hers. And she knew, Resa felt Ethan was hers. They were destined to be together.
Where did they all go wrong? When Martin took off, TC made sure to spend
alone time with Resa. They included her in all family events. Resa was there
other daughter just as Kay and Jess were. Did they cater too much to Theresa
because of Martin's disappearance? Did they do the young woman a disservice
by not putting their foot down more strongly when she began her Ethan obsession?
Shaking her head, she was confused. She didn't know what to think. She
didn't want to believe the baby whose diapers she changed, whose face she
wiped, whose tears she dried, whose smile put a pep in her step could do
the things she was accused of. But she knew first hand what a person would
do when they were desperate. She had been close to living on the streets
before she got the job at the Blue Note. Being homeless was better than
going back to live with her aunt, in her own mind. Ethan and Gwen having
a biological child would have ended any chance Theresa had of every winning
Ethan's love.
Ethan was her son. She loved him because he was her son and slowly and
with time she was coming to love the man he was. Eve knew he didn't deserve
what happened to him, but he did bring some of this on his self, didn't
he? Or maybe he didn't? She didn't know. She knew that if you gave Resa
an inch, she would turn it into a mile. How would someone with only superficial
dealings with Resa even begin to comprehend that? She felt her and Ethan
were making real progress in their relationship. She prayed, she prayed
Theresa wouldn't come between them. If she closed her eyes, she could instantly
picture herself in her backyard. Noah in the tree house, Resa and Whit happily
playing with their dolls; Kay, Miguel, and Simone plotting ways to get past
her and inside the kitchen to get the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies
which were cooling; and her taking it all in with Jess, sitting happily
in her lap, reading. Where did it all go so wrong?
"In the matter of the people vs. Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald, I am allowing
Ms Lopez-Fitzgerald to return to her family home for the remainder of her
pregnancy with a few stipulations. Mr. Antonio Lopez-Fitzgerald and Mr.
Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, please stand," Judge Young ordered.
Both men stood.
"Ms Lopez-Fitzgerald will be released into your custody with the condition
that you both must live in your family home with her until she is returned
to policy custody. Do you both agree to this?"
The brothers looked at each and silently communicated. "Yes, your honor,"
they said simultaneously.
"Captain Samuel Bennett, Mr. Thornton Chandler Russell, please stand."
The two older men stood.
"You are appointed as the Lopez-Fitzgerald's backups. It won't be easy
for either of them or their household to enforce the rules on their flesh
and blood so I am appointing the two of you as their support system."
"Yes, your honor," Sam responded.
"We will help Resa and her family in anyway we can," TC assured the judge.
Judge Young nodded. "You may all be seated. Miss Lopez-Fitzgerald, you
will wear an ankle bracelet. The bracelet will allow you to go to the hospital
for your doctor appointments and that is all. This isn't a get out of jail
free card, not a hang out with your friends time. I am only allowing you
out of jail because I don't believe staring at the cement walls is good for
the two lives you carry inside you. You will have no contact with Ethan,
Gwyneth, or Ethan-Martin Crane. There will be no phone calls, text messages,
letters, emails, or any other type of communication I have failed to mention.
All your questions at the doctor visits will be directed to the doctor or
to your mediators, Captain Bennett and Dr. Johnson, if she agrees?"
Eve hoped her face was devoid of emotion as she stood. What could she say?
The judge was putting her in the middle of a landmine field.
"I'm asking you to be a mediator, Dr. Johnson, solely because of your relationship,
like Captain Bennett's to both parties."
"Yes, your honor, I will be a mediator." She liked his reasoning. She hoped
she could help put Gwen and Ethan at ease when they were in the room with
Theresa.
Gwen mouthed her thanks as Eve took her seat. Eve nodded.
"Miss Lopez-Fitzgerald, do you understand my ruling? You don't have to
stand."
"Yes, Judge."
"If you go against even one of my stipulations. You will spend the rest
of your pregnancy in solitary confinement at the county jail. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Judge."
Judge Eugene Young stared at the woman in front of him to make sure she
understood how deadly serious he was. When he felt she understood, he banged
his gavel.
And just like that it was all over, she was going home. Now she had time
to think and dream about how these babies were going to live happily ever
after with her, their big brother, and their daddy. Gwen didn't stand a
chance against her. She was Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald.