CHAPTER 8
(a few hours later – at the hospital)
 

What Whitney loved so much about her job as a lab technician, was that, for hours and hours a day, several days a week, she could forget about things. Forget about her fractured family, forget about her unrequited love, forget about Chad’s betrayal, forget about the disintegration of her relationship with Theresa, and forget about all the poison and pain in Harmony.

“Harmony sucks the life right out of you – they should have renamed the damned place!” Theresa had once remarked to Whitney, when they were still best friends.

Even though she hated to admit it, Theresa had been so right. And that’s why Whitney was working so hard right now, working to earn and save money (she didn’t want to mooch off of Julian, although he would have given her the world, because he doted so much on her.) She was working hard and in her spare time, filling out applications for undergrad programs at the nearby state university. It was a start, and she was pretty sure she’d decided what she wanted to be when she grew up – a doctor, just like Eve. She was excited about her own potential, and for the first time, felt a lifting of the year-long despair that had settled over her and all of Harmony like a plague, after all of the fallings-out.
 

She worked feverishly, confidently, in the lab, running the tests and making sure labels were accurate, and the results got where they were supposed to be. (She’d doubled-up on classes at the local community college throughout last summer, preparing for this job, making sure she was qualified enough to perform it well, and the hospital willingly gave her an intern position to start about 4 months ago. She’d learned quickly, and had become a trusted (albeit temporary) member of the lab technician team, even though she wasn’t fully considered a tech, yet. She was still taking a few classes – she figured that, once she declared pre-med at the University, she could get credit for all of her classes so far, as well as the internship at the Hospital.)

As Whitney worked, her mind wandered. She had very little time to figure out what the hell was going on, or went on, with Theresa and Fox. She had to be more convincing tonight, or he’d drop their plan like wildfire! Or, would he….? She was still a bit bothered by his last comment before Ethan walked up – that he would help her out, whether she was “blackmailing” him or not. (And she hated that word! She simply couldn’t link it with herself!)

She thought back to the conversations she’d had with Theresa last spring, right before Theresa walked in on her and Ethan, many months ago…

BEGIN FLASHBACK

They were sitting together, having a catered lunch in Theresa’s newly refurbished office on the top floor of the Crane Industries building. Theresa, as usual, was lamenting her ruined relationship with Ethan, and her shambles of a marriage with Julian.

“At least he didn’t leave you high and dry,” Whitney was trying to reassure her. “He could have left you with nothing – he would have made a good case for it in court…”

“Now you’re starting to sound like Ethan!” Theresa had shot back, upset. “Of course I didn’t WANT to stay married to the @ss, but I needed to provide a future for myself and little Ethan!” she’d continued to protest.

“Well, now, you have little Ethan, you have this cushy job, AND you have the Crane money! I think you made out pretty good, Theresa!” Whitney had insisted. She found herself getting more and more frustrated and angry with all of Theresa’s pity-partying. And she had found it more and more impossible to hang out with Ethan nowadays, because of Theresa. Whitney and Ethan were still close, but he refused to be around her at all anymore, after all of the fall out from the uncovered secrets. Theresa watched Ethan like a hawk, and always knew where he was, who he was with. She’d relaxed her guard a bit, after Gwen’s miscarriage, and subsequent departure from Harmony, but she was still alert and ever watchful.

“Look, you have a child with Julian, and for that reason, and that reason alone, he will continue to take care of you and little Ethan Martin,” Whitney continued. “He’ll always be in your life, and you’ll always be okay because of that. Count your small blessings!” Whitney was insistent. She was upset that Theresa could never see how blessed she was, despite all the turmoil. It was slowly starting to dawn on her how ungrateful Theresa was…

“Of course little Ethan is Julian’s child! Who else’s would he be?” Theresa’s voice was a shrill blast into Whitney’s ears. Whitney sat back, shocked at her outburst.

“Theresa, I’m not questioning Ethan’s parentage – of course he’s Julian’s – that’s what the test results said. Why would I think otherwise?” Whitney tried to reason with Theresa’s, whose dark eyes were wide with anger. Theresa took a deep intake of breath, laid her hands in her lap, and calmly looked up at Whitney.

“Of course, of course. I’m sorry for the outburst! What was I thinking! I’m just so sensitive, after everything that’s happened!” She laughed at herself, coming around her desk to grab Whitney’s hands.

“Why don’t we do a movie tonight, Whit? Let’s get our minds off of things!”

END FLASHBACK

Whitney, in the lab, looked at the petri dish in front of her, her thoughts a jumble, as her mind starting churning madly. Was it possible?….she couldn’t imagine, but perhaps….

“Ms. Russell?” a voice called into the lab – her boss, Dr. Drake.

“Make sure that test is sent ASAP up to my office, okay? Go into the records room to get the old test results for comparison for me!” he barked out the orders, and then left in a whir. Despite his bulldog qualities, Dr. Drake was a dear, and a fantastic doctor.

“Right away!” Whitney called out to his retreating back, and set to work taking care of his order.

“Old test results….” Whitney murmured to herself as she took the elevator up to the 6th floor, to the records room.

Theresa had had a paternity test done on little Ethan Martin about a year ago. Theresa had a copy, now unsealed and left somewhere in the mess of the Crane mansion. But, surely, there was an extra copy of the test results somewhere here at the Hospital…

But what was she thinking? Who else’s could Ethan Martin be? There was Julian, and there was Ethan. That was all! Theresa would have told Whitney if she’d been with anyone else. Whitney started furiously thinking, forcing herself to concentrate as the elevator rose to the 6th floor.

Nicholas had arrived in town AFTER all the paternity stuff had come out. He and Theresa had never met before then, except maybe long, long ago when they were all children. Nicholas had been in and around Europe for years before he finally came back to Harmony. So Nicholas definitely was not an option. Something didn’t fit. It wasn’t Nicholas. Whitney chided herself – what was she thinking?? A test is a test, and no one can fake the results! And if it wasn’t Julian, it was Ethan. So, if it was Ethan, why the hell would Theresa try to hide that?? Ethan was all she’d ever wanted. In everyone’s opinion, had Ethan martin been Ethan’s, Theresa would have gone yelling it from the rooftops, not trying to hide it! So, what was going on?

“Maybe nothing, silly girl!” Whitney chided herself again. “You’ll find the test results and find out that everything’s on the up and up, and that little Ethan is indeed Julian’s – it just doesn’t make sense otherwise!” she talked to herself.

“What doesn’t make sense?” a voice asked as the elevator doors were opened – Whitney hadn’t even noticed them coming open.

“Mom!” she exclaimed, looking at Eve standing in the hall way.