Chapter 8: Just A Dream
All the laughter that we shared would be a memory,
I cannot count the tears cost me if I could have seen,
And do you ever think of me?
And how we used to be?
--Steps

Gwen sighed as she ran a hand through her hair and stared at the file in her hand. What in the world had been happening to Hotchkiss Enterprises while she was gone? The stocks were plummeting, money was not being accounted for and most of the employees had been laid off. She didn’t understand it. She hadn’t been gone that long, how did she miss all of this? She needed to get in touch with the company’s lawyer. It would probably be some snot-nosed, arrogant man who would tell her what to do all the time because he though she was a woman who really shouldn’t be in an office anyway. In no mood for a confrontation, she quickly jotted down a reminder to deal with it later.

The phone buzzed and she rolled her eyes before pressing the extension in her office. “Who is it this time, Lisa? I really have a tone of work so if it’s someone unimportant than please just handle it yourself. I’m sure whatever decision you make will be fine.”

“It’s your mother Ms. Hotchkiss,” Lisa answered timidly. “Should I tell her you’re busy?”

“No,” Gwen said and let out an exasperated sigh. “Let her through. She’ll keep calling if I don’t answer.”

Lisa connected her Rebecca to Gwen’s phone and Gwen cringed as she heard her mother’s cheery voice. “Gwennie! Darling, where are you?”

“Mother, I’m at work and I am really busy so if you have something important to say then just say it.” Gwen said through clenched teeth.

Rebecca let out a dramatic sigh. “You and your brother are rallying against me, aren’t you? Whenever he’s here you two just seem to stack up all the cards against your mother. Haven’t I sacrificed so much for the two of you in the past? Is this how you repay me?”

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Mother, you are being melodramatic. No one is fighting here, okay? It would be so much better if you just let sleeping dogs lie. No good can come of this crusade you have to run my life. You tried once and look where it’s got me. I’m living my life on my terms now.”

“What happened to you, Gwen?” Rebecca asked as if Gwen had become something terrible.

“I grew up, Mother,” she answered and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m not stupid anymore and I know exactly what I need now. I have to go.”

“But – “ Rebecca was cut off as Gwen disconnected the line and returned her attention to the mounds of paperwork stacked on her desk. After a minute, Gwen let out a sigh wondering if she should call her mother to apologize. She didn’t like being rude to her but Rebecca Hotchkiss wasn’t the type of woman that gave up easily. It had taken a long time for her to accept that Julian wasn’t going to marry her and it took everyone by surprise when Jonathan didn’t divorce her. Gwen had been meaning to talk to her father about it but everything had just happened so quickly that it was still a big blur to her.

When she shook her mind out of her reverie and tired desperately to focus her attention on her work, her cell phone rang. She sighed, trying to ignore it but it didn’t stop. She reached for her purse and pulled the annoying instrument out and checked the number. A small smile played at her lips as she read the name and number. Luis Lopez Fitzgerald. She pressed the ‘OK’ button and brought the phone to her ear, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “Hello?”

“What are you wearing?” his deep, sensuous voice rang in her ears and sent a stream of delicious tingles down her spinal cord. Goose bumps broke over her flesh at the low tone and her mind flashed to the night before.

As she flushed crimson, she rubbed the back of her neck, trying to get a coherent sentence out. “Detective, shouldn’t you be working?”

“Lunch break,” he answered. “You wouldn’t happen to have one of those coming up now, would you? I mean I could come by with a bite to eat.”

“I’m sure that’s all you want to do,” Gwen said with a laugh. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and crossed her legs over one another, trying to get into a comfortable position. She eyed her paper work critically. “As tempting as the offer sounds, I have so much paperwork here that it will be a miracle if I even get hungry.”

“Okay,” he answered and she could actually imagine him grinning from ear to ear. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Just wanted to check up and make sure you were okay.”

Gwen felt herself melt. “I’m fine. You don’t need to check up on me all the time, you know Luis. Nothing is going to happen to me.”

“I know,” he replied softly. “I’ll see you tonight at your place?”

“Yeah,” she said with a smile. “I’ll be there at around ten. I’ll call you if I’m running late.”

“Bye.” He hung up and Gwen stared at the phone, a fuzzy feeling making it’s way through her body. She reprimanded herself for acting like a teenager and put her cell phone back in her purse. In her rush to get rid of thoughts she wasn’t ready to deal with, Gwen knocked over a bunch of files, sending papers splattering to the floor. “Good God!”

With a huff, she bent down and started to clean up the mess. As soon as the files were in some kind of order, she opened the top drawer of her desk and shoved them in. Suddenly, her eye caught something inside the drawer and her chest constricted when she pulled it out. It was a frame containing a picture of her and Ethan from when they first started dating. It was a picture for one of the magazines and Ethan, looking years younger was glancing down at her with a huge smile across his face. She sighed, her mind automatically flashing back to the day she first met him.

“Now remember Gwen,” Rebecca whispered as they watched Ethan talking to a bunch of his friends. “You have to knock the socks off of that boy. He’s your key to eternal happiness. Don’t let anything ruin your chances of being his girlfriend.”

“Mother,” Gwen answered rolling her eyes. “I don’t want to do this.”

“Gwen,” Rebecca said with a syrupy smile. “Mother knows best. Listen to me an you’ll be fine.”

Grudgingly, Gwen started to walk over to Ethan and his friends. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him. She really didn’t know him. Of course she thought he was handsome, but that wasn’t enough to actually start a conversation with him. When she approached, the other boys seemed to understand her intentions and moved away from the most eligible bachelor in New England society. Shyly, Gwen tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Ethan said with a polite smile. He furrowed his brow. “Gwen, right?”

“Yeah,” she answered with another smile, ecstatic that he knew her name. “I think our parents know each other.”

“My parents know everyone,” Ethan answered, rolling his eyes. “Sometimes, I think they forget their loved ones. Sometimes, I wish Father would pay a little more attention to me and not some prospective partner.”

“I know what you mean.” Gwen answered in total agreement. “My mother is always more interested in what other people are saying about me than what I have to say about me. If she loves me like she claims she does, she had an odd way of showing it.”

“My mother is great,” Ethan answered and he gestured towards the cobblestone path in that weaved through the Crane gardens indicating that he wanted to take a walk. Gwen looked back at her Mother, who waved and the flicked her wrists in encouragement. “Is that your mother?”

“Yeah,” Gwen answered as she fell into step with Ethan. “That’s Rebecca Hotchkiss.”
“Hotchkiss,” Ethan said as if it had just struck him. “I saw you at that party your parents had hosted New Years’ Eve. You were wearing that blue dress. The one with those sequin thingies.”

“You remember my dress?” Gwen asked flattered.

Ethan blushed. “Your eyes. It brought out the color in your eyes. You were the prettiest girl there.”

It was Gwen’s turn to blush. “Thank you.”

They walked in silence for a couple of minutes before Ethan asked the question that would change her life. “Would you like to go out with me sometime?”

Taken aback, Gwen blinked twice. Had he really asked her out? She smiled widely and then nodded. “I’d love to Ethan Crane.”

“Well,” Ethan said with a self-satisfied smile. “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”

Gwen sighed loudly, reprimanding herself for getting caught up in the past again. “It was beautiful Ethan. While it lasted.”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Luis sighed as he put his phone back into his pocket and made his way back into the police station. The station was relatively quiet, Sam and Officer O’Keefe working on something at the Chief’s desk. Running a hand through his hair, he headed for the coffee maker to get himself a cup. He had a few reports to file and his mind was not on his work.

“Hey Detective,” Marty Quinlain said as he patted him on the back. “Taking a breather.”

“Yeah,” Luis answered as he filled his coffee mug. “Guess the world of crime is mellowing down a bit, huh? Are you as free as I am?”

“Some of us gotta work to be promoted,” Marty answered with a smirk. “There are not a lot of damsels in distress left for us to save anymore. Gee, I wonder why.”

“Very funny,” Luis scoffed as he took a sip of the hot liquid. “I worked hard for the promotion and you know it. The Crane case was just an added bonus.”

“I was just playing,” Marty answered with a grin. “We know you’re Harmony’s finest. It’s an honor to work with you.”

“Get back to work, wise guy,” Luis said as he headed for his desk. As soon as he was there, Sam walked up to him an amused yet suspicious look on his face. Luis groaned. “Sam, I know that look. I’m not hiding anything.”

“Hey, I didn’t even ask!” Sam answered throwing his hands in the air. “So what is this thing that you’re blatantly refusing that you are not hiding? Or should I say whom?”

Luis rolled his eyes and leaned against his chair. “Sam, it’s nothing and no one. Let’s just leave it at that, okay?”

“Hank told me that you weren’t home last night when he called. And it was pretty late. Come on Luis, is it anyone I know?” Sam asked as if Luis hadn’t even spoken. “Hank said it has to be someone who doesn’t grace the Pool Hall’s exquisite interior because you’ve practically dated every woman who goes there and things didn’t usually end up pretty. And considering your reputation for explosive relationships…”

Luis gave his boss a death glare. “Sam.”

“Okay, a little too far,” Sam laughed and then placed a file on his desk. “I’ll get it out of you sooner or later. Do me a favor and do a background check on this guy. Looks like the crime scene is acting up again.”

“I’m on it,” Luis said eagerly wanting to change the subject. He wasn’t ready for anyone finding about Gwen, yet. Sam and his family would never understand. They’d warn him about the dangers of no-strings attached relationships, they’d warn him about Rebecca Hotchkiss, they’d warn him about not starting World War III when his family was so happy. He appreciated their concern but for once, he wanted a relationship where he wouldn’t have to worry about the repercussions of it all. Sleeping with Gwen Hotchkiss seemed to be the solution. It wasn’t like he could stay away from her, anyway. Not after what had happened in Boston and the night before.

Sighing, he pulled open the drawer of his desk and took in a sharp breath as he saw the picture n to. It was a picture of him and Sheridan at Ethan and Theresa’s engagement party. He ran a hand over his face as his mind flashbacked to time he had first met Sheridan.

"You try anything else and I’m using your tires for target practice. Well, I hope you had a good time, buster, because you're about to say good-bye to life as you know it. There's no way your sorry behind isn't doing jail time after those moves." He had shouted at her as he walked to the car, not knowing that the owner was woman, let alone a Crane.

"My name isn't Buster, my behind is anything but sorry, and you can't arrest me," she answered haughtily, surprising him and enraging him at the same time.

"You've broken at least 10 laws in the last minutes. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't arrest you." He asked as her face came into view. Little did he know then that, that face was going to be one he would never forget.

"Because my last name is Crane." She answered, making him see her in a whole new light - a light that did nothing but start off an incredible love-hate relationship.

He felt a smile spread across his face as he thought of their first, not so friendly meeting and a sharp pain in is heart followed. The saga of Luis and Sheridan had ended terribly. He didn’t know what had happened but he knew it was a long time in the making. Hell, who had he been kidding? Maybe their relationship was doomed from the beginning. Sam and many others had warned him that a relationship with a Crane, even as one as wonderful as Sheridan could only end in heartache. They had been right and he had been too stubborn and stupid to think that they weren’t.

He traced the outline of Sheridan’s face through the glass with his index finger. “Where in the world did we go wrong?”