New Beginnings, Chapter 4
 
 

" What did you say, Theresa?"

" I said that I know who your father is."

" How? Are you sure?"

" Pretty sure."

" Well, TELL ME!!"

Theresa shook her head. " I'm sorry, Chad. I can't."

" What do you mean, YOU CAN’T?!? "

Theresa looked at Chad, totally confused. When she had shown up on Chad’s door, she KNEW she was going to tell him the truth. But, then, Luis had called. Luis. Her loving,but, overprotective brother. The person who believes that the Cranes had something to do with their father’s disappearance. Until just a few moments ago, Theresa hadn’t put it all together, but, she did. Martin…..the truth about Ethan….and now, the truth about Chad.

" I can’t Chad. I can’t tell you."

" Why the hell not, Theresa? You SUPPOSED to be my friend."

" And, I am. I’m doing this to protect you."

" Protect me?"

" Chad, everytime I’ve heard you talk about your father, you’ve said that you were going to confront him. Be in his face. Make waves. You certainly don’t intend to keep quiet."

" Damn Skippy, I’m not. Not even thinking about keeping quiet. I’m gonna be loud and proud, and he won’t ignore me anymore."

" See?! THAT is the problem, Chad. Your father isn’t the kind of man who will appreciate that."

" So?"

" SO?! Chad, I don’t want you hurt. If anything happened to you…". Theresa began to cry…harder and harder.

Chad sat Theresa down on the bed. " Theresa, nothing’s going to happen to me."

" You don’t know that."

" Yes, I do."

" No, you don’t. Chad, I’m not going to tell you. I can’t risk you knowing. Chad, I DO think you’re in danger."

" Shouldn’t I get the chance to decide that for MYSELF?"

" Not this time. This is your life we’re talking about. Chad, I hope you don’t hate me, but, even if you do, I won’t tell you. I can’t lose you!", Theresa says, running towards the door, and out of the room. Chad runs after her, but, Theresa is too fast. Chad went back into his room  and sat on the bed.

His father. Theresa knows who he is. She’s scared for him. Chad could tell that she meant it, too. From the bottom of her soul. Part of him was furious with her. Wanted to tell her that he hated her for not telling him. Yet, another part of him was touched  that she actually cared enough about him to want to protect him. As Chad sat there, and sudden chill went down his spine. His mind went back to Orville’s warnings of danger. Back then, he thought Orville was a crazy old man. But, Theresa’s not crazy or old, and she looked as terrified as Orville did. Chad didn’t know what to do…he was totally confused. He thought, if he pressed Theresa hard enough, he could get the answers to the mystery of his life. But, now, he didn’t know if he wanted to.
 

Sheridan was walking along the Docks, when she heard someone call out her name.

" Sheridan?"

She turned around..

" Luis?"

Luis hugged her. " Are you OK?"

" Yes, sure. Why?"

" Why? You stand me up, and you ask why?"

Sheridan’s eyes widen. A date with Luis! She had forgotten all about it. " Oh, Luis! I’m sorry. I forgot about our date."

" Forgot? Am I so dull?"

Sheridan smiled sweetly. " Hardly. I…..I’ve just had a hard day today."

" Anything you want to talk about?"

Sheridan wrapped her arms around Luis, who returned her hug. " You know, this is my favorite place in the world…In your arms. No other place makes me feel as safe. "

" Well, I’m glad I can be of good use."

" You are."

Luis led them to a bench. He looked at Sheridan with worry. " Sheridan, are you sure you’re OK? You seem preoccupied."

" I told you…I had a hard day today."

" I know. But, you didn’t tell me why?"

‘ I found out that my father wanted to kill my brother’s child!’, Sheridan wanted to scream. But, she couldn’t. She had to find out the truth before she told anyone, including Julian.

" Well….you know I did some volunteering at the Harmony Seniors Village, and today, 2 people died. It was just a sad atmosphere….and….one of the people was a woman…one who was the same age my mother would have been, and she looked a little like my mother.."

" And, it took you back to that dark place where your mother’s death still haunts you."

Sheridan nodded, upset that the lie came so easily. " Yes…..that’s it."

" Well, I understand. Is there anything I can do to help?"

" No, Luis, you are doing enough just being here for me."

" I’m glad. "

Luis and Sheridan just sat in silence, and she let Luis comfort her. Sheridan didn’t want to lie to Luis, but, she didn’t feel she had any choice. She didn’t know how to approach any of it. What scared her was she already felt in her heart that Chad WAS  Julian’s son. He was her family, and she was trying to think of ways to bring him into the family. ‘Stop it!’, she admonished herself. You don’t even know if it’s true. You have to find that out first.

" Luis….what would you do if your father walked back into your life tomorrow?"

Sheridan felt Luis’ body tense up immediately.

" What do you mean?"

" I mean, if he arrived, out of the blue tomorrow, what would you do?"

" Depends."

" Depends?"

" On why he was gone. If he had a good reason…"

" Luis. You’re telling me, t hat if your father came tomorrow, but, had a ‘bad reason’ for leaving, yet came to you contrite, remorseful, begging your forgiveness, you’d throw away the possibility of a relationship on a ‘good reason’?"

" Yes. If my father doesn’t have a good reason for being gone, then he’s a sonuvabitch who deserted his family and deserves nothing but my contempt. Where is this coming from, Sheridan?"

Sheridan shrugged her shoulders. " I don’t know. Luis, would you mind if I went home? I’m  not really feeling in the mood to be with people. I love you, but, I need to be alone."

Luis couldn’t say that he wasn’t disappointed, but, he knew that her mother sometimes put Sheridan in a mood that not even he could touch sometimes. " Sure."

Luis walked Sheridan to her car, and he watched as she drove off. Once she was out of Luis’ view, Sheridan placed a call on her cellphone.

" Hi. This is Sheridan. I was wondering if you would meet me at Harmony Hospital. I have to stop by home first, so, just wait for me. "
 

Pilar was sitting in the living room, working on some items that she would sell at Grace’s shop when Theresa came in. Pilar could see instantly that Theresa had been crying.

" Theresa? What’s wrong?"

" Nothing, Mama. Just a bad day."

" Theresita, don’t lie to me."

" Mama, I can’t talk about it. Maybe, someday, I will. Leave it alone."

The resolution in her voice made Pilar know that Theresa wouldn’t tell her anything. Theresa went into the kitchen, and came out with a cup of tea. She sat on a chair, across from Pilar. They sat in silence, until Theresa spoke up.

" Mama, do you believe Luis when he says that the Cranes had something to do with Papa’s disappearance?"

" Theresa, why do you ask me such a question?"

" I just want to know, Mama, are they capable of it."

Pilar thought about the question, and looked at Theresa. There was a reason for it, but, she couldn’t figure out what it could possibly be.

" Yes, Theresa, I believe Alistair Crane is capable of ANYTHING."

" And, Julian Crane?"

" I don’t know. I think Julian is a ruthless, cold-blooded man. Not much different than his father, but, just enough to make a distinction. Why?"

" I was just wondering."

Theresa got up, and took her cup to her room. Soon after Theresa had left, Luis came home.

" Luis."

Luis kissed Pilar on the cheek. " Mama."

" I thought you had a date with Sheridan."

" So did I. But, she stood me up."

Pilar looked at him with concern. " Why?"

" Well, she says that while volunteering, someone passed away that reminded her of her mother."

" Oh."

" Yes. She was really down, Mama. I wanted to help her, but, she didn’t want it."

" Her mother is a sensitive subject for her. Her death always haunted Sheridan."

" I understand that. I just wanted to help."

" Sometimes, Mijo, you have to let people have their own pain. Sheridan knows that she can count on you, which is most important."

" You’re right, Mama. When the time is right for her, Sheridan will let me in."
 

Sheridan looked around the hallway, which was clear. She knocked on the door once. Then, she did it again.

" Julian?", she called out.

When she heard no response, she opened the door. She was relieved to find no one there. Sheridan knew that she should work fast. She went to Julian’s dresser drawers, stopping when she found the handkerchiefs. She pulled one out, and then went into his bathroom, finding his hairbrush. She used the handkerchief to remove as much hair as possible, and balled  it up and put it in her purse.

She was on her way out of the room, when..

" Sheridan? What the hell are you doing in MY room?"

" I…well, looking for you, of course."

" For what reason?"

" I…I wanted to talk to you about Ethan. I know that he sent you a letter. You haven’t sent a response."

" I….I have nothing to say to Ethan. He’s Sam Bennett’s problem now."

" Sam’s problem? Julian, he was YOUR son, from the day he was born until just awhile ago."

" No. He was NEVER my son. He was always SAM’S! Thanks to that bitch of a wife I have."

" You know Julian, maybe you were SUPPOSED to lose Ethan. To feel this pain. So that you would appreciate..", Sheridan stopped herself.

" Appreciate? Appreciate what?"

" Appreciate love, Julian. You have adoring love from Ethan. Love that you’re throwing away." Sheridan didn’t even wait for a response. She left Julian’s room so fast, he didn’t have a chance to really think about what she could be doing there. Anyway, Julian didn’t care. He was preparing for a visit from the ‘lovely Rebecca’.

Sheridan got into her car, and arrived at her destination: Harmony Hospital. She knew where he would be.

She opened the door to the Chief of Staff, to find him there.

" Hello, Warren."

" Sheridan! It sounded serious on the phone."

" It is. I need your help. I’m not going to kid you, it’s going to involve breaking a few hospital rules, and I need to know that I can trust you."

" Sure, Sheridan. Anything for you. "

" You still involved in genetics?"

" Of course. I’m head of that division of research in my family’s company. You know that I have a Masters in Genetics, even though my PhD is in Biology."

" Good. I was watching this show on CourtTV the other day, and the lawyers were talking about the advances in DNA testing. They said on the show that you didn’t even need blood anymore. All you needed was something from the person, like, say, hair."

" That’s true. We can get DNA from human hair."

" Now, I want to know is this true: anyone who’s had a procedure at this hospital…their DNA is in the computer?"

" Yep. We began this in earnest around five years ago."

" I need for you to get someone’s DNA profile out of this hospital’s computer."

" Now?"

" Yes."

" This is important to you."

" Yes. And, discretion is of the essence."

Warren nodded. " Ok, no one should be there this time of night. Let’s go. "

Sheridan and Warren made it to the Lab, which was indeed dark. Warren went to the filing cabinet where they kept the special disks for files, and got a new one. He booted up the computer and put the disk in.

" What name am I looking for?", Warren asks.

" Chad Harris."

Warren types up the name, and looks for the DNA profile. " He’s here. They’ve done a profile on him."

" Copy it to the disk. "

Warren did as he was asked, and took the disk out.

" Where’s the sample?"

Sheridan gave him the handkerchief.

" Warren, I need for you to be absolutely sure about this. I want two, three tests run if possible. It can NOT be in this hospital. In fact, Nowhere on anything should the name Crane be on it. Do you understand? NO ONE can know what you’re doing for me. And, when you get the results, I want you to hand deliver them to me. NO ONE sees the results before I do. Will you do that for me?"

Warren nods. " Sure, Sheridan. I’ll take them over to the company’s lab right away. I have some top DNA technicians to give it to."

" Thank you, Warren.  You have my cellphone number?"

" Yes."

" Call me when you get the results. Day or night. I don’t care what time. But, I need them, ASAP."

" Sure, Sheridan. "

" It won’t be good for me to be seen with you. I’ll leave out first, and then you can. Thanks so much, Warren. I knew I could trust you."

Sheridan gives him a kiss on the cheek and leaves the Lab.