Eve sat back into her chair and look at the picture of her, TC, and their daughters. She starred at the photo pondering where everything had gone wrong. They were no longer the picture-perfect family they used to be. TC had kicked her out of the house and refused to see her. As did Simone and Whitney when they discovered Eve's horrid past and that Chad was Eve's son with Julian Crane. 'My son' Eve thought to herself, letting slight smile form on her face. Her smile faded with surprise knock on her door.
"Yes? Come in." she said, only wishing she hadn't when she saw who was visiting her.
"Well, hello, fellow mother of the year." Ivy said sarcastically walking into Eve's office.
"Get out." Eve said forcefully.
"So rude." Ivy said walking up to Eve's desk.
"What do you want?"
"Well, I was in the hospital, by the way, you haven't congratulated me on keeping my spot on the Hospital board yet." Ivy said showing a proud, sly smile.
"I didn't? Good. The meetings aren't held in my office, Ivy."
"I know, I was just in the area, so I decided to stop by and see you."
"Why? I don't like you."
"Oh Eve, I was hoping we could call some sort of truce. We have so much in common, you know? We both lied to our husbands, made our children miserable, had illegitimate children,..."
"You are crazy, you know that? You really believe I'm going to just decide to be nice to you and forget about everything you've done to Sam and Grace?"
"We need each other as friends, Eve."
"I don't need friends like you."
"But like Grace? Tell me, when was the last time she called you, or came to see how you were doing?"
"Leave her alone."
Ivy turned around to see Julian standing in the doorway.
"Well, my day's going down the drain fast." Eve said.
"Hello Julian." Ivy said.
"Get out," he said.
"Oh you want to reconnect with your lover?"
"Ivy, go." Eve said, holding her head.
"Alight, fine." Ivy said walking toward the door. "You know, one would think you two would be a lot nicer to everyone, seeing how your sinful past was never made into a public scandal. Well, at least not yet."
"Damn it, I hate when she's right." Julian said after Ivy had gone out the door.
"Good, now you leave too." Eve said, pulling a bottle of aspirin out of her drawer.
"I need to talk to you, it's important."
"Oh what is it?" Eve asked, annoyed.
"It's about our son."
"What? Is he all right? Have you seen him?" Eve asked impatiently. Eve hadn't seen or talked Chad in almost 3 months. Every time, they saw each other out somewhere, Chad would leave or go in another direction.
"He's fine. You haven't talked to him?" Julian asked, worried about Eve.
"No. Well, what do you want to talk to me about Chad?"
 

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Chad flipped through the papers on his desk and sighed in frustration as he threw the papers down to the desk. He took a look around his office. His office. He had come so far. Sure, it wasn't a producing company like he's always wanted, but it was his. He had gotten his place up and going in 3 months. He sure didn't give himself much of a social life anymore.
Chad wiped his hands across his face when he heard a knock at his open door.
"Good morning," Sheridan said, walking in with a plastic sack, smiling up a storm.
"Morning." Chad answered smiling back. Sheridan had that effect on people.
"Hungry?" she asked coming up to his desk and holding up the sack. "I bet you haven't had breakfast."
"I bet you have." Chad joked.
"What is this? Make fun of the pregnant woman day?" Sheridan asked showing a mix of a pout and anger.
"Oh all right. What'd you bring?"
"Doughnuts," she said, showing Chad a look asking 'What else?', "So how's the club?" Sheridan said, pulling out the box of food.
"It's coming together."
"Still opening next week?" she asked taking a bit.
"Planning on it."
"Good. I'm sure it will be a huge success." Sheridan said smiling.
"I'm not going, Sheridan."
"Going where, what are you talking about?" Sheridan asked, playing dumb.
"I got a visit from the she-devil herself this morning and she told me about the others coming home. And the dinner. And I'm not going."
"Oh now why not? Don't you want to meet your other sister and your brother. You have a brother."
"Half brother."
"Don't be like that. You don't even know Nikolas or Livvie."
"Are they anything like Felicity?"
"No one is like Felicity, except Father."
"That's never a good thing."
"Come on, Chad. Luis and I will be there."
"I'll send you a sympathy card."
"Chad, why don't you want to go?"
"Has pregnancy mad you forgetful? Because I still remember. You don't know the true Crane until you've seen them from an outsiders point of view. And I have. I don't want anything to do with Julian or that family."
"Well, then I guess you don't want anything to do with me, then. Because my last name my be different now, but I'm still a Crane. And those people you hate with a passion are my family and no matter how many terrible things they do, they are still that, my family."
"Even your father? Have you forgotten what he did to me. Paid a man to kill."
"I don't forgive my father for that. And he is a lost man, but what about Julian? He didn't know anything about what Alistair had done. And when he found out, he was so angry at our father. Even though you weren't in his life, he still cared about you. He still does." Sheridan said.
Chad got up and walked around his desk and out into the club where Sheridan immediately followed him.
"You have to talk to him sometime, Chad. He's your father."
"On a list of 5,000 subjects not to talk about to me, this being 4,999, I believe that's right above my love life. Would you like to talk about that next?"
Sheridan saw the hurt on Chad's face just thinking about her, and immediately turned away.
"Because I sure as hell wouldn't any more than I want to talk about this. Thanks for the food. I'll see later."
"All right." Sheridan said quietly, walking toward the door, "I'm sorry, Chad. I just want you to get everything you want and be happy."
"I'm working on that."
 

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Noah walked in the office building of his and Ethan's law firm. He was immediately greeted by his secretary, Alice.
"Good morning, Mr. Bennett. Ethan and your wife are waiting in your office," the short redhead said.
"Why's Whitney here?"
"I don't know. She just got here a few minutes ago."
Noah headed back toward his office and opened the door to find Alice with correct.
"What's going on?" Noah asked.
"I just came by to talk to you about that case," Ethan said, "but I think it can wait until you two are through."
"All right." Noah said as Ethan left the room and closed the door.
"Are you all right?" Noah asked Whitney who was sitting in his chair.
"Not really. My mother called me this morning after you left."
Noah got a look on his face, knowing he was busted. "Whit, I-"
"Why did you give her our phone number?"
"She would've gotten it eventually, besides, I think you two should begin to work things out, before you guys lose more time." Noah said sitting his briefcase down on his desk.
"Have you forgotten what she's done? She lied to me and my family, claiming she was helping us. I don't need or want people like that in my life or our baby's."
"What about my dad. Do you want him in our child's life, because I do and he lied to me and my family about his past with Ivy Winthrop. But we forgave him, Whit. And I got a brother and business partner out of it."
Whitney sat there and soaked up everything Noah had said, when he opened his briefcase. Whitney saw the strange look on his face and peered over and looked inside.
"Did you client steal finger paintings of something?"
Inside the briefcase were pictures, sketches, paints, and pencils.
"She picked up the wrong one." Noah realized.
"She?"
 

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Eighteen year old Nikolas Crane sat on a bench outside the Book Cafe and could only laugh when he saw the woman in white.
"Don't say a word," she said forcefully.
"Don't worry, I won't. I'm too busy laughing," he said, laughing and enjoying the site.
She sat down next to him and stared in disgust at the coffee stains.
After getting control of his laughter, Nikolas decided to get the whole story. "Okay, what happened, Livvie?"
"Some cell phone talking, coffee jugging jerk ran into me." Livvie said angrily.
"Was it an accident?"
"I doesn't matter. He was walking down the street talking on his cell phone. Those things should be outlawed." Just then her cell phone began ringing and Livvie reached in her back pocket and answered it without hesitation, leaving Nikolas chuckling at how hypocritical his sister was.
"Hello?"
"Hello, sister dear." Felicity said, "How are you?"
"Been better." Livvie said, motioning to Nikolas who it was.
"Well, where are you and Nikolas?"
"Outside some building," she looked up at the sign, "the Book Cafe."
"Well, I'm right inside, some in and sit with me. We three need to talk," she said hanging up.
Livvie and Nikolas walked into the Book Cafe. Livvie was the only Crane in history that could walk into a crowded room wearing a completely white outfit with a coffee stain running down the center with her head held just as high as if there wasn't a stain there at all. They saw Felicity near the back at a table and walked toward her.
Felicity stood up and greeted them, hugging Nikolas.
"Oh Nikolas, you look wonderful and Livvie," she let her eyes wonder over the stains, "my you painters do enjoy you bold statements, don't you."
"Watch out, she's being nice." Nikolas whispered to Livvie.
"This is nice?"
"Come on, sit down, you two. The future of our family is at stake."
"What's going on?" Nikolas asked after he and Livvie took a seat across from their older sister.
"Well, since it's been proved that out father has more hormones that brains-"
"We needed proof for that?" Livvie piped up.
"-there is a huge threat against out family."
"What is it?" Nikolas asked, obviously more concerned than Livvie.
"Not what, who. Father's bastard child with that jazz singer turned doctor."
"Doctor? Well, Dad sure got frisky with some classy ladies back then." Livvie said.
"How long ago was this?" Nikolas asked.
"Around 25 years." Felicity answered.
"Ah ha! So that's why you're throwing a temper tantrum. Big bad-ass, topnotch bitch Felicity Crane isn't in the stoplight anymore." Livvie said.
"She never was." Nikolas whispered only to be heard by his sisters.
"More than you two ever were." Felicity said, returning to her normal harsh voice.
"What did he do, City? Move in? Used up all the hot water? Or, no, he stole your masseuse, didn't he?
"This is not a joke. He could take away everything we three deserve." Felicity said.
"I don't know, Felicity. I got a letter from Sheridan last week and she said he's really nice and having a hard time dealing with all of this." Nikolas said.
"Waking up one morning and realizing you're in this family is a fate worse than death." Livvie said.
"We three have to bound together." Felicity said, reaching over and putting each one of her hands on Livvie and Nikolas's. "You two are my siblings. My only friends in the world-"
"Ever since the invention of glue." Livvie shot out.
"Shut up. Now, if we stick together, Chad Harris will not stand a chance." Felicity smiled warmly, sending fear through Nikolas and Livvie's bodies.
"I have to get to work. I'll see you two at dinner tonight." Felicity got up and walked out of the Book Cafe.
"I do hope you forgot to clean out your ears this morning," Livvie said, "if not, just forget everything that psycho just said."
"I shouldn't have a probably with that."
"So, you never told me Sheridan sent you a letter."
Nikolas had completely forgotten mentioning it and wished he hadn't. "I guess, I just forgot until Felicity brought up this subject." Nikolas saw the hurt look on her face. "It wasn't a long letter. It was brief. I wouldn't even call it a letter. It was more like a memo."
"More than I've ever gotten." Livvie said.
Livvie had been outcast by most of the family for most of her life. She was send away to boarding school 4 years before the other children. She always blamed it on her brown locks and as a very young child, wanted to dye her hair blonde so she'd match the rest of the family, but over the years, she began to love the color and the fact that no one believed she was a daughter of Julian Crane and Ivy Winthrop.
Nikolas sat there for a moment and looked over toward the door, just in time to see a beautiful brunette walk in and immediately catch her eye.
'Who is that?' he thought to himself. Of course he wouldn't know her, but he figured she would be a local girl. Nikolas was stricken with her, he didn't even her Livvie calling his name.
"Nik? Nik?"
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"What do you think the 'rents are going to say?"
Nikolas thought back and realized what Livvie was talking about, "I don't know. Probably not much. They'll probably kill over in shock."
"Maybe this day won't end some bad." Livvie shrugged, as Nikolas continued watched the young woman as she was joined by another young girl.