All humanity seemed to be missing from T.C. The only thing Chad could see in T.C.'s eyes was anger.

"Coach Russell, I--"

"T.C., stop it!" Eve didn't usually protest when T.C. went into one of his rages, but now was not the time to stand idly by. "Let go of Chad!"

Almost as if coming out of a trance, T.C. blinked twice, then released Chad's arm. Chad took a step away from T.C., not sure as to what he should say next.

"Is it true?" T.C. barked. "Are you in a relationship with my daughter?"

"Yes, I am."

"T.C., I want to speak with you in the hall."

Eve's voice was abrupt, and though T.C. looked as though he wanted to continue berating Chad, he quietly obeyed.

Silence followed, as Chad and Whitney struggled with what to say.

"So, your father didn't take it well?" Chad joked, an obvious understatement.

"He'll come around," Whitney said quickly. Chad went to his girlfriend's side, taking her hand. "He likes you, Chad."

"As a friend, yeah," Chad said, clearly frustrated with the situation. "As your boyfriend? Not so sure about that."

"I promised him I wouldn't date anyone until after I became a tennis star," Whitney recalled, a frown covering her face. "And I promised my mother I wasn't interested in you. And Simone...."

"Simone? What about Simone?"

"You know how she's always had a crush on you. I don't think she's going to take this very well." Whitney took a deep breath, then exhaled. "How many times did I promise her I wasn't interested in you? Oh God, this is worse than I thought!"

"Everything's going to be okay," Chad assured Whitney. Taking a seat beside her in bed, he hugged her close. "Argh, I almost forgot. The snake bite?"

"I'm fine," Whitney whispered. "Physically, anyway." Looking up into Chad's eyes, she said, "Tell me again that everything's going to be okay."

"Everything's going to be okay." But Chad's voice was less sure this time. "You'll see."

**********

"I'm going to tell Chad I'm in love with him!"

Simone was practically giggling with delight as she spoke on the phone with Kay from the hospital phone booth.

"I don't think you should do that, Simone..." Kay couldn't bring herself to tell Simone that Chad loved Whitney, and not her. "Shouldn't you, uh, date him first or something? Work up to telling him you love him?"

"I've been waiting to tell Chad how I feel about him practically since we first met. I think I've waited long enough! Besides, how many times have you snuck into Miguel's room hoping to get him into bed? Compared to you, I'm taking baby steps."

"But I knew Miguel for years!"

"It doesn't matter," Simone insisted, excitedly explaining her point of view. "I feel like I've known Chad forever. Whenever he and I are together, I feel like we can say anything to each other. We have no secrets."

"What about Whitney?"

"Don't go bringing that up again!" Simone snapped. Realizing she'd gone too far, she added, "I haven't seen Chad and Whitney together in months. There's nothing between them, trust me."

"Please, Simone, don't do this," Kay pleaded over the phone. "I don't want you to get your heart broken."

"Is something so wrong with me that Chad couldn't love me?" Simone said, her voice shaking.

"No, but--"

"Then that's that. I'm telling him right now. Goodbye Kay!" Simone slammed down the phone, then rushed out of the phone booth. Why was Kay trying to ruin her happy day? Simone pushed those bad thoughts away...nothing was going to ruin her happiness today. She would tell Chad she loved him, he'd see what had been in front of him the whole time, and they'd live happily ever after. What could go wrong?

**********

"I just don't understand Whitney anymore, Eve."

T.C. and Eve were walking through the hospital parking lot, with Eve trying to get T.C. to calm down. Finally, the anger was gone from T.C.'s voice--to be replaced by a voice filled with pain and sadness.

"How could this happen? I never thought Whitney could do something like this."

"They fell in love, T.C.," Eve said, stroking her husband's back as they walked together. "I don't approve of their sneaking around our backs, and I know you have issues with Whitney dating someone now. But the fact of the matter is, we don't choose who we fall in love with. Or when, for that matter."

"I can never approve of Chad and Whitney," T.C. said. His voice was calm--but Eve knew this was no suggestion, but a declaration that T.C. wouldn't be taking back anytime soon. "Everything I believed about Whitney turned out to be a lie." He turned to Eve, staring into her face. "But I have you, Eve...I know I can always count on you to be honest with me."

For a brief second, Eve thought of her hidden past with Julian--and just as quickly, the thought left her. Eve felt free of her past...she was a new woman now.

"When I think of all the times that Whitney insisted she wasn't interested in any boys...promised she'd become a tennis star before she started dating...she didn't even care about that, did she?"

"I'm sure she did care!" Eve insisted, though unable to offer any proof. "Whitney loves you, T.C. Did you see the pain on her face when she saw how you reacted to what she said? That's all the proof you need to know that Whitney cares about you."

The two continued on their walk through the parking lot, heading back towards the hospital. T.C. hugged his wife close to him. "I guess I still think about Whitney as my baby girl..."

Eve smiled, recalling bringing her first daughter home from the hospital. Yet, reaching back further in time, she recalled something more painful. "Do you ever think about she almost died, T.C.? When she was born, I mean?"

T.C. nodded, a grim expression on his face. "I think about what happened every day," he said solemnly.

Closing her eyes, Eve flashed back to Whitney's birth. Born two months prematurely, the doctors weren't sure that she would survive. Eve hadn't even been able to hold her baby daughter for two days after she was born. The two days of silence and sadness had been unbearable...but, just as quickly, everything had turned out okay, and Whitney ended up a healthy baby.

"But the important thing is that everything turned out okay," T.C. said, kissing his wife on the cheek.

"I don't know what I would have done if she had died," Eve said. She opened her eyes, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I don't know why I'm thinking about that now."

"I don't know what made you think of it either, sweetheart." T.C. brushed his hand over Eve's tear-stained cheek. "But you made me think about Whitney...what she means to me."

"Does that mean you're going to accept her and Chad?" Eve said, hoping for the best. Her eyes brightened. The two were nearly to the entrance to the hospital now.

"No," T.C. said firmly. Eve fell silent. "But I'm going to try to be more reasonable with her. I think if I can just sit down and talk with her, she'll understand why they can't be together."

Eve said nothing, but just stood there as T.C. walked into the hospital. She rubbed her hands through her hair, frustrated with everything that was going on.

Ivy stood behind Eve, having just arrived. "Two down, one to go," she thought to herself. "Now how do I go about getting Eve's blood?"

**********

Tabitha looked around nervously as Eve went through her closet, looking for something to wear. "You seem to have an odd taste in clothes," Eve said, pulling out a garish blouse and holding it up in front of her.

"I've been around for a long time," Tabitha pointed out, her guest not knowing just how long. "Fashion styles have come and gone. Now let's see, what can I find for you?" She flipped through the clothes, holding up pieces for Eve to take or reject. A flapper dress from the 1920s, a miniskirt from the 1960s, a fancy, flowing dress from the nineteenth century...Eve turned down everything Tabitha offered.

"I'm running out of options," Tabitha said, throwing up her hands in despair.

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

Tabitha froze. She recognized the voice: Grace! What was doing here? And why hadn't Timmy warned her about this?

Timmy came running into the closet. "Grace is here," he whispered. Eve gasped at Timmy.

"My nephew," Tabitha explained, as she pointed to Timmy. Eve nodded, taking this in--and not quite believing it.

"Hello? Tabitha, are you home? I made two tomato soup cakes and thought you might want one..."

"Shouldn't we go talk to this friend of yours?" Eve said, not bothering to whisper.

"No, no, I--"

The closet door opened again, and Grace strolled in, her tomato soup cake in hand. "There you are," she said, a smile adorning her face. "I almost thought you were hiding from me."

Tabitha paused, sure that she was caught now. Grace looked at Eve, whose back was turned to her. "Eve?" Grace said. "What are you doing dressed like that?"

**********

Whitney walked up towards the entrance of the Russell home, glad to be out of the hospital. She'd had a tumultuous morning, but knowing that her secret was finally out gave her hope that things could only get better.

The door opened just as she reached out to touch it, and T.C. appeared in the doorway, too bags in hand. He sat the bags on the front porch, not even seeming to notice his daughter standing in front of him. Behind him, Eve appeared, a worried look on her face. "Are you sure this is right, T.C.? Throwing Whitney's stuff out like this?"

"What?" Whitney couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Daddy, we need to talk."

Yet neither T.C. or Eve looked to Whitney, instead they continued their conversation. "Whitney is out of my life for good, and she's out of yours too."

"Whitney HAS disappointed us both horribly," Eve said. "I guess you're right, T.C." She kissed his cheek. "You're always right."

"Daddy, why are you doing this?" Whitney protested, waving her hand in front of her father's face to get his attention. Again, he didn't seem to notice her.

"Whitney is dead to me," T.C. declared.

"Daddy?" Pleading, Whitney reached out to T.C., but he stepped backwards, shutting the door on her.

"Daddy, please, listen to me." Whitney banged on the front door, to no avail. "Daddy?" she cried out. "Daddy?"

"Dad!"

Whitney woke with a start. Chad cradled his girlfriend in his arms. "Just a bad dream," he said, hugging her close. Blinking, Whitney looked around, seeing they were still in the hospital room. "Wanna talk about it?"

"All my worst dreams were coming true," Whitney said, still shuddering just thinking about it. "My parents disowned me. I had no place to go."

"It's not going to be as bad as that," Chad assured her. He kissed her on the nose, a quick peck of affection.

"Can you be sure about that?" Whitney groaned. Pulling herself out of bed, she got to her feet. "My dad didn't look like he was going to change his mind about you anytime soon. And Mom didn't seem excited about it, either."

"If two people are supposed to be together, then they'll be together," Chad argued, moving towards Whitney. "You can't fight true love."

"Is love enough, though?" Whitney took a step towards the man she loved, gazing straight into his eyes. "My family is important to me, Chad."

"And that's one of the things I love about you." Chad moved ever so slightly closer to Whitney. His lips were inches away from hers. "But you have to be true to yourself, Whitney."

Whitney said nothing, but instead leaned forward, her mouth touching Chad's. The two kissed, a passionate, sweet kiss that seemed like it would never end.

The door to the hospital room opened, and Simone entered, a balloon for Whitney in her hand. Gasping at what she saw, Simone let go of the balloon as she entered the room. "Chad? Whitney?"