Who You Really Are Chpt 16
by lillbugg
 
 

The next day dawned bright and sunny. Theresa was up at the crack of dawn and hightailed it to the hospital before Chad even could open his eyes. She scooted throught the doors, dodging doctors and bleeding patients in her haste. She farely ran to Eve's office and threw the door open. Eve was there. In a panic, Theresa raced through the hospital in search of her.
Eve was sitting in the lab, waiting for the paternity test results. She had run Chad's as soon as she had the chance. Now she was on pins and needles waiting for the results. Could it really be him? Her long lost son? Back from the dead? Just as the tests came back, Theresa burst through the door. Eve swung around and stopped her at the doorway.
"Are the tests back? What does it say?" Theresa asked, trying desperately to look over Eve's shoulder.
"I'm running them right now. The lab has been backed up. You're not allowed in here. I will call you as soon as I come up with the results."
"No way. I am waiting right here."
"Suit yourself, as long as right here means int he hallway," Eve said as she pushed Theresa out the door. She quickly closed it, thanking her lucky stars that Theresa had only a one track mind. Nervously, she approached the computer screen. The results sat right in front of her. Her eyes grew large.
"He's not my son," she whispered to herself. "He's not even a Crane. But I was so sure. He seemed so familiar." She looked over the results, trying to find some mistake, but there was none. Chad Harris was not related to her. Eve breathed a sigh of relief. Whitney had told her that she and Chad had slept together. She was just glad she wouldn't have to tell Whitney that she had slept with her own brother. That would have destroyed her. With a smile on her face, Eve began running the paternity results on Ethan Martin.

Theresa paced outside the door. She had to get in there. She had to see the results. If Lil Ethan wasn't Ethan's, her life was over. She would never win him back. There had to be some way...Theresa ran to the emergency care center. She looked from patient to patient until she came upon an unconscious man under the care of Eve. She had made up her mind, she had to get in to that lab, not matter what. With only a slight pause, she unplugged his breathing machine.

Eve was paged just before the results came up. An emergency. She ran fromt he lab, not noticing Theresa lurking just behind the door. As soon as she was out of sight, Theresa quickly snuck inside. She went straight to the computer and gasped at what she saw.
"No!" she said. "No, it can't be!"
Ethan Martin was Julian's.

Eve started performing CPR on her patient. She couldn't understand how he just suddenly quit breathing. He had been doing so well. One of the nurses gasped and quickly raced to the wall. Eve watched her plug the machine back in.
"How could that have happened?" she asked the nurse.
"I don't know. I checked on him not five minutes ago and everything was fine."
Eve was perplexed. Plugs just don't fall out of walls, at least not with these machines.

Theresa was panicked. He couldn't be Julian's, he just couldn't. She had to find a way to make it not so. Quickly, she deleted Julian's name from the results and added Ethan's. No one would ever find out, she thought to herself, and smiling, walked quickly out the door.

Eve returned to the lab and found Theresa smiling in front of the door. She looked at her curiously, then walked into the lab. Theresa had been so panicked before, now she seemed so happy. Eve ran off a copy of the results. She must have snuck into the lab Eve thought after she saw Ethan's name in the fathers spot. But something was just not right. Eve couldn't shake a feeling she had. She shrugged it off and went to tell Theresa the news, even though she was positive Theresa already knew.

Whitney and Fox were enjoying smoothies and conversation at the country club bar. Fox had Whitney in stitches with his version of what had happened at the Crane mansion the night of Theresa's party and how he had tricked her into bed with him. He watched her curiously.
"Aren't you a little jealous?" he asked.
"Jealous? Of what?"
"Of Theresa. She has everything."
"You mean had everything," Whitney reminded him."If you call riches and men lusting after her everything, then yes she did. But look at how she got it. She lied and schemed and degraded herself to get things that didn't end up making her happy. Even if she had won Ethan, she would have had to lie to him for the rest of her life so he would never know the real her. That's not what i call everything."
Fox nodded."I call riches everything."
"That's because you're a Crane."
Fox laughed. "Then I guess Theresa fit right in. SO what about you, what do you call everything?"
"This is everything," Whitney said, motioning to the country club. "I have a great job, a loving family, and I am enjoying myself. I am honestly happy right now."
"And what about us? Where do you think this is going?"
"I think that you are a Crane. you will never be happy with just one woman and I think I am too young to get into a serious relaitonship right now. I think we're just having a good time."
"I like your answer. Here's to having a good time," Fox said, raising his smoothy glass.
 

Fox opted to walk home instead of taking the Crane limo after a tennis match with Whitney. She was right of course, he wouldn't be happy with just her. He was, after all, Julian's son. He noticed a familiar head of raven hair sitting on a bench near him. WIth an eveil grin, he walked up to her.
"Hi there, Theresa. Decided to come out by yourself to bemoan your fate."
A pair of chesnut eyes turned and looked into his.
"I am not Theresa," the girl answered coldly.
Fox was taken back. Though she resembled Theresa remarkably, she most obviously wasn't. She was younger, curvier, her skin radiant with the golden touch of many days spent on the beach. Fox drew his breath in. The girl eyed him.
"You obviously know my sister."
"Oh, you're Theresa's sister. That explains the resemblance."
The girl cringed. "I was afriad of that," she muttered under her breath.
"What?" Fox asked.
"Nothing. My name's Paloma. I am here for a few weeks to visit my loving family," she said sarcastically.
Fox noted the sarcasm. There was a story in there somwhere, but she didn't seem all that willing to share at the moment. She was glorious. Her eyes were deep, hiding years of pain. She couldn't be any more than seventeen. "One year, my luscious dove. One year and...," heavenly images of what he could do to her swam through his head. She watched him suspisciously.
"My name's Nicholas Crane. My friends and family call me Fox, and you can too."
"Why? I am not your family or your friend," she said sharply.
"My my, what a firecracker," Fox said outloud, watching her reaction. She looked at him, trying hard to hide the smile that was threatening to spread her beautiful lips.
"You keep that smile," Fox said."One day, I will see it without tricks." He winked at her, then walked away.

Paloma watched him go. He was glorious, coming and going, she thought to herself. Maybe coming to Harmony was not totally a waste of time. Her aunt had basically had to beg her to come visit her family. She had not wanted to at all. Why should she she thought. When had they ever paid more than the minimal amount of attention to her. All their weddings had been done in such haste that she had barely even gotten wind of them before they happened, let alone be invited. Her mother had come to see her only on rare ocassions and Paloma was even more rarely sent for. She was sent off at such a young age that she barely remembered any of her brothers or sister. Her sister. Paloma sneered as she thought of Theresa. Theresa the golden child. The favorite daughter. She could do no wrong in her family's eyes. She had been the chosen child, while Paloma had been sent away and basically forgotten. She had seen the pictures of the glorious parties that Theresa had thrown. All the family dressed in designer gowns and tuxedos. Smiling happily at the camera. And yet, they never seemed to have enough money to ask her home, not until a few months ago. She did not care for them for it was obvious to her that they cared little for her. She sighed. It was going to be a long few weeks.
 

Theresa continued trying to call Ethan, but the operator said that it had been disconnected. Theresa frowned. Must have been Gwen's doing. Ethan would never hide his phone number from her. She called a taxi and told the driver to drive as fast as he could to the Crane mansion. She had to be the one to tell Ethan. She just had too.
 

Julian picked up the phone on the third ring. He and Ivy had been enjoying each other's company in his study, in every sense of the word.
"Hi Julian, it's Eve. I got the test results."
Julian cleared his throat. "And what did they say?"
"Ethan Martin is Ethan's."
Julain clsed his eyes. He was surprised at the disappointment he felt swelling inside of him. Ivy noticed and put her arms around him.
"Are you okay, Julian?" Eve asked.
"Yes. I'm fine. Just a little surprised. I was sure this was another one of Theresa's lies."
I'm not so sure it isn't still one, Eve thought to herself as she said her goodbyes.

Theresa burst throught the door and ran up to Ethan's quarters. She didn't even knocked but ran into the room. Ethan and Gwen were surprised out of each other's arms as she ran straight to Ethan.
"Isn't it wonderful news! Lil Ethan is yours!" She said, throwing herself into his arms.