Chad hesitated before knocking on Coach Russell's office door, asking himself for the hundredth time that morning if he was doing the right thing. It was one thing to stay in town to search for his birth parents, but working for Whitney's father...Chad took a deep breath and reminded himself that she didn't go to school here anymore, that she'd graduated in the spring and he wouldn't run into her at every turn anymore. He steeled himself against the feelings she still invoked in him and knocked on the coach's door.
"Come in," T.C. called.

Chad swung the door open and found T.C. with his back to the door, sprawled in his desk chair, staring out over the Harmony High football field. He'd seen his former employer like this a hundred times over the course of working with him - he'd get a far-off look in his eye, slump down in his chair, and spend entire afternoons just staring out at that field, lost in some thought or memory that Chad would never know about.

"Hey, Coach," Chad said, hating to interrupt T.C. but knowing that if he didn't do this now he'd probably never work up the nerve again.

T.C. started and turned as though he'd forgotten someone was at the door. His eyes lit up when he saw Chad - for some reason he felt a closeness to the younger man that he couldn't explain to anyone, even his wife. Eve was so dead set against Chad being friends with their daughters, but even so T.C. felt an uncontrollable urge to reach out to him. Must come from never having a son, he thought wistfully.

"Chad, good to see you. Come on in," T.C. said, forcing himself back to the present. He stood up and shook the younger man's hand before settling back into his chair.

"Thanks, Coach." He sat down on the edge of a hardback chair and leaned toward T.C.'s desk, rubbing his hands together nervously. "So it's like this - I decided to stay in town after all, give Harmony another shot. So if the job offer's still open..."

T.C. smiled and felt a tiny measure of the great weight on his shoulders begin to lift. He'd been dreading the search for a new assistant, especially considering Chad was such a hard worker and already trained. "Of course it's still open," he said. "I'm glad to hear you're staying in town. To tell you the truth, I wasn't really looking forward to training somebody new."

Chad laughed and stood up. "That's great, Coach. Thanks a lot. I appreciate your taking a chance on me, especially with what went down with Whitney and all..." He trailed off nervously, silently berating himself for bringing up the Tiffany situation. He'd never felt so ashamed in his life as he did standing there in front of T.C. and Eve, begging them to believe that he hadn't gotten that girl pregnant. He wasn't sure which was more painful, the look of cold contempt that Eve had leveled at him, or the blind faith T.C. and Sam had exhibited. Knowing that T.C. believed in him had nearly broken his heart, and he still hadn't figured out why.

"That was an unfortunate misunderstanding, Chad," he heard T.C. saying as he stood up and walked around the desk. "I never believed any of that, I hope you know that. You're a good kid, and you haven't given me any reason to believe differently. So I'll see you tomorrow at 8:00, alright?" He extended his hand and Chad took, it, a broad smile suddenly brightening his face.

"Sure thing, Coach. Thanks again."

"No problem, Chad. It's good to be working with you again." T.C. smiled and held the door for him, watching as the young man he'd begun to think of as a surrogate son disappeared down the hall.

~

Ethan burst into the Book Cafe looking like a kid on Christmas morning, his briefcase tucked under one arm and a newspaper in his other hand. He scanned the crowded restaurant for Chad, but there was no sign of his friend anywhere. His smile faded and he threw his things down on a nearby table, sinking into a chair with a thud.

"Ethan, something wrong?" Beth asked as she approached his table.

"No, not really," he said, glancing up at Chad's boss and smiling half-heartedly. "I was just hoping to find Chad, that's all. I have some news for him."

"Oh, well, he'll be back in about twenty minutes. I gave him some time off to go meet with Coach Russell. He's thinking about taking back his job at the high school," Beth explained. "Can I get you a cup of coffee while you wait?"

"Sure, thanks, Beth," he answered, his spirits perking up. He hadn't been so excited about anything since he was elected class president in prep school. For some reason helping Chad find his parents was becoming a really fun project for Ethan.

He glanced toward the door as it swung open, hoping Chad was back early from his meeting with Coach Russell. Instead his eyes fell on Whitney and Theresa, his smile spreading as he watched the two girls walk toward him.

"Ethan," Theresa breathed, barely containing her excitement, "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I'm waiting for Chad," he said, motioning for the two of them to join him. "I'm helping him search for his parents."

"But...I thought he gave up on that," Whitney said, her voice barely audible. She felt a sudden stab of guilt as she recalled how she'd promised to help Chad find his parents. He'd been so grateful, and she'd never seen anyone as hurt and vulnerable as he was when he talked about the woman that gave him up. It broke her heart just remembering the times he'd broken down in front of her; he'd trusted her with all the secret pain he carried in his soul, all the fear and childhood rejection he'd held in his heart all these years, and she'd betrayed him. How could she believe that liar Kay Bennett when she said that Chad had gotten some girl pregnant? Why on earth did she believe such an obvious lie? Because you wanted to, she told herself. Because if you believed the worst about him, you didn't have to admit that you love him.

She squeezed her eyes shut and forced the thought out of her head. I do not love him, she chanted over and over. I don't love him and I will not cry about this again. Not in front of Theresa, and certainly not in front of his best friend. Whitney didn't blame him for hating her, but she kept telling herself it was for the best. If he hated her he wasn't hounding her to admit her real feelings for him, and she could never do that. Her family would never stand for it.

"Whit, are you okay?" Theresa asked, her hands flying to Whitney's shoulders as her friend closed her eyes and her faced paled to an ashen complexion.

"I'm fine, Theresa," Whitney said, forcing her eyes open and managing a weak smile. "I just have something in my eye."

"Do you want me to look?" Theresa asked, bringing her face closer to Whitney's as she searched her friend's eyes.

"No, it's okay," Whitney said slowly, biting down hard on the inside of her cheek to keep her voice even. "I'm fine, whatever it was is gone now." He's out of my life, she told herself, and I don't have to think about him ever again.

~

"I'm not trying to be difficult, Sheridan, and I don't want you to turn your back on your family. I'm just saying that there are things that don't add up."

Sheridan shook her head and let out an incredulous laugh. "Luis, you've said that at least four times since you got here. I know how you feel about my family, you don't have to keep telling me. I already told you I'd help you, and I will. If only to prove you wrong."

Luis nodded and bit his lip - it was hard enough accepting the fact that Theresa was seeing Ethan, knowing he couldn't kill the bastard for cradle-robbing if he wanted to stay with Sheridan. But listening to her defend Julian and Alistair...he wondered for the thousandth time since he finally admitted he was in love with her how in God's name he was going to make a relationship with a Crane work.

"Luis, you're overthinking again," she said gently, reaching out and touching his cheek. He fell into her deep blue eyes and suddenly he remembered how they would make it work - she loved him as much as he loved her, and everything else would have to fall into place, their families included.

He flashed the smile that always made her knees go weak and she knew she'd finally gotten through his stubborn exterior to the romantic underneath. He wanted this to work as much as she did, it was just a matter of them finding common ground. And if that meant delving into her family's past to prove to him that they weren't hiding anything, so be it. She was willing to help him exorcise his personal demons if it meant keeping him close to her heart. In all her life Sheridan had never loved someone as hopelessly as she loved Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, and she was damned if she was going to let him go over their family histories.

"I don't want to make waves for you with your father and brother..." he began, but she put her finger to his lips to silence him.

"I can handle Julian and Alistair," she said softly, "whether they think I can or not. Don't worry, Luis. I'm not going to let this conspiracy theory of yours ruin everything we've worked for. We've been through way too much to find each other, I'm not letting go of you now."

He smiled in answer and pulled her to him, covering her soft, sweet lips with his. He wished he had the words to tell her how he felt, but he'd never been very good at explaining himself. Every time he tried to reign Theresa in and explain that it was for her own good, it ended in a shouting match that left him frustrated and her in tears. And when he'd dated Beth - every time he tried to explain to her why he couldn't be in a relationship after his father disappeared, he just made it worse. It was a wonder she didn't hate him completely. He'd never been able to talk to anyone, except maybe Hank. Until now. Sheridan made everything seem easy, from falling in love to finding a way to work out their family problems.

She watched his dark eyes smolder as his brain worked overtime and she couldn't help smiling. Every time they fell into this conversation about her family and the Crane secrets she got a little scared that eventually it would tear them apart, but all she had to do was look into his endless brown eyes and she knew that nothing could come between them. "Julian's going out of town next week," she told him, tracing his jaw line with her index finger. "While he's gone we'll go up to the mansion and see what we can find in his study. I don't know that he'd keep anything incriminating in the house, but at least we can take a look around."

Luis fell a little more in love with her as he listened to her making plans to break and enter in her brother's house. He'd never met anyone that would go to such lengths to keep them together, and he wasn't sure if he deserved her. After all, he was asking her to betray her family for his peace of mind. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Of course I do, Luis. I love you," she said, granting him a sweet smile as he pulled her to him again.

~

Chad walked back to the Book Cafe feeling better than he had in weeks. For some reason talking to Coach Russell had renewed his resolve not only to stick it out in Harmony, but also his faith in himself. He felt a pang of regret as he realized what a great father T.C. was, but he brushed the feeling aside and concentrated on the hope he'd suddenly recaptured. Ethan was helping him out, Coach Russell and Beth had taken him back no questions asked, and for the first time in months he felt like he had a prayer of finding out who his real parents were. He took a deep breath, savoring the crisp, cool air, the smell of salt water and autumn leaves mingling in an intoxicating combination. "Yeah, I could get used to this," he whispered, taking one last look around before he pulled open the door and walked inside.

"Chad," Ethan called the minute his eyes fell on his best friend. He stood up and motioned Chad over excitedly, waving the newspaper at him.

"Hey, Ethan," Chad greeted him. He glanced at the two girls sitting with Ethan and felt a stab in his heart, but he pushed it away mercilessly and forced himself to play it cool. "Yo, Theresa, Whitney, what's up?"

"Hi, Chad," Theresa chirped excitedly, "wait until you hear what Ethan's doing. You're going to love it." She squirmed in her seat and glanced at Whitney, but her best friend's face was completely void of expression.

"Yeah, what's that?" Chad asked, glancing from Whitney's stoney glare back to Ethan.

"Check it out," Ethan said, oblivious to the temperature drop in the room as Whitney and Chad exchanged glances. "Page E5." He grabbed the paper back from Chad and started flipping pages, too excited to wait for Chad to find the ad himself. "Here it is." He pointed at a quarter page ad in the classified section.

Chad scanned the ad, then glanced back at Ethan. "Ethan, man, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but this must have cost you some serious cash. This isn't part of our deal."

Ethan waved his hand dismissively and pulled Chad down into the chair next to him. "Forget about the money, will you? It's not important. Look, this ad will bring in the best private detectives in the area. I'm holding interviews here. Tomorrow. We're going to find your birth parents, Chad. I guarantee it."

Chad met his friend's enthusiastic gaze and fought hard not to get caught up in his excitement. "Look, Ethan, this is really nice and all, but..."

"But nothing. It's going to work, mark my words. I'm a lawyer, I have plenty of experience dealing with private detectives. Trust me, Chad, I know what I'm doing."

Chad glanced from Ethan to Theresa and back, finally allowing himself to relax enough to smile back at them. "Alright, it's your show. If this is the way you want to hire a P.I. it's up to you. That's the deal, after all."

"Exactly," Ethan said, beaming from ear to ear. He grabbed Theresa's hand and leaned back in his chair, more pleased with himself than he had been in ages. "You'll see, this is going to be great."

Soon Ethan and Theresa were lost in their own little world, chattering excitedly about the interviews Ethan would be holding the next day. Chad ventured a glance at Whitney and she instantly looked down at the table, but not before he caught her staring at him. In the instant before she tore her eyes away he saw something in her eyes that he could have sworn was regret...no, he told himself fiercely. You're not going there, not again. She made her choice and you've gotta live with it. He realized he was still staring at her and tore his eyes away, swallowing hard against the lump in his throat as he fixed his eyes on the wall over Ethan's head.