The Turns Life Takes, Chapter 19 (Eve/Julian)
by yhh
"Julian, did you find him? Is that why we’re all here?" Sheridan questioned,
as she sat on the sofa with Gwen and Ethan.
"Yeah, Dad. Why are we all here?" Cassie asked, sitting in a wing chair
opposite of Fancy.
As Julian began his explanation, Whitney and Simone snuck into living room
and took their seats next to Fox on the loveseat. Inwardly, he smiled, happy
that Eve's children had taken his advice and shown up. Out of the corner of
his eye, he saw Eve perk up at the presence of her daughters. "We've received
the DNA test results back. Fox, Fancy, Cassie, Ethan-Martin, and Ethan, you
are all my biological children."
Ethan grabbed Gwen's hand. His mother lied to him. He was no longer a Bennett
and John was no longer Grace's son. How was one family supposed to take these
revelations and keep on? All the changes and adjustments, he had made since
learning he wasn't a Crane had all been for nothing. He couldn't stay here.
He began to rise.
"Ethan, please don't leave. I would like you to stay and meet your brother,"
Julian pleaded.
That's right, the changes just kept coming. Now he was going to meet the
man who would now usurp him as heir to the Crane fortune and as the eldest.
"Stefan, if you would please come and tell us your findings," Julian requested,
taking his seat next to Eve and in the front of their children he took her
hand into his.
Fox tightened his grip on Whitney's hand as he felt her body stiffen at
the open display of affection between his dad and her mom.
Appearing as if out of no where, Stefan greeted everyone cordially. "For
those of you who are unfamiliar with me, my name is Stefan Cassadine. I am
a friend of Julian and he asked me to aid him in his search for his son with
Eve," Stefan said, getting everyone on the same page. "I will make this as
brief as possible. Eve, Alistair, from my sources, had you followed from the
moment you left Boston. When he discovered you were pregnant, he began putting
his plan in motion to make sure you never left the hospital with a Crane
baby."
Tears welled up in Eve's eyes although she knew Alistair hated her, was
racist, and never wanted a biracial or rather in his eyes a black heir to
his throne, it was still hard to hear the words out loud.
Julian raised her hand to his lips and kissed her gently. She gave him a
wobbly smile.
"He had the doctors on high alert as your due date neared. As it so happened
his most prized physician was on duty on Christmas Eve and Christmas and Dr.
Mason Jackson decided to win favor in Alistair's eyes by giving you false
information about the birth of your child. You, in actuality, had a daughter
not a son."
Julian and Eve gasped.
A daughter. A daughter. Why hadn't he thought of that? This was pure Father,
Julian thought.
"Another woman, one, Lucy Monroe, had her child, a son, the night before,
which Dr. Jackson also delivered. The woman checked herself into the hospital
on Christmas Eve, while she awaited her husband's return from a business trip.
She gave birth to a very fair-skinned black infant boy via a c-section. Dr.
Jackson switched the babies, paid off the nurses, and no one was the wiser.
On Christmas morning, the woman's husband still hadn't arrived and Dr. Jackson
kept her sedated so she never came to as he had the nurse presnt Baby Boy
Monroe to you, Eve, as your son. After you returned the baby to the nurses,
Baby Boy Mornoe died later that night from SIDS. Meanwhile in another section
of the maternity ward, the wife of a very wealthy businessman suffocated
her daughter accidentally while napping with the baby. Dr. Jackson who was
having second thoughts of killing of your daughter came up with another solution.
Because your baby daughter, Eve and Julian, had similiar coloring to the
businessman's wife, Dr. Jackson sedated the wife, removed her dead daughter,
and replaced her with your very, healthy daughter. The next morning, the
new mother accounted the change in appearance to blood flow. "
Eve's heart grieved for the little boy she had held and loved, but it also
rejoiced knowing the precious baby's fate hadn't been left in Alistair's sick
hands. Her mind boggled at Stefan's information. It was maddening how easily
Alistair could pay off people to do his dirty work. How casually Dr. Jackson
has played with three families' lives and children's lives as if he were
playing chess. Dr. Jackson had seemed so nice and caring when she was in
the hospital. She shook her head. She wouldn't let her mind focus on the
negative or the craziness, she had to stay focused on her daughter. Her baby
girl. She was now the mother of four girls. "Did you find our daughter, then?"
Eve asked, tentatively.
"Yes, I did. She lives in New York. I alerted her husband to the situation."
Eve sighed. She had a daughter and her daughter was married. Oh my, was
she a grandmother? Were she and Julian, grandparents? What did their daughter
look like? Who did she look like? What was she like?
+++
Whitney stared at the man with the piercing eyes. She could hardly believe
the words coming out of his mouth. She knew Alistair had been evil or rather
heard he was evil, but what he had done to her mother- - to a young woman
who had no one, whose heart was broken. To let her believe her child was dead
and then to switch babies so she could never search or look for her child-
- the evil which lied in his heart. No, he didn't have a heart. Evil resided
where Alistair's heart should have been. Now she felt guilty, she had tried
to guilt Fox into going to the graveside service for Alistair. Thank goodness
he held his ground and refused. But maybe they should have gone and spit
on the man's grave and jump for joy that he was dead. Looking to her sister,
she communicated her thoughts.
+++
Simone nodded. This was unbelievable. These Cranes were much crazier and
eviler than her dad even imagined. How did her mom get mixed up with these
people? And now this poor girl was going to be related to them. Thank God
she wasn't.
+++
So part of him was relieved he had a new sister as opposed to a new brother.
Fox loved his father and was happy where their relationship was now. Every
since Julian started chasing after Eve and gained custody of Ethan-Martin,
he had really started to try and be a good dad, something that he definitely
wasn't when they were all growing up. Like Cassie, he had been very suspicious
of Julian's change of heart. But slowly and surely, Julian had won him over.
And while he didn't think another son would change how his dad felt towards
him and their relationship, he was still leery after spending his whole life
playing second fiddle to Ethan. He could deal with Ethan taking back his place
as the eldest Crane male heir, but he didn't think he could have handled two
older Crane males.
+++
Even though they were polar opposites in personalities, Fancy and Cassie
had the uncanny ability to read each other with a look, a glance. And right
now they were both elated at the idea of having another sister.
+++
A sister. Another sister, Ethan thought. An older sister, he corrected himself.
Would the twists in his life ever stop? Why had he ever missed being a Crane?
+++
A new niece, Sheridan grinned. Her brother and Eve were finally going to
meet their daughter that her father had so cruelly stolen from them. She couldn't
wait to welcome the newest Crane into the family.
+++
Stefan walked out of the living room and returned with a good looking couple.
A dark haired man of average height and a petite, brunette with stunning looks.
"I'd like to introduce you to: Nicholas, your brother- -"
Fox waved and smiled. "Fox."
The couple nodded.
"Whitney and Simone, your sisters."
Both girls slightly tilted their heads in acknowledgement of their new older
sister. She was beautiful, Whitney thought.
Simone could see her mom in this woman.
The couple nodded again.
"Sheridan, your aunt."
"Welcome to the family," Sheridan said cheerfully.
Tears welled up in the woman's eyes. Her husband wrapped his arm around
her and pulled her closer to him.
"Your brother, Ethan, and his lovely wife, Gwen," Stefan continued.
"Hello," they both greeted the other couple.
Ethan's newly found sister gave them a slight wave.
"Your sisters, Cassandra and Francesca."
"Uncle Stefan, you could have warned me my sister was Brenda Barrett. I
loved your Deception campaign. It was so great I stopped using Chloe- -"
Fancy informed her older sister.
"Fancy, be quiet," Cassie ordered.
Brenda looked surprised that she was recognized by anyone in the room.
"And Eve and Julian."
Eve stood with Julian's help as their eyes stayed riveted on their daughter.
A daughter. Eve could see Julian so clearly imprinted on their daughter. The
shape of her face, the nose, the cheek bones. The only signs of herself she
saw were the ears, the same ones Whitney and Simone had. And of course, the
height. Her daughter was the same height as her mom had been. She could remember
her dad teasing her mom about her petite size.
"My dear, it is a pleasure to finally meet you," Julian greeted his eldest
Crane child.
"Thank you," Brenda whispered.
Upon hearing her daughter's first words, the sound of her voice, Eve burst
into tears.
With a quick glance at her husband, Brenda ran to her new found mother and
wrapped her arms around her. "Don't cry. It's okay. I'm here now and I’m not
going anywhere again."
Her daughter's words of comfort made her cry harder.
"Sweetheart, its okay," Julian comforted, wrapping his arms around both
women. Finally, finally his family was complete now that his other daughter
with Eve was in their arms.
Watching the reunited parents and child, there was not a dry eye anywhere
in the living room.