Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Passions or NBC. I am not making money off this story.

Note: This is days before the wedding.

Heart

It was about 9:30 pm. Ethan banged on the door of the Lopez-Fitzgeralds'. "Theresa, open up!" he yelled. He had never been so angry in his life. In his hand was the tabloid paper.

Pilar opened the door. She saw the look on Ethan's face and it concerned her. "Ethan, what's wrong?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong," he declared, walking to the living room where Theresa, Whitney, Luis, and Sheridan were sitting, with puzzled concerned looks on their faces. Ethan threw the tabloid at Theresa. "You sent the e-mail to the tabloid!"

Theresa looked at the headline of the tabloid in shock. It read 'Former Ethan Crane Done In By His Fiancé.' She didn't reply for a few seconds.

"You don't have anything to say?" Ethan demanded, beyond furious. "Not an explanation, not anything?"

She was breathing heavily. "Ethan, I didn't do it. I swear."

"You're lying. It says right there it came from you're e-mail address."

She stood up, trying as hard as anything to be calm. "Ethan I didn't. I admit, I knew you weren't a Crane..."

He cut her off. "Oh, you admit it. You knew and you didn't tell me."

"Ethan..."

"What? I've figured it out. You knew the Cranes weren't going to accept you into their family, so you went behind my back and e-mailed this to the tabloid so that no one would interfere with our relationship. You lied to me to get what you want. I'm never going to forgive you for that. Well, guess what? Our relationship is over."

"Ethan, please. I didn't..." she dropped back down to the seat and started sobbing.

Luis stood up, ready to defend his sister. "Theresa's not the kind of person to that, Ethan." He grabbed the tabloid. "Do you really believe this stupid, lying paper?"

Ethan grabbed the paper out of his hand. "It says so here that it came from Theresa's e-mail address." He flipped through the pages and pointed to a line and shoved it in Theresa's face. "That's your e-mail address isn't it?!"

She looked up at him, still sobbing"Yes, but..."

"Once again you admit it. I hate you. I never want to see your lying face again." He stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

"Ethan, wait!" Theresa yelled, getting up to follow him

Whitney stopped her. "Wait, Theresa, give him time. He'll come around." But Theresa could see that although Whitney had sympathy in her eyes, she also had the look that said 'you should have told him long ago.' The same with Pilar. Sheridan and Luis were just too stunned to say anything.

"You were right," Theresa said through her tears. "I should have told him. Now he won't believe me." She paused to catch her breath. "But I can't let him leave without knowing the truth." She ran out of the house before anyone could stop her.

Ethan had not gotten far since he left. He was just across the road. "Ethan!" Theresa yelled. He didn't turn around, nor did he stop. "Ethan, please!" She blindly ran out into the road. She didn't see the car's headlights as it was coming up. The driver of the car didn't see her either. Theresa got hit, she screamed when she did. But it knocked her unconscious by the time she hit the ground. The driver stopped and got out of his car. "Oh my God," he panicked. "I didn't see her..."

Ethan turned around then too. Everyone who was in the house came out by then and looked horrified at the sight of Theresa lying on the ground unconscious. Pilar screamed. "I'm calling 911," Luis said as he went back into the house. Everyone else went up to Theresa and the driver. "I'm sorry. I didn't see her..." he kept saying.

Whitney checked her pulse. "She's alive. She's breathing."

Pilar was crying by then. "Thank God. My baby..."

Ethan walked back over to them. He didn't say anything. He didn't know what he was feeling. "She didn't do it, Ethan," Whitney said. Ethan didn't know what to believe. But when the ambulance got there, he drove behind it to the hospital. He didn't know why, but he knew something inside of him made him go.

A few minutes after they got to the hospital and Theresa had been taken to the ER, Gwen and Rebecca showed up. Before they went to see Ethan, they stopped beside the reception desk as they tried to control the looks of happiness on their faces at the thought of Theresa dying. "This plan of mine is working better than I thought," Rebecca said. "Not only is Theresa out of the picture for Ethan, but she may be out of the picture completely."

"That lying tramp got what she deserved," Gwen added. "I hope she dies. That plan of yours was perfect, Mother."

"Oh, yes. Sending that e-mail from Theresa's computer was brilliant. But I have to admit, I do have to thank Theresa for scanning those documents in the first place. Without them, we couldn't have e-mailed anything to the tabloid. Now Theresa's going to die, even better. She's the one who's bringing about her own demise."

"I just wished we didn't have to hurt Ethan in the process..." she got cut off.

"Well you did!" Ethan yelled. Gwen and Rebecca turned around. There was Ethan, he had been listening the entire time. Not only him, but Luis, Sheridan, Pilar, Whitney, Chad, Sam, Grace, Eve, Miguel, and Charity; (most of them hadn't heard what they were saying, but Ethan's yelling got their attention). To top that off the tabloid reporter was there too. He had shown up to get the scoop on the betrayer-fiancé in the hospital after Ethan dumped her. He had heard what the two of them said and boy was he ever excited at what he just heard.

Gwen and Rebecca were in absolute shock. "Why, Ethan, I didn't know you were there," Rebecca stammered, trying to come up with a plan that would get them out of this trouble.

He walked over to them. "I can't believe this. How could you do this?" He glared at them with such hate and shock.

Whitney came over to them. "You know, now that I remember, at the engagement party you threw for Ethan and Theresa, after the tabloid had come and revealed Ethan was a Bennett, you both looked happy and kept mumbling stuff to each other excitedly. You didn't look shocked at all."

"Ethan, let me explain," Gwen walked up to him. "I did this because I love you. I never meant to hurt you..."

"But you meant to hurt Theresa."

"That's not why either. Look, awhile back, Mother and I thought that Theresa was just after you for your money, and then when we found the documents on Theresa's computer, we figured that she was keeping it a secret because she wanted the money. So we e-mailed the tabloid from Theresa's computer. And we figured that when it was revealed to the whole world that you weren't a Crane that Theresa would dump you because you wouldn't be rich. But then when we found out that Theresa wasn't after your money at all..."

This time it was the tabloid reporter who cut her off. "You called us and gave us the lead that it came from Theresa."

Ethan continued. "It seemed perfect didn't it, Gwen? When the tabloid paper would be printed and it would say that Theresa was the one who betrayed me, I would dump her and come back to you. Well guess what Gwen, it didn't work. And even if it did, I would find out the truth. All secrets have a way of coming out. I would have found out."

"It was Mother's plan," Gwen said, making a pathetic last stand.

Rebecca gave a pained shocked outcry. But everyone saw through it. "Rebecca of course you were involved," Ethan said matter-of-factly.

"Well," she began," I thought that after Theresa would dump you, I would convince Julian to adopt you back."

Ethan gave a humorless laugh. "You know, I knew you were cruel, Rebecca, but I had no idea you were stupid. I'm glad I'm not a Crane; I don't ever want to be a Crane again. But even if I did I couldn't be. Do you really think that Alistair is going to allow me back into the Crane family?"

Well...uh," she stammered, knowing she was caught. "Theresa lied to you too."

"Oh, Theresa. Blame this on her, why don't you?!" he yelled. "At least she lied because she cared about me. Now, I admit that I don't know why she scanned the documents, but..."

Pilar interrupted. "I know why," she said. "Theresa told me that after you, Rebecca, told her that Ethan had been using her, she started to pack to run away and when she opened the suitcase she found the documents and scanned them on her computer because she was angry at Ethan and wanted to use them against..." she didn't finish, realizing that her words could further hurt her daughter more.

"There, you see, Ethan? Theresa's intentions weren't good," Rebecca said. "She wanted revenge on you."

"Can you blame her?!" Ethan yelled, much to the surprise of Gwen and Rebecca. "After what you said I did to her, I can't blame her for wanting revenge. You know, the last thing I said to her was that I hated her, that I would never forgive her and I never wanted to see her again. And now look what's happening, she could die. It's my fault because if I hadn't said those words, Theresa would not be fighting for her life, but it's your fault because you're the ones who gave the tabloid the lead. Because of you, the woman I love could die. I forgive her for lying to me, but I'll never forgive you. What did I ever see in you, Gwen? I hate you both. If Theresa dies..." he couldn't finish his sentence.

Sheridan walked up to them. "I might have expected this from you, Rebecca. But you, Gwen..." she shook her head. "I thought you were different. But I guess I was wrong. You are no longer my maid-of-honor."

"Just leave," Ethan said. "Get out of my life, I never want to see either of you again."

Gwen and Rebecca had a look of shock on their faces. They knew it was coming but they just weren't prepared for defeat. But they quickly turned around and walked out of the hospital. Gwen looked like she was going to cry.

The tabloid reporter soon left after them. "Oh, this is going to be a major story," he said happily as he was leaving. "Now I'm glad I didn't wait till the wedding to print the first one..."

Ethan didn't move. He still hated the tabloid reporter, but just imagining the story that he would write that would humiliate Gwen and Rebecca would have brought a smile to his face had he not been so worried about Theresa. Nobody else moved either. They were too shocked and dismayed.

Just then there was a sound of a heart monitor flatlining. It was coming from behind Theresa's closed curtain. "Oh, no," Ethan said. Everyone else didn't say anything, but they all had a look of shock and worry on their faces. Ethan ran to her. "Theresa!" Eve and a few other doctors ran in then.

"Ethan, I'm going to have to ask you to step outside," she said.

"She's in V-Fib," one of the doctors said as he started CPR.

"Oh, no. Theresa, don't leave me. Don't leave me."

"Ethan, I'm going to have to ask you to step outside," Eve repeated, beginning to push him outside.

"It was Gwen and Rebecca! Theresa..." Eve had closed the curtain by then. "...I'm sorry!" He just stood there staring at the curtain in shock. Pilar was crying by then and Whitney looked like she might too. Luis and Miguel looked scared and worried also.

"Charge to 200," they heard Eve say. "Clear."

Theresa's heart monitor was still flat. "Oh, God," Ethan said.

"Again. Clear." Still flatlined. "Charge to 250. Clear."

After what seemed like an eternity they finally got her heart to start beating. A few minutes later Eve came out. The expression on her face was not comforting. "She's alive. But it doesn't look good."

Pilar just completely burst into tears and Luis and Miguel just found comfort in the arms of the women they loved. "No," Ethan said in disbelief, shaking his head. "No!" He walked off.

Sam found him a few minutes later in the waiting room on a different floor. He was sitting down with his head in his hands. Sam sat down next to him.

"If she dies, it's all my fault," Ethan said looking up at him.

"Talk to her. It might help."

"Yeah, maybe," he replied looking straight ahead, unable to get up. Guilt and sadness weighing him down.

Sam leaned his son on his shoulder and pulled him closer. "I know what it's like to make a decision that ends up hurting the one you love."

Ethan didn't move. Julian had never done what Sam was doing. There was a sense of comfort in it. Also something he never felt with Julian.

Just then Sam's pager beeped. "Sorry, I gotta take this," he groaned, getting up. Ethan got up too. After walking a few feet, Sam turned around. "Talk to her," he said again, before walking away to make a call.

Ethan watched him leave. It was clear they had a long way to go, but they were off to a great start. But his mind went back to Theresa, if she died...he couldn't bear to think of life without her. He decided to take Sam's advice and went back to talk to her, to try to bring her back.

When he got there he pulled up a chair and sat next to her and held her hand. "Theresa," he began, stroking her forehead. "I'm sorry." He paused. "It was Gwen and Rebecca who sent the e-mail to the tabloid. They sent it from your computer so that it would seem like you were the one who sent it. I know you lied to me because you didn't want to see me get hurt. I didn't make it easy for you. I'm sorry." He paused again, fighting to stop the tears in his eyes from falling. "I love you. Dear God I hate myself for causing you so much pain. I'll never forgive myself." He paused again. "Please, Theresa, don't leave me. Don't leave me..." He couldn't stop himself from crying any longer. "I can't live without you. Please don't die..." He couldn't speak for a few seconds, just cried. He bent down and kissed her. "I love you, Theresa. I love you! Don't die..." Once again he couldn't speak. "I can't live without you. I need you. Don't leave me..." He just kept saying that, crying while he said it, before falling asleep.

He woke up the next morning. He looked at Theresa. No change from the way she was last night. He rubbed the back of his neck, it aching from the awkward position he had slept in. He then started stroking her head again. "I love you, Theresa," he said.

Just then Theresa opened her eyes. Before she had a chance to say anything, Ethan ran out of the room. "Dr. Russell! Dr. Russell, she's awake!"

Eve ran into the room. Ethan, Pilar, Luis, and Miguel stayed outside the curtain waiting anxiously. Eve came out a few minutes later, with a big smile on her face. "She's going to be alright."

"Thank God," Pilar said, almost running into the room. So did Luis and Miguel. Ethan stayed outside, in shock. She'd be alright. The love of his life would be alright. He wanted to go in there but he was afraid that Theresa might not want to see him after the way he had treated her. He couldn't blame her if she felt that way. After a few minutes he finally got up the courage to enter her room.

They all looked up at him. Theresa was sitting up and Pilar was holding her hand and looked like she had been crying. "Can Ethan and I be alone?" Theresa said softly. Pilar, Luis, and Miguel kissed her goodnight and quickly left the room.

Even after they left, Ethan stood across the room from Theresa, not knowing what to do or say. "Theresa..."

"I love you, Ethan," Theresa said.

Ethan finally went over to her and they immediately held each other in a tight embrace. "Oh, Theresa. I love you too." Theresa started crying. Ethan was getting tears in his eyes again that he didn't even bother to stop from falling. They kissed, getting each other's tears on their faces. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too."

Ethan looked her straight in the eye. "It was Gwen and Rebecca..."

"I know. I heard you just now."

Ethan was a little stunned, but he smiled, he didn't have to explain it. He didn't want to mention either of their names again. "I forgive you for lying to me about my father. I know I didn't make it easy for you to tell me."

Theresa sighed. "There's something else you need to know." She then told him everything, that she never had a boyfriend named Chuck how she just made him up, and how she had gotten that job working for his mother in order that she could be near him.

Ethan didn't reply for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what Theresa was telling him. Theresa was afraid she had lost him. Just then, Ethan smiled, and hugged her. "Everything you did, you did for love. I love you too. I always will."

Theresa hugged him back, relieved. "I'll love forever too, Ethan. Always." They just stayed like that. In a tight hug. Knowing that nothing could separate them from each other. They'd be married in a few days and they'd be together forever.