Chapter 1



Whitney threw down her tennis racket after losing again to her brother Jefferson. Whitney had not won a game against him ever, and it looked as though she never would win against him.

"Lost again?" Asked Jefferson, all Whitney could do was glare at him. She was one of the world's best Tennis players, yet her stupid stepbrother beat her each and every time.

"I let you win." Grumbles Whitney as she picks up her tennis racket. Jefferson grabs her arm as she heads for the Mansion, and they stare at each other for a second.

"You know I'm a better player than you, I beat you fair and square"

"You cheated" Whitney and Jefferson glare at each other for a minute before Jefferson lets her arm go. She runs up to the mansion, and up towards her room when she stops.

Simone's door was open. Simone, who was her only half sister, lay dying in her bed. Whitney can't help but to peek into the room.

She looked asleep, or as if she was dead. Whitney hoped she was asleep. Simone's bed was a hospital bed, with IV's and monitors attached to it. Her walls were covered in that new chalkboard paint, which was dusty from constant erasing. She could see a game of hangman on the wall. The word was family.

Whitney suddenly felt bad, bad for treating Simone as if she didn't exist.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Asks Simone weakly "Or are you going to come in?" Whitney slowly goes into her sister's room and takes a seat next to her bed. Whitney has trouble looking at her, she never liked being around sick people much, and Simone had 2 IV's coming from her arms, and she lay in the bed with her eyes half closed and her breathing labored.

"Hey" says Whitney finally, wringing her hands together "Um, Simone, I'm really sorry for - "

"Don't apologize, just sit in here with me please, I hate being alone" Whitney grabs her sisters hand and squeezes it. She watches as Simone's eyes close, and fall asleep before letting the tears roll down her face.



Eve and Julian watch television together, neither of them speaking to each other. They sit two feet apart, both of them sitting stiffly.

They had not spoken more than a word to each other in 3 months, since Simone's graduation. Julian was upset with Eve for pretty much ignoring Simone, and Eve was upset with Julian for not talking to her.

"You know all she wanted was a loving family," said Julian, fed up with the silence.

"I gave that to her, I was her mother her entire life."

"You weren't, you weren't her mother all those years you put Whitney and her Tennis over her, you weren't a mother to her when she stared dating that jerk Robert, and you weren't a mother when she almost died. I was the one who sat with her at the hospital while you had a beauty treatment" said Julian, his voice full of spite. Eve sat there guiltily for a minute.

"What does this have to do with our relationship? Why are you tearing us apart over this?"

"Simone is my daughter. Maybe not my blood daughter, but I love her like she is my daughter. I will not have my wife treating my child badly. You would hate it if I treated Whitney like you treated Simone."

"Julian, I love you, I don't want us torn apart over this I hated not speaking to you."

"Eve, you have to make things right with her before she dies, I don't like how sad she is because she doesn't have a mother. Pilar is away in Spain, and Simone really needs a mother right now"

"She's dying?" Asked Eve in shock "I thought that…"

"She needs a heart transplant, and she has a rare blood type. They give her 6 months at the most." Eve is in shock, she had no idea the situation was so grave. She had no idea that the little girl she watched grow up would die. Eve broke down crying. "All the money in the world can't buy her the heart that she needs."

Julian felt bad for his wife; maybe he was a bit harsh on her. He moved closer to her and put one of his arms around her.



Chad read the message on Ethan's computer twice before turning to Ethan in anger.

"You told her on IM? What kind of fool are you?" Asked Chad to Ethan.

"I didn't know how else to tell her, I cared about her then...I just want to know if she blocked me, I never see her online anymore"

"What do you mean you cared about her then? You two have a child together, I thought you two were in love" Ethan was silent for a minute as he debated on if he wanted to tell Chad the truth.

"Anna is more Simone's child than mine, and I don't think I ever really loved her."

"Hold up Ethan, what do you mean you never really loved her?"

"When I saw Theresa, I wanted her. She was the opposite of Gwen, and I don't like Gwen"

"Are you saying you used Theresa to break up with Gwen?"

"Yes, and no. I was confused Chad, Theresa was this perfect person, and I had to have her, but once I got her I wanted to try more"

"You had to feel more for her than that, you married her Ethan, you had a child with her, you had to love her"

"I don't know what love is Chad, I know it's not what I felt for Theresa, and I know it's not what I felt for Gwen, I know what love is not, but I have no idea what love is." Chad, who did not respond to Ethan's last comment, signed on to instant messenger. According to his screen Theresa was online. She messaged him as soon as he got online.



USA ONLINE INSTANT MESSAGE

ITSFATE: Hey, Chad

WHAZUP: Hey Theresa, what up?

ITSFATE: How's Anna doin?

WHAZUP: She's great, I guess. Simone and

Kay have her all the time.

ITSFATE: Don't let Ethan take her, I

can't stand that he is the

father of my precious

daughter

WHAZUP: Theresa, he was your husband

ITSFATE: he WAS my husband, I hate

the bastard right now

WHAZUP: You two have a child together

ITSFATE: GTG, Oh don't tell Ethan but

I'm changing my email

address

WHAZUP: Ok email it to me my addy is

WHAZUP@USAONLINE.COM

ITSFATE: KK Bye

WHAZUP: Bye



"She's blocking you," said Chad "She hates you and you hate her, Anna is going to be one screwed up girl."

______________________________________________________________



"Dada. Mama." Said little James as his mother, Sheridan Lopez-Fitzgerald, pushed the stroller down the sidewalk. Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, her husband walked beside her as they strolled through Harmony Park. "Dada Mama bo-ter- fy" said the young boy, pointing to a blue butterfly. James had just begun to talk, and he talked almost non-stop. Sheridan and Luis smiled at each other, and Luis knelt down to talk to his son.

"You're right James, that's a butterfly, and I'm Daddy."

"Bo-ter-Fy" says James solemnly. Luis smiles and nods before taking his son out of the stroller.

"I am going to miss you and your Mommy so much, did you know that James?"

"Mama. Dada. James." Luis could hear Sheridan try to hide a giggle as she watched her husband and son attempt to have a conversation.

"Is something funny Sheridan?"

"Funny Share-in-in?" Asks James, attempting to copy his father. Sheridan can't help but to start laughing hysterically as she attempts to answer Luis's question.

"You and James…" she answers as she attempts to stop laughing

"Me James!" says James defensively. Luis and Sheridan look at each other and laugh. James copies his parents and giggles. Luis wraps his free arm around his wife and kisses her on the lips. James puckers up his lips, expecting a kiss also.

"Oh Luis, I wish you didn't have to go."

"Sheridan, I'm sorry, you know that I have to go, and I will be back."

"Luis..." says Sheridan, pleading with him "Please don't leave me, I need you today"

"Sheridan, I hate to leave you, but I have to go. You know I love you with all my heart, and I will be back in time for that special dinner tonight, ok?"

"I hate that you have to go to work, I hate not being with you." Says Sheridan. Luis puts a babbling James back into the stroller.

"Sheridan, I'll see you tonight, you push the stroller back home, you and James catch a nap and you start dinner, then I will be home."

"Are you sure Luis?"

"There is absolutely nothing that will stop me from coming home to you." Says Luis, leaving Sheridan.

Every day they went through the same thing. Sheridan was afraid that Luis would not come home from work one day, but he always did. With knowing in her heart that he always would come back, she pushed the stroller with James in it back to her and Luis's house.



Kay looked at her father, sister and stepmother in disbelief. They were the perfect family it seemed. Ivy, her stepmother and Jessica had matching pale blue sundresses on, while her father Sam, had a pale blue shirt and khaki's on. All three of them sat with identical smiles, and seemed to understand exactly what Kay was telling them.

Kay really didn't want to burden Sam, her stepmother and sister, but she felt the need to. Charity, her mother, and the man who was her father were acting very weird, and Kay felt uncomfortable in her house. Campus housing was full that year, because she had waited until the last minute to apply for housing, and she didn't know where else to go. She had not slept at home for 2 weeks now, and she thought that Simone and Reese were tired of having her for a constant houseguest.

"Kay, you know you want to come to the evil side. Look what you did to your own cousin, you sold your soul to get her boyfriend and you sent her to hell."

Eldritch grinned and winked at Kay, as he had an arm around Grace and Charity.

"Your mother would be so proud Kay," says Grace, at least she thought the woman was Grace.

"Come with me, Father and Aunt Faith." Says Charity; using her perpetually sweet voice "I know you and Miguel made love while I was in hell, now we can both have him." Miguel, who doesn't seem to mind comes out of the Kitchen and kisses Charity.

"Come with us Kay, you know you want us." Kay's mind was spinning. Her mother wasn't her mother after all she was her Aunt Faith. If her mother was actually her Aunt Faith, where was her mother? Aunt Faith had died in a fire, could her mother have been the one who actually died? Kay couldn't bring herself to think of what could be, she had to get out of her house. She turned and walked away, without answering them.

She blindly walked to Reese's house and into his arms. He hugged her as she began to cry, and sat with her until she fell asleep in his arms.

"Kay?" Asked Ivy's calming voice. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm sorry, I just keep thinking of how bad things are at home." Kay sits apart from the little family, biting her lower lip. Sam, Jessica, and Ivy all smile at each other and hold hands before walking over to Kay.

"Kay, you have always been my daughter." Says Sam "No matter what the blood tests say, I have raised you as my daughter all the days of your life."

"And you have always been my big sister, even though we fight sometimes, you are the best and only sister I ever have had." Said Jessica.

"I have never had a daughter, no I have 4 daughters, no-3 daughters and Jessica, and I want you to be my next daughter, well I can't take the place of your mother, but I want-Sam, help" says Ivy looking at Sam.

"We want to welcome you into our home and our family Kay, If you don't mind you can have the room next to Jessica's, and we'll buy you some clothes and things tomorrow, we understand if you don't want to go to your old house."

Kay never felt happier, not even when she realized she was in love with Reese, and he loved her back. She hugged her new family, with tears of Joy in her eyes.