Title: She Will Be Loved
Author: freaking haggard
Author's Note: This story may be a lot like 'Your Promise,' but that's because I am solitary echo, and I decided to rewrite this story, with a whole new concept. I knew all along that Sandy was Jonathan, but now that it's out in the open, I want to start with a whole new concept.
Summary: Based on a Maroon5 song. Sandy/Original Character. Sandy meets Marina's older sister, Christa, who like him, has a lot of inside angst to work through. They share a mutual attraction, up until Eden and Tony decide to stick their noses into it all. Marah/Remy, Eden/Tony, Marina/Shayne, Tammy/Nico, Lizzie/Joey.
Genre: Romance/Angst/Drama
Feedback: Encouraged and appreciated. Flames are okay, I usually ignore them anyway.
Disclaimer: I only own Christa Cooper. All other characters belong to CBS and Procter and Gamble.

Prelude

Christa Cooper stepped off the bus from Chicago and looked around. Springfield was barely what Marina described to her. She wondered where the smiling faces, cheery welcomes and laughing children that her sister had brought her to expect were hiding. Apparently the welcome wagon only came out when they knew that you were coming. But, it was far better, in comparison to the life that she led with her mother. With a shrug and a smile, she searched for the car that Marina had described, that Marina and her future brother in law, Shayne would be in. She hadn't seen Marina in almost two years, and she missed her so much. Marina and she had always been best friends, all through school. No matter what was thrown at them, regardless of the fact that they lived so far away, they still stayed friends. This would be the reunion of all reunions.

She turned her head, still looking for the car. Apparently, Marina would be taking her boyfriend, Shayne's car. She had met Shayne over the phone and the computer, but never in person yet. She looked forward to it, though, since Marina had spoken so highly of him, and how well he treated her. He was the perfect person for Marina. She was grateful to Shayne, because he'd brought her back out of her shell after she'd lost Ben Reade. He'd helped her throw her defenses back down, and become the Marina that she'd always remembered. It was a shame that the innocent and undeserving always got the cruelest of treatment from the big guy upstairs. Shayne was on the verge of having everything that anyone could ever want, but a car accident took it away. Through it all, though, Marina stood beside him, which made Christa prouder than she'd ever been of her younger sister.

She turned back around, just in time to see Marina shoot up out of the seat of a black Dodge Neon, beaming in Christa's direction. "CHRISTA! HEY!" she yelled, smiling wide and looking to the car, probably telling Shayne to wait a second, then bounding up to her sister. "What's up, you?" she threw her arms around her.
Christa hugged Marina back and smiled. "Hey, Marina! I never thought a black car would be so hard to spot. I guess it's because it's so late at night..." she griped, following as Marina led her to the car. "I've been good. What about you?" she asked. "How is everything going?"
Marina nodded and grinned. "Oh, man, I have SO much to tell you, Christa! You're gonna flip out when I tell you!" she opened the door and popped the trunk, so Christa could put her bags in. "You know, it's sisterly stuff..." she winked and walked around the car.

Christa paused and almost dropped her bags, right beside the car. "Something tells me that I won't wanna know this. So, where's Frank? Did he know that I was coming, or did you forget to tell him?" she asked Marina as she closed the trunk, her grin growing a little, knowing that it was fully possible that Marina forgot.
Marina rolled her eyes and unlocked the back door so that Christa could get in. "No, I didn't forget; he's actually back at the museum, waiting for us. He freaked when I told him...ask Shayne," she pointed to the passenger's seat, with a grin the size of Texas on her face.
Shayne turned his head as much as he could, catching a glimpse of Christa out of the corner of his eye. "Nice to m--meet you, Christa..." he stuttered out, reaching his hand back and accepting a handshake from Christa. "And y--yes, Frank couldn't st--stop smiling..." he grinned slightly.

Christa laughed and rolled her eyes. "That's no surprise. Frank always adored having Marina and I together...but it never happened..." she explained to Shayne, with a slight shrug. "But now that I'm gonna be staying with you guys at the museum, he'll se as much of me as he sees Marina. He'll wanna get rid of me!"
Marina laughed and shook her head, starting the car. "He didn't want me to move into the museum. I'm so thankful to his girlfriend, Darci, for finally convincing him," she told Christa, looking at the rear-view-mirror to catch a glimpse of her reaction to the fact that Frank had a girlfriend.
Shayne nodded a little and flashed a full-blown smile. "Yeah, Darci is...an awesome person. She's...great about us, and...she really cares about F--Frank..." he explained to Christa.

Christa grinned and nodded. She was happy for Frank, and the fact that he'd found somebody. She wasn't going to hate Darci, just because she was dating her father. It was abundantly clear that their parents were never going to get back together, so Frank deserved a little bit of happiness. "That's awesome. She sounds really nice. I'm glad Frank is happy..." she leaned back in the seat. "So, how far away do you guys live?" she asked.
Marina pointed to a street. "Fifth Street is less than a mile from the airport. It kinda bites, because you can always hear planes going overhead and stuff, but it's nice when you have to, like, pick a sister up or something..." she joked with Christa, flashing a slight wink.
Christa laughed and picked her things up as Marina turned onto Fifth Street. "So, who exactly is going to be at this little welcome party?" she asked.

Marina shook her head and shrugged. "Not many people. I know that you don't like huge celebrations, so I kept it low-key. I invited dad, Darci, aunt Harley and her boyfriend Gus Aitoro, Marah and Remy live with us, so obviously, they're gonna be there, Michelle and Danny Santos and their son Robbie," she paused for a second. "Uh...who else...Eden August, Tony Santos, my best friends Tammy Winslow and Nico Castaño, Shayne and Marah's parents, Reva and Josh Lewis, and Tammy's mom Cassie and her boyfriend Edmund, Cassie's son RJ and Reva's son, Sandy Foster..." she listed off.
Christa raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms at her chest. "THAT'S low-key?" she asked, slightly surprised at Marina's definition of a few people. "Sounds more like you invited the whole TOWN to me!" she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh well, at least I'll have a nice welcome..." she looked to Shayne and smiled. "So, Shayne, is my sister still as much of a pain as she used to be?" she joked.

Shayne laughed and nodded a little bit. "You know...as well as I...do, C-Christa," he reached over slowly and placed his hand gently on Marina's knee as the car slowed to a stop. "But...that's what makes her so...loveable, r--right?" he asked with a wink in Christa's direction.
Christa laughed and nodded in agreement with Shayne. "Yeah, you either love her or want to strangle her. But, she's my sister, so I'm forced to love her..." she wondered when Marina would jump in and defend herself. "No matter how much of a pain in my rectum she is..."
Marina scoffed. "You know, guys, I'm sitting right here! If you wanna make fun of me, at least wait until I'm out of the car!" she looked to the door, where Nico and Remy were bringing Shayne's wheelchair down to the bottom of the ramp, so he could get up to the party. "Jeez!" she yelled.

Christa's stomach was filled with butterflies. She had no idea who she was going to meet in Springfield, and if she'd have any friends. She expected to be an outcast for awhile, and her welcome party was only to be the beginning of her exile-ism. What she didn't expect, though, was what she got...