A New Day

I was just kinda sick of watching Theresa get jerked around by Ethan and I think she has a real chance at happiness with Jared, so I wanted to write one of the ways that I could see it happening.

Takes place the night after Theresa and Ethan made love in Chris's office

Theresa slipped into bed that night with a heavy heart. She pulled the covers up over her shoulders, gripping them tight beneath her chin. She unconsciously curled up into a ball, taking up a small space in the ridiculously large bed that dominated her room in the mansion. She looked around the cavernous room at the furniture that she hadn't picked, at the paintings that she'd never looked twice at and the gold leaf wallpaper that was "in this season's fashion, but was never something she would have picked.

All of a sudden he felt like she was ten years old again, when she'd spent a night at the mansion at a slumber party for Fancy Crane. She hadn't understood the pitying looks and the dismissive glances that she'd received that night, but now she knew that hers had been a pity invite. She had been, after all, the housekeeper's daughter, not fit to spend time with one of the golden children of the crane empire. But all she'd known at the time was that she'd been invited to a party at the Crane Mansion that included swimming and a clown and all the other magical treats that her mother had never been able to afford for her.

She remembered that she'd slightly resented her mother for never throwing her such an extravagant party that she could invite all her friends to. The woman in her now was ashamed, and wonderfully grateful for the love and support that her family had provided over the years. She would rather have lived with nothing, then have had to be a member of this horrible family.

As tears dripped down her face she wondered how she ever could have ever gotten this far. How could she have ever thought that following this path could ever bring her happiness? God, how many years had she wasted chasing after Ethan, or rather the dream of what she thought they could have together. And now… her daughter was being raised by Ethan and another woman, she couldn't give her son near the amount of time she wanted, and she'd only had three real relationships in her life and two of them had ended with the men in love with other women. It sounded like something out of a soap opera.

She shifted onto her other side and her gaze fell on the photos she kept on her bedside table, just visible in the moonlight. Mama, Louis, Miguel, Paloma, all standing around her smiling. Little Ethan and Jane with open mouths and happy eyes. She'd had a picture of Ethan there until a few weeks ago, until their return from Rome. It was packed away now, along with everything that had ever come from their relationship. Movie ticket stubs, the program from Cinderella, dried flowers that he had given her, notes that said "I love you" and hallmark cards. A thousand tiny parts of their past there were all packed away deep in her closet because she couldn't have thrown them out.

A myriad of thoughts and images drifted through Theresa's mind. Visions of her past with Ethan, happy times when she'd thought that they'd be together forever. They'd raise their children free of the Crane influence to be caring, wonderful people. She'd always been a dreamer and many people had criticized her for being unrealistic. But she'd always believed and that optimism had helped guide and support her through many years of heartache and pain.

In the beginning Ethan had been just as confused as she, trying to understand the depth of what he was feeling. But long ago he had become a man who needed to be responsible for his actions and the repercussions that came of them. The blame had always been on her shoulders and she had accepted that, knowing what the world thought of her. But time and time again Ethan had tempted her with a look, a touch or a word. She'd been content to fight for him for years, sure that in the end she would win and was just biding her time until the "happily ever after" she dreamed of.

And now she'd found someone else to be happy with. A man that treated her like a princess, who was polite and kind and thoughtful. Maybe it was because she hadn't been with anyone else in a long time but she found that it was almost unbelievable how easy it was to have a relationship with someone whose time and attention was devoted specifically to her. She'd been so used to "sharing" Ethan that having Jared adore her was an unexpected but wonderful surprise.

She let her gaze drift over the photos again, and was suddenly struck by how fast her children were growing up. It was time that she grew up too, more then she already had. She needed to stop believing in fairytales and happily ever afters and believe in what she could see and feel. Jared was here, he was now and he was her future. She wouldn't let Ethan keep her from any more future happiness.

She sighed again and lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling. She quickly turned on the radio beside the bed, hoping that listening to music would help her fall asleep faster. She couldn't take anymore of these somber thoughts. A simple song drifted out, and though it was something she'd never heard before, it was beautiful and soothing and exactly what she needed at the moment. She forced herself to relax, muscle by muscle and shut her brain off for the night.

Let's go back
Back to the beginning
Back to when the earth, the sun, the stars all aligned

'Cause perfect didn't feel so perfect
Trying to fit a square into a circle
Was no life
I defy

Let the rain fall down

And wake my dreams
Theresa heard the rain fall on the roof above her, made out the tracks it made as it dripped down the large picture windows.

Let it wash away
She'd always loved the rain, loved watching it fall down out of the mysterious sky. She wondered where it had come from and what rain was like all over the world. If the same drops fell in Rome, in France, in Ireland, in China, in India. The feeling of it washing over her skin was like a cleansing.

My sanity
As an adult it had been much too long since she'd simply stood in the rain and felt it clean her. She probably could have used it too.

'Cause I wanna feel the thunder
But she was afraid that any rain that she felt in the future would be accompanied by a thunderstorm, complete with lightning that would singe and sometimes burn her. Beautiful but deadly, a storm was certainly in her forecast and as much as she welcomed it, she was looking forward to the rainbow afterwards more.

I wanna scream
As her eyes closed Theresa took a deep breath, unconsciously twisting her fingers together. Her mind wouldn't let her rest, continuing to show her images of the recent past. The images were torture, suddenly showing her very clearly what a fool she had been. For far too long she'd allowed Ethan to walk all over her, no matter how she looked at it. Even if he was the man she loved, and probobly because of it, she had put up with far too much from him for far too long.

Let the rain fall down
But as the rain fell, literally and metaphorically, she vowed to herself that somehow she'd find herself again and start to live her life again. Maybe for the first time she would choose her own path.


I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean
She finally managed to drift off to sleep, feeling better about herself then she had in months. The doubts and dreariness that had plagued her for as long as she could remember were slightly lighter, and she felt confident that she was on a path to a better life.


I'm shedding
Shedding every color
Trying to find a pigment of truth
Beneath my skin

'Cause different
Doesn't feel so different
And going out is better
Then always staying in
Feel the wind

I'm coming clean
Let the rain fall
Let the rain fall

I'm coming clean

The next morning she awoke and looked around her, stretching in the sunlight that filtered through the blinds. She sat up and rubbed her hands over her face, pushing her hair back. Her heart felt lighter today, and she could almost feel the eternal optimism that had been her constant companion all through her sordid past. She suddenly couldn't remember when it had deserted her, but was very glad that it was back.

She quickly got up prepared for the day, dressing in a simple top and jeans, not finding anything attractive in the expansive closets that housed the clothes bought with Crane money. She suddenly couldn't wait to leave this... prison and without spending another moment in her cave of a room, she flew down the stairs and out the front door. She paused to look at the beautiful sunrise that was cresting over a far hill, wondering what it would look like all over the world. She smiled as she slid into her car and started down the driveway. She was a woman on a mission this morning.

AN: The song is "Let the Rain Fall Down" by Hilary Duff and was just a random pick for this fanfiction. Please review! This could be the end… and you could imagine where she goes from here. Or do you want to know where I see her ending up? Nothing will happen if you don't push that little purple button!