AN: Hey guys! I'm so sorry about the delay but I've been super busy with my new job! Already working on the next chapter! Anyways enjoy this one, it's packed full of drama. I was a little hesitant about somethings but I hope you enjoy! PLEASE leave reviews! Feedback keeps me going! Special shout out to the guest reviewer who always leaves me long reviews!

Chapter 10

I would hold the hands of the one who could lead me places

And kiss the lips of the one who could sing so sweet...

And I would fly on the wings of a bird I knew

Could take me higher breathe in breathe out

You keep me alive you are the fire burning inside

You are my passion for life!

It was a seldom occasion for Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop to be rendered speechless, but there she was in absolute shock by the news her mother had just unloaded on her. The brunette put her hands on her head still trying to process everything. Earlier that day she'd been working from home with Jane when her mother had arrived and frantically pulled her upstairs. Luckily, Theresa's housekeeper was still there to look after Jane while the two women talked.

"Mama-" Theresa began still trying to comprehend everything she'd been told.

"Don't ask me again Theresita" Pilar snapped. "I know what I saw!"

"I-I just can't believe it, the young brunette replied. For God's sake she's married with a son".

"Aye poor Noah he has no clue." The matriarch sighed. "He's just returned from out of town and is supposed to be picking up Joseph from Ivy and Sam's. I can't believe how your sister neglects her son!"

"We've got to talk to her mama." Theresa chimed in as she paced the room. "She's got to come clean with Noah and make a choice about who she wants to be with".

Pilar was straightening her daughters' bedroom and frowned at Theresa's comment.

"There is no choice mija", she snapped. "Paloma will stay with Noah and raise Joseph as a family. This relationship with Simone Russell is sinful and against nature I won't allow it."

For the second time that day, Theresa found herself speechless.

"Mama", she said incredulous at her mother's bitter tone. "If Paloma chooses to be with another woman it's her choice. We've all done things we shouldn't have; the mistake was in cheating not who she cheated with."

The Lopez Fitzgerald matriarch said nothing as her oldest daughter hugged her.

"Ethan's not going to believe this", Theresa sighed heavily.

"No mija! Pilar exclaimed pulling out of her daughters embrace. You cannot tell him, he will go straight to his brother. No one can know about this until we deal with Paloma!"

"Ethan and I don't have secrets Mama," the young mother said sternly. "Secrets and lies are what kept Ethan and I apart for years & I am not bringing them into our marriage."

Pilar took her daughter into her arms and kissed her cheeks.

"Theresita I understand," she said. "No one is happier than I am that you and Ethan are finally together with the children. I wouldn't ask you to jeopardize that. This is only for a few days and everything will be straightened out I promise."

Theresa silently pondered her mother's plea and finally she sighed and nodded in agreement.

"But only for a few days Mama", she said pointedly. I won't risk my marriage for anything, even my sister".

"Gracias mija, I'll get started fixing this mess right away." Pilar grabbed her purse and headed for the door. "Kiss Jane for me".

"Where are you going?" Theresa was almost scared to ask.

"To have a word with the latest Mrs. Crane then I'll deal with your sister", the matriarch said.

"Mama! You can't blame Simone for this Paloma made her own choice"!

But Pilar was already out the door. The brunette collapsed on her bed and sighed. So much for no more secrets in Harmony.

...

Nearby, Ethan Winthrop had taken a day away from the office and found himself wondering through the town of Harmony. Around this time of the year, the lawyer always found himself reflecting on his life. Summer was beginning to turn into fall & though years apart, he had lost both his daughter and his brother around this time of the year and it was an especially painful time for him. Before he knew it Ethan found himself at the Crane cemetery, right away he noticed the enormous memorial monument his mother and Julian had set up for Fox. He walked over and sat on the bench near it.

"Hey little brother," the lawyer said quietly. "It's just me checking in. I haven't been here in a while but we're always thinking about you. Especially mother. I know you always thought I was her favorite but she loved you too. She misses you so much & I do too. You and Chad were the only ones to call me out on my bullshit & now I've lost both of you."

Ethan lowered his head sadly.

"I wish things had been better between us buddy." The oldest of Ivy's children wiped away a few tears before getting up; there was one more person he had to see.

..

As the lawyer approached the area where his daughter was buried, he was startled to hear voices.

"We really should go now honey," a familiar voice said quietly.

Ethan moved closer to Sarah's burial area and saw that Gwen and her mother were there leaving flowers. The pair looked up when they heard him coming and Gwen quickly turned away.

"I'll leave you two with your daughter", the redhead said solemnly and made to leave.

When she was sure the former couple were no longer looking Rebecca quickly hid behind a building and whipped out her cell phone.

"What are you doing here", the blonde asked quietly as she sat back down. It was clear she didn't want to leave.

"She was my daughter too Gwen", Ethan said. "I come here often".

His ex-wife said nothing but slide over on the bench so he could sit down. She sniffed and wiped away a stray tear. "It's getting close to that time you know", Gwen said shakily. "And it still hurts like it just happened yesterday. "

Ethan sighed heavily, Gwen had never allowed herself to move past Sarah's death and it had changed her so drastically. Maybe if he had gotten her help back then, if he'd stood up and followed his heart from the beginning, things wouldn't have spun out of control the way they had.

"Hey", he finally said taking her hand. "I know we'll never truly get over losing our daughter. But we have to find a way to make peace with it Gwen. You can't keep living in this perpetual state of grief."

As the truth of her ex-husbands words washed over her, the blonde could only cry harder and leaned into him. Ethan put a comforting arm around her unaware of the subtle clicks of a nearby camera.

"You should really ask Eve to recommend a therapist", Ethan said after a moment. "Trust me it helps."

Gwen pulled herself away from him & chuckled softly.

"Right... I'd better go-", she began to say

"Jonathan's at my parents, Ethan interrupted suddenly. "I can have my dad drop him off at your house later."

The stunned blonde stared at him for a moment not believing what she's just heard. Was Ethan really going to let her have Jonathan during the week? Before he could change his mind, Gwen nodded and stood up. She walked over to Sarah's tombstone and kissed it.

"I'm going to get things ready for your little brother", she sniffed and looked back at Ethan. "But your daddy's still here okay? Rest easy sweetheart."

She gave her ex-husband one last teary half-smile before she left the Crane cemetery. Ethan sighed heavily as looked at his daughters' grave.

I hope I'm doing the right thing, he thought. And Sarah I hope you're proud of me.

...

Nearby, Rebecca continued to watch everything that was happening from her hidden corner. Despite the number of years that had passed it was clear that her former son in law still had the same bleeding heart. The redhead almost felt bad using a situation as sad as this for her own benefit, but she shrugged off the feeling. Nevertheless, she knew her daughter would thank her for it later. Pulling out her phone, Rebecca flipped through the photos she'd taken of Ethan and Gwen. These were sure to come in handy.

...

Nearby Whitney Harris Crane sighed heavily as she returned to her empty house. She'd just returned from dropping Miles and Chelsea off at the rec center for their afternoon activities. The young widow briefly thought about going out and enjoying herself but that was becoming harder and harder to do. If she wasn't with her best friend Theresa or her kids, Whitney didn't really know what to do with herself. Deep down she knew she was depressed, despite the front she tried to put on for her friends and family, she couldn't escape the dark feelings that welled up inside her every time she was alone.

Oh, Chad I would give anything to have you back. Whitney thought as she sat down on her couch. You're supposed to be here with me, raising our children together. The tennis coach shook away the thoughts.

"I can't get caught up in this misery again, she said. I'll make spaghetti for dinner, the kids' favorite!"

The young woman hummed to herself as she headed into her kitchen and bustled around making dinner. Suddenly a loud crash came from below and Whitney nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Oh my god", she yelled as she rushed to the nearest phone. "What was that?"

The young woman listened for a few nerve-racking moments and after hearing nothing, she decided to put the phone down. She chuckled nervously at herself for overreacting.

Something probably just fell, I'd better go check, she thought as she headed toward the basement.

"Hello, is anyone down here", the beauty called out nervously when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Whitney reached over to flip the light switch, and let out a horrified scream when she noticed a man balled up on her basement floor. The rough and unkempt man looked startled at the noise but made no move to flee. He simply stared...almost as if he knew her.

"How did you get in here?" she asked holding her hands up in defense. She quickly looked around for a weapon but saw nothing she could use to defend herself.

"If you need to eat I'll get you something but you can't stay here. This house belongs to the Cranes!"

At this statement, the man chuckled bitterly and Whitney backed away in fear. Oh no, what if this man was some deranged lunatic after the Cranes? While she barely considered herself a Crane her children still were.

"I'm calling the cops!" she said shakily and turned to head back upstairs.

"Whitney don't", the man rasped.

The tennis coach stopped in her tracks. Why did his voice sound so familiar? "

What did you say?" she questioned as she slowly approached him. "How did you know my name?"

The man said nothing but dug into his pocket and pulled out a photo, gingerly he held it out to her. Still mindful of the stranger Whitney dashed forward and grabbed the photo before returning to the safety of the stairs. As she looked down at the photo, she gasped, feeling as though the wind had been knocked out of her. The photo was weathered but the tennis coach could clearly recognize herself, Chad, Ethan, Theresa, Gwen & Fox in L.A. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since that picture was taken. She gingerly brushed her fingers over the photo. They were all so young and full of life back then.

Whitney turned back to the man and stared at him more closely.

"Where did you get this picture", she snapped. "And just who the hell are you?".

The man sat silently and stared directly at her, as if daring her to recognize him. The beautiful widow stared back and gasped slightly as he became more and more familiar.

"It can't be," she whispered trembling as she moved closer to him. "But if he'd been clean shaven, with a haircut...he could be..."

The man laughed bitterly.

"You finally recognize me? he said speaking clearly for the first time.

It was at that moment she knew. It was him.

It was Fox Crane!

"It can't be you; you're supposed to be dead!" Whitney freaked running her hands through her curly hair.

Her grief must have finally driven her crazy. He smirked at her growing panic.

"Well it is me Whitney, Fox Crane, he said quietly voice laden with pain. "I have so much to tell you". The widow could only stare in utter shock as the room began to spin.

"How-"was all Whitney got out before she fell into darkness.

...

Across town, Miguel Lopez Fitzgerald was having a busy day and he was glad it was almost over. First, Kay called and informed him that she, Jessica and the children were all heading back to Harmony. Then he'd dealt with private phone calls all day, each message was the same. A strange voice kept repeating an address in Castleton he urgently needed to get to. Since the small business owner was done with work for the day, he decided to go to the address he'd been called about. The voice on the other line was eerily familiar though the person was clearly trying to disguise himself or herself. As he headed out, Miguel was a bit surprised to see his former sister in law Sheridan speeding down the road ahead of him.

Hmm he thought she must be on the way back to Castleton. I wonder if she knows where this address is. He quickly dialed her number, but it went to voicemail. He shrugged it off and in a little under twenty minutes, Miguel arrived in the neighborhood. He smiled at the modest houses and families as he made his way to the address. What could possibly be so urgent in such a nice neighborhood?

The raven-haired man parked his truck and approached the home, after double-checking the address he made his way up the walkway. The house was similar to the others that he'd passed, with toys littered around the yard so he knew children lived there. Miguel was starting to feel silly as he rang the doorbell. What if this was some kind of prank?

Sure enough after several tries no one answered, he shrugged & headed back to his truck. Just as he was about to leave, Miguel suddenly got the urgent feeling that he should wait. It was almost as if a voice in his head was telling him, Wait Miguel.

He decided to follow his feelings and mere moments later a white car pulled into the driveway. The young man sat and watched as a young woman got out and quickly headed towards the backseat. He felt a strange ache in his chest as she reached inside and pulled out a small boy, no more than 2 or three years old. The laughing child suddenly reached out and snatched away the baseball cap the woman was wearing and beautiful blonde hair fell down around her.

Recognizing her instantly Miguel sucked in a breath and leapt from his truck.

"Elijah no!" Charity fussed failing to notice the approaching man.

"Hey", Elijah called out causing his mother to turn and look.

The blonde reeled back and swore she felt her heart hit the bottom of her shoes. It couldn't be...Miguel? She blinked rapidly, even fiercely wiped her eyes to be sure she was seeing clearly. But it was him, it was definitely Miguel and the broken look in his eyes made her want to disappear.

"Charity?" He choked out in disbelief.

However, his tear filled eyes were not on her, they were on the little boy Charity held tightly in her arms. He couldn't have been more than 2 or three years old...which meant? As the realization washed over him, Miguel doubled over as if in pain.

"Oh my god," he whispered eyes locked on Elijah. "What have you done Charity?"

"Miguel," she cried out in disbelief and began walking towards him but he backed away. "There are so many things you don't understand."

Elijah looked back and forth between the two and tugged on his mother's shirt.

"Man sad," the little boy said as he watched tears spill from Miguel's eyes. Elijah's' eyes also filled with tears making his brown eyes shining brightly in the afternoon sun.

He has Theresa's eyes, my eyes? Miguel scoffed bitterly and turned away.

"Wait Miguel", Charity yelled setting Elijah down. "Please just let me explain."

"Explain what? He thundered. "Why you ran away from me three years ago? How you're holding a little boy who looks just like me? My God Charity!"

Miguel pulled at his hair in agony.

"How many times have I begged you not to run away, to stay & fight to be with me?" he snapped.

The blonde could only cry harder causing her son to cling to her legs and whine. At the sight of him, Miguel took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

"Miguel please," Charity gasped through her tears.

"I can't right now, Charity" he said brokenly. "I just can't. You've always run away from every problem we ever faced; now it's my turn."

The young man took one last look at his son before running to his truck. Charity placed her hand on her forehead and cried as Miguel's truck raced away.

"I'm sorry Miguel, she whispered. "I'm so sorry"

NEXT TIME ON #PASSIONS- Will Ethan and Theresa maintain their happy existence or will secrets tear them apart again? What happens when the Bennet crew returns to Harmony? Now that Miguel knows about his son what's next? Is Fox Crane really alive?

TUNE IN TO THE NEXT EPISODE OF PASSIONS

*When I mention Fox Crane I'm thinking of Justin Hartley lol.*