Chapter 13

At the Bennett's

The girls watched as the credits to "The Grudge" began to roll. Charity shivered as Jessica hit the mute button on the television.

"That movie gave me the creeps."

Simone agreed, "same here. I didn't think any movie could get to me that much."

Kay teased her, making the same throat sound the woman made.

Simone laughed, "Kay, cut it out! That woman making that noise was creepy enough."

Kay laughed, "sorry, I couldn't resist."

Jessica shrugged, "so, what next? Another movie or-"

She was answered with a knock at the door. Kay called out, "come-in!"

Grace popped in, "Simone, your dad's on the phone, sweetie."

"Thanks, Mrs. Bennett."

Grace nodded before she disappeared. Kay picked up her phone and handed it to Simone.

"Dad?"

"Hey, sweetheart, how are you?"

"I'm good, how are you?"

"I'm okay. Um...ready to come home?"

Simone hesitated, "...not really," and then laughed, "do I have to?"

T.C. started to answer, "well...only because-"

"-Dad, its cool. I have some things to take care of once I get back, anyways."

"Okay. Um...do you want me to give you a little while?" Simone asked, "can I give you a call?"

"Absolutely. Take your time, I'm not in a rush."

"Thanks, dad. See you in a bit."

They exchanged "I love you's," said their goodbyes and hung up. She looked at her friends, and Kay sadly asked her.

"He's coming soon?"

"Not exactly. He said to call when I'm ready. He also said take my time, since he's not in a rush."

Jessica spoke up, "in that case, he'll be waiting for a while. We're kidnapping you a few more days."

All four of them laughed, "as much as I wouldn't mind that, I'd have to go home eventually."

Kay argued, "not really."

The girls laughed again, when Simone shook her head, "you two are a trip."

It was silent again, when Kay shrugged, "so, what now?"

Jessica spoke, "there should be something on t.v."

With that, they turned back to the set.

At the Mansion

While Little Ethan slept in his crib, Theresa sat on her bed, sorting through things she had left the night of her accident. Mainly papers and a few books. She grabbed for a book, but winced as she felt a sharp pain run down her back. She leaned back against her headboard, to let the pain pass.

Once the pain dulled, she thought out loud, "just grab it."

She quickly grabbed it, and leaned back again to rest the sore muscles. After a moment the pain dulled again, while she looked at the book she'd grabbed.

"Which one is this?" She flipped through the book and skimmed a couple of pages.

"Hm..." she laid it down and reached for another, when Little Ethan awoke, crying. "My poor baby. Hang on, Little Ethan. Mommy's coming."

She slowly began to slide off her bed, trying twice as hard to ignore the growing pain in her back. She was startled as she watched her bedroom door fly open. But she relaxed once she saw Fox pop in, and head straight for Little Ethan's crib.

"Hang on, little guy."

Theresa smiled and relaxed a little, while Fox picked the toddler up out of his crib. He began to play with him, and spun him around a few times. Moments later, Little Ethan was giggling.

Fox joined him, "there we go."

Theresa watched him in admiration, "thanks, Fox."

Fox shook his head, "not a problem."

And Theresa watched on, admiring how well Fox was bonding with him. 'Wow! I never realized how good Fox was with Little Ethan. He's going to make a great father someday. Whatever it is...he's got it.' She slowly smiled, just watching.

At Beth's House

Beth walked in with a smile glued to her face. From her stature it was apparent that she was somewhere off in space. But she was snapped out of her daze as her mother walked in from the kitchen.

"Well, Beth nice of you to stop by."

Beth rolled her eyes, plopping on the couch, "whatever, Mother."

It was silent for a moment, until Edna asked, "how's Theresa doing?"

"A lot better. She just went home this afternoon."

Ms. Wallace brightened, "well, that's great! I'm happy to hear that."

"Me, too. I'm happy for her and her family. Especially Pilar."

"Maybe we should send a card over."

Beth shrugged, "sounds good."

Ms. Wallace hesitated, thrown by her behavior. "Beth, what's with you?"

Beth played with her fingers, "what do you mean?"

"With you 24.7 its, 'Luis will be mine, I'll make him forget all about Sheridan. I'll be his wife if its the last thing I do.' "

Beth stared at her while Edna asked, "where'd that tired speech go?"

"Out. Don't think I need it anymore."

Edna blinked, "what're you talking about?"

Beth exclaimed, "just that Antonio...Luis' brother...offered to help Luis and me plan a wedding!"

Edna exclaimed, "WHAT! No way! What for?"

Beth rolled her eyes, "isn't it obvious? Even he knows that we're meant to be together. Because we are. Its official, Mother. No more of your 'Luis will never marry me' taunts. I will be Mrs. Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald!"

Beth laughed and fell into daydreaming while Edna shook her head in disbelief.

At the Cottage

Sheridan and Gwen watched Antonio shrug his shoulders, "what do I have to know?"

Gwen started to speak, "...oh nothing important...just that-"

"-I'm more than happy to help Beth and Luis. I just don't want us to rush things," Sheridan came to her friend's rescue.

Antonio shook his head, "oh no need to worry about that. I don't want them to rush things either. I just wanted to get the idea off the ground, see how they felt about it. But I agree."

Sheridan spoke again, "after all...even engagements aren't exactly guarantees. I just don't want Beth or Luis to get disappointed."

Antonio smiled, "I agree completely."

Sheridan and Gwen silently breathed in relief, while Antonio offered, "Sheridan, I'm going to make us some tea. Gwen, you're more than welcome to stay."

Gwen shook her head, "oh, thanks Antonio. I appreciate the offer, but I should be getting back to the mansion."

Sheridan hugged her, "thanks for being here, Gwen."

Gwen smiled, "honey, anytime. You're like the sister I never had."

The two laughed and Sheridan replied, "same here."

Then Gwen and Antonio shared a hug, before Sheridan walked her friend to the door.

"It'll be okay. Everything will work out," Gwen whispered before she headed back towards the main house.

Sheridan watched her off, before slowly closing the door. She turned as Antonio spoke.

"Still want that tea?"

Sheridan smiled, "yeah. Sounds good."

Antonio nodded and headed towards the kitchen. Meanwhile, Sheridan walked over to sit on the couch. She picked up a magazine with a bride and groom on the front cover, and pictured her and Luis as the bride and groom.

'Someday soon, Luis. I promise.' That was the vow she made before getting lost in thought.

In the Next Chapter

Simone sees Chad and Whitney together.

Ethan witnesses an intimate moment between Fox and Theresa.

Kay gets a phone call.

A/N: Once again I can't even begin to apologize for taking THIS long to update this one. The situation that happened with the previous chapter is pretty much what happened with this one as well. By the time I got the new battery for the laptop, our contracts with them ended and I had to turn it in. That was May 8. I had written about three chapters in advance and I was ready to post them, but I didn't have access to a computer so I was out of luck. Throughout the remainder of the month of May, I was out of town, but now that I'm in Fort Washington visiting relatives, I have access to a computer for a while. I won't be here long, but I can probably add up to Chapter 15 or 16 before I head back home. I'm not sure what will happen at that point, but I'll update you guys ASAP. Til then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one will be up shortly.