AN: An alternate ending to Ethan and Theresa's 2007 elopement. Alistair remains dead.
Untitled.
…..
Married.
She was finally getting married.
It wasn't her first time down the aisle by a long shot, but this time was the one that truly mattered.
This time everything was perfect.
Almost everything.
Theresa couldn't stop the tears from flowing as she made her way down the aisle.
All the pieces of her heart awaited her at the altar.
Ethan stood waiting, his eyes lighting up the moment he saw her, their son stood beside him smiling. Whitney stood opposite of the two men holding a small bouquet, clad in a simple blue dress. She too had tears in her eyes.
In the pews of the tiny chapel sat Pilar and Jane, looking a little flustered but happy.
As Theresa reached the altar, Ethan took her hands and pulled her close to him.
"You've never been more beautiful", he said, voice cracking slightly.
Theresa swiped at her eyes carefully, so as not to ruin her makeup.
The officiant gave the couple a moment to compose themselves before he begun.
"Dearly beloved…..."
It's really happening", Ethan said softly to his bride.
He hadn't lied when said she was beautiful today. Her hazel eyes danced with joy, the smile on her face was brighter than he'd ever seen it.
She took his breath away.
Overcome, Ethan leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers as the officiant continued with their vows.
"From today until forever, I promise that you, me, Jane and Little Ethan are a family. Nothing will ever separate the four of us again, no more secrets, no more lies."
At those words the joy drained from Theresa's face.
Because she did have a secret.
One more secret that could ruin everything.
…..
"Hurry up Mother", Gwen yelled as she kicked at the door. "We've got to get to that church before Ethan and Theresa get married.
Rebecca was busy looking for a weapon to free them from the closet Pilar had locked them in.
"Well Gwenie, if you'd just told Ethan the truth about Little Ethan being his son earlier, we wouldn't be in this mess!", the redhead grumbled.
"How was I supposed to know they were going to elope?", came the reply. "Just get us out of here!"
"Found something!", Rebecca yelled clutching a crowbar.
In a matter of minutes mother and daughter were free and racing towards the chapel.
After almost a decade of war with Theresa, there was no way they would let Theresa win.
…
20 minutes later, Gwen and Rebecca burst through the doors of the chapel and nearly collided with Whitney, Jane, Pilar and Little Ethan.
"Where's Ethan?", the blonde demanded.
"Gone", Pilar snapped shifting a sleeping Jane in her arms. "You're too late".
"They've already gotten married Gwen", Whitney added. "It's time to end this feud once and for all"
"Theresa destroyed my marriage and now she gets to ride off into the sunset with Ethan? I don't think so."
"It takes two to tango honey", Whitney said gently. She knew how crowded a marriage with three people could be.
The blonde lifted her chin stubbornly and turned.
"Let's go Mother, I know where they are", she said.
….
Theresa was laughing as a shirtless Ethan carried her over the threshold of their honeymoon suite. She wrapped her arms his necked and pulled him closer as he lowered her onto the bed.
"I still can't believe this is real", she said in between kisses. "We are really married."
"Yes, we are Mrs. Winthrop", Ethan replied cupping her face in his hands and kissing her deeply.
Before the two could begin to enjoy their honeymoon, a loud banging at the door startled them. Ethan and Theresa exchanged a look before pulling apart and heading to the door.
As soon as it was opened, Gwen and Rebecca burst into the suite.
"Ethan I'm so glad you're okay", Gwen said throwing her arms around him.
"You really are shameless tramp", Rebecca snarled at Theresa. "You couldn't even let the ink dry on those divorce papers before you tricked Ethan into marrying you.
"Enough Rebecca!", Ethan snapped removing Gwen's arms from around his neck. "Gwen and I have been divorced for months and I ask Theresa to marry me. Nobody tricked me into anything".
"Now if you two don't mind", Theresa said as she motioned toward the door. "We're on our honeymoon."
"I wonder if Ethan would want this honeymoon to continue, if he knew the type of woman he married", the redhead said with a sly smile.
"He knows exactly the type of woman he married Rebecca", Theresa snapped back. "He married a flawed woman, a woman who's made a million mistakes and will probably make a million more, and he married a woman that loves him and her family more anything else in the world. So, you can stop with innuendoes"
"Such a moving speech", Gwen said as she clapped mockingly. "It would almost mean something if you weren't lying to Ethan this very minute. Did you know that Ethan? Even though she stood in front an alter and pledged to be honest and faithful to you, she's still lying to you. And I'm not going to let her get away with it."
"Does Ethan know you're big secret Theresa?", Rebecca taunted.
"What big secret?", Ethan asked looking back and forth between the woman.
"Tell him Theresa", Gwen said as the brunette glared at her. "Tell him that Little Ethan is his biological son and you have known since Rome without saying one word."
Ethan stared back and forth between the women as he absorbed the news.
"You've kept Ethan from his son for almost two years now Theresa. After everything you've done, I'm not surprised but I am disgusted", Gwen ranted before turning to Ethan. "I'm sorry Ethan, but I am just disgusted."
"Yeah so am I", Ethan said softly. "But you're the one I'm disgusted with Gwen"
"What?"
"Theresa's already told me the truth about Little Ethan's paternity", Ethan said as he placed his arm around his wife, who raised a brow at Gwen. "She explained everything, and I understand why she did what she did. She'd already lost custody of the Jane and she was afraid to lose Little Ethan too. What I don't understand is why you didn't tell me the truth."
"I-I"
"We just found out", Rebecca interjected. "How could we tell you something we didn't know?"
"If you just found out Rebecca then why have the two of you been blackmailing me for months now?", Theresa asked. "The only way you've could've found out was from JT's thumb drive, the thumb drive Gwen and I fought over months ago."
"Honestly Ethan", Gwen said desperately. "You can't believe that I would keep something like this from you?"
"I think that you were waiting for the right moment to expose Theresa", Ethan said crossing his arms. "You don't care about Little Ethan being my son at all. I think you would've waited until our wedding day and exposed the truth so that I'd leave Theresa and come back to you".
"Us eloping forced your hand and finally showed your true colors", Theresa added. "It's over Gwen".
Gwen's face grew red as she realized that she was caught, that she'd finally lost Ethan.
"Ethan you can't be with her", she cried. "You can't be with her after everything she's done".
"We've all done things we shouldn't have, crossed lines we never imagined we would", Ethan replied. "I'm sorry that we've hurt you Gwen, but this has to end. Theresa and I are going to be together and nothing is going to change that."
Theresa stood silently as her husband open the door to let Rebecca and Gwen out of their suite. Once the two women left, the newlyweds found their way into each other's arms.
"Some honeymoon huh", Ethan said as he kissed Theresa's forehead.
"You've given me the best wedding present", she said smiling brightly.
"What's that", he asked confused.
"Your trust. You listened to me about Little Ethan and trust everything I said without question", the brunette said growing teary eyed again. "That means so much to me after everything we've been through, and I want you to know I trust you too. And I love you so much"
Ethan cupped Theresa's face in his hands and kissed her passionately leading her back to the bed.
"I won't waste words telling you how much I love you", he said as he lifted her into his arms. "I'll just spend the rest of forever showing you, Mrs. Winthrop."
"That's the second-best thing I've heard all day", Theresa said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "The first was I do".