AN: Something that came to me, so I wrote it. Yes, I know I said no more shorts until I finish HEA, but I lied! Enjoy, HEA is coming! Circa 2005

"None quite the same"

At long last the adventure in Rome was over. The various groups who'd journeyed across the ocean were finally returning to Harmony, none quite the same as they left.

Fancy Crane looked around at the occupants of the Crane Jet.

Simone, Jessica and Paloma were sound asleep, all leaning onto each other. They'd been seeking adventure during this trip and they'd found it.

Strange how the four of them were so close in age, yet she felt entirely isolated from them.

Up ahead of them sat Whitney and Theresa, the best friends who silently struggled to come to terms with just how much this trip had changed their lives.

Theresa, finally giving up on Ethan, had two children waiting for her in Harmony. Now that Alistair was dead, what was next for her?

Whatever it was she wouldn't be alone, clutching her hand was Whitney who also had challenges ahead.

Chad, it turned out, was not her brother after all. How would she deal with him and the baby she'd left behind?

Fancy shook her blonde head at her own complicated family dynamics. Technically, Chad was her uncle? Looking further ahead she spotted her oldest brother, Ethan, and his wife seated at the front of the plane.

They must be relieved to finally be free of Theresa, she thought.

As if feeling her stare her brother turned around and give her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He looked heartbroken?

Startled, Fancy looked to her partner and he raised a knowing brow at her confusion.
Holding his little boy close, Luis was no doubt the happiest person on the plane.

If only that joy was contagious.
Of course Fancy was happy.

The sole reason for their trip to Rome was to bring Marty back to Sheridan. Fancy heard the joy in her aunt's voice and when Luis called her with the news of Marty's rescue. She'd cried with relief desperate to hold her only child in her arms again.

And while Fancy was happy for them, there was an undeniable ache in her chest as she watched Luis's eyes light up at hope of a life with Sheridan and Marty.
Sure enough once the Crane jet arrived in Harmony and the passengers were safely on the ground, everyone remained close by to watch Luis and Sheridan's emotional reunion with Marty.
Of course, this was the ending they'd all hoped for.

This was the way it should be.
All the times he rescued her in Rome, holding her close and confiding in her hadn't change that.
It wasn't as though Fancy'd fallen in love with him.
That wasn't the reason for the searing ache in her chest even as happy tears rolled down her cheeks.
Slowly the crowd began to disperse, leaving the couple to their happy ending. Jessica, Simone and Paloma, Whitney and Theresa, and finally Gwen and Ethan made their way to their waiting vehicles.

As though sensing her distress, her brother paused and made eye contact pointedly pulling her away from the scene before her. Slowly she began to walk towards him, every step heavier than the one before.

Once she reached him, the blonde looked back once last time.

Seeing the three of them confirmed that whatever she and Luis almost had, never stood a chance.

As though reading her mind, Ethan offered her a broken smile before guiding her into the car and driving away.

Yes, they'd all returned home to Harmony but none quite the same as they left.