Chapter Eight:

Cause I want it all
Or nothing at all
There's nowhere left to fall
When you reach the bottom it's now or never
Is it all?
Or are we just friends?
Is this how it ends?
With a simple telephone call you leave me here
With nothing…

Months had passed. Sheridan was now the sole owner of the richest, most influential country in the world. Months before, she hadn't thought that she would be able to succeed, but now she had done it.

She had had to replace all of her father's advisors since many of them were very corrupt. She named many of Harmony's citizens to various committees and positions of importance since she felt that they were some of the few people that she could trust. But her closest advisor, confidant—and lawyer—was none other than Ethan.

Jack had been wonderful too, doing everything he could to make this transition easier on her. He was always offering his hand to help guide her along the path that she should be taking. This was all so new to her—and it was hard to believe that she was succeeding!

A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in," Sheridan called.

Ethan's smiling head popped through the door. "How's my favorite ex-relative doing today?"

Sheridan made a face. "Ethan, screw biology. You're still my nephew. And actually, I was just wondering how I got so lucky to have such a great nephew and loving husband. I almost feel like I don't deserve him sometimes."

Ethan knew exactly what Sheridan was thinking. "Because you're still in love with Luis."

Sheridan grinned. She and Ethan had had many conversations about this—none of which she allowed him to share with his brother-in-law. "Yeah. He's like the missing part of my life. Without him, I don't feel…complete. I have Bella, but I don't have the love of my life. I don't have Bella's—" Sheridan realized what she was about to say and stopped abruptly. No one knew the truth about Bella's paternity other than herself and Jack. And that's how she planned to keep it.

"You don't have Bella's…what?" Ethan questioned. "You don't have Bella's…father? Is Luis Bella's father?"

"Of course not, Ethan!" Sheridan lied.

"If he's not, then how did she get his deep brown eyes? I should know—they're just like Reesa's."

Sheridan tried to avoid his gaze, but he grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. "Yes. Yes! You're right. Luis is Bella's father."

"Does Luis know? Have you told him?" Ethan probed.

"No, he doesn't know—and that's how it's going to stay. Right?" Sheridan pleaded. "I couldn't tell him. He'd demand to be a part of her life, and I couldn't stay away from him if he's around all the time. But I have to. I have no choice but to give up Luis and live my life as it is now."

Ethan didn't understand Sheridan's reasoning, but he knew that she couldn't take much more questioning, so he decided to let the subject drop. "So, Sheridan, how 'bout those Mets?"

~*~*~*~

At about five, Sheridan headed over to the Lopez-Fitzgerald house. Pilar had agreed to care for Bella each day while Sheridan and Jack ran their respective companies. Despite Pilar's protests, Sheridan paid her a large salary for caring for her only daughter. Sheridan knew that Luis worried too much about the financial situation of the Lopez-Fitzgerald family, and she hoped that this would relieve some of that stress.

Sheridan walked forward and knocked on the door, wondering who would answer the door. Would Miguel and Kay be visiting? Or Theresa and Ethan? One of the things she loved about picking Bella up was that she often got a chance to talk to people that she didn't see very often. Oddly, no one seemed to be home.

Sheridan knocked again, louder this time. "Hello? Pilar? Are you in there?" Sheridan called.

Sheridan began to worry. Pilar always answered the door only a few moments after the first knock—and Sheridan had been standing outside for a few minutes.

Carefully, Sheridan reached for the doorknob. It was open. Something was wrong, and Sheridan wasn't sure if she could handle this alone. She did the only thing that she could do—she called Luis.

~*~*~*~

Luis raced down the road towards his mother's home. When Sheridan called in a panic, he knew something was wrong. When she told him that his mother hadn't answered the door, he quickly agreed to meet her there as soon as he could. Sam understood that something was wrong, and was more than happy to allow Luis to leave work early.

After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled into the driveway. He knew that he must have broken numerous traffic laws on the drive to his house, but at this point in time only his mother and Bella mattered.

Sheridan was at his door before he had the keys out of the ignition. He had known that she was worried, but this was worse than he had imagined.

"Oh, Luis!" Sheridan cried, as she threw herself into his arms. She needed to be comforted. She needed someone stronger who could take control of the situation. She needed Luis.

Luis was surprised by Sheridan's move, but he instinctively wrapped his arms around her warm body. "Shhh! It'll be ok, Sher. I'm sure that Mama just took Bella out for a walk and forgot to lock the door before she left."

At least, I hope that's what happened, Luis prayed. He didn't know if he could handle anything more than that. It was already obvious that Sheridan couldn't.

With his arm still around Sheridan's waist, Luis slowly moved towards the front door. Shielding Sheridan with his body, he carefully opened the door.

"Mama?" he called, hoping for a response.

He cautiously stepped inside the house, scanning the entire room for signs of an intruder before he motioned for Sheridan to follow him. Suddenly, he heard the back door slam shut.

Luis jumped in front of Sheridan. "Who's there?" he asked authoritatively.

"Luis? Mijo?" Pilar asked as she walked into the room. "Is that you?"

"Sí, Mama. It's me and Sheridan." He gave his mother a tight squeeze. "We were so worried about you."

"Yes, Pilar, we were," Sheridan agreed. "Was something wrong?"

"Sheridan, siéntense, por favor. (Sheridan, sit down, please.)" Pilar requested.

Worried, Sheridan did as she asked, wondering what had happened.

"Sheridan, mija, you know that I love you and your beautiful daughter, right? And that I would never let anything happen to either of you?"

"Of course, Pilar," Sheridan replied, with a puzzled expression on her face. Where was this leading?

"Well, this afternoon, I laid Bella down for her nap, and when I went back to check on her thirty minutes later, she was gone. I don't know where she went, Sheridan. One moment, she was lying quietly on my bed, and the next she had disappeared," Pilar explained. "I'm sorry, Sheridan, but I don't know what happened to her."

Sheridan was shocked. She didn't move for a few moments, until what Pilar had just told her began to sink in. Then, she began to cry.

"Ohmigod! Bella! Oh, my beautiful, wonderful daughter!" Sheridan cried.

After Pilar saw Luis put his arms around her, she left the room. She knew that Sheridan didn't hold her responsible and that she needed Luis right now. She quickly wrote them a note, saying that she was heading outside to continue the search for Bella.

"Sher, it'll be ok. I'm sure Bella's just fine. She probably just wandered off somewhere. We'll find her soon, and everything will go back to the way it was. You and Jack will get your daughter back safe and sound."

"Luis, that's just the problem. Jack and I will never have our daughter back." Sheridan knew that she had to tell Luis. If he missed any more time with his daughter, she could never forgive herself. Bella deserved to have her wonderful father in her life.

"Yes, Sher, you will. I promise you, we'll find her."

"No, Luis, Jack and I will never have our daughter. We don't have a daughter."

"But Bella…" Luis trailed off. Suddenly, it hit him. "You mean that Bella…? She's my daughter?"

Sheridan nodded mutely, awaiting his explosive reaction.

"Sheridan, why the HELL didn't you—" Realizing that she was in enough pain as it was, he stopped himself.

"We can talk about this later. Right now, we have to find our daughter."

Luis quickly called Sam and reported his daughter missing. He still couldn't believe that he had a daughter. As surprised as he was, it did shed some light on why Sheridan left. Perhaps she had loved him, but had known that her family would never let her marry him. When she discovered she was pregnant, she knew that she had to get married to avoid scandal, which explained the unceremonious dumping.

But Luis shoved the thoughts of Sheridan and their love out of his mind. He had a daughter to find.

~*~*~*~

Hours had passed, and there was still no sign of Bella. Luis and Sheridan had been inseparable since the search for Bella had begun. Eventually, Luis forced her back to the Lopez-Fitzgerald house so that they could get something to eat.

"Luis, I can't eat. Not when my baby—our baby is out there somewhere, all alone and scared."

"Sher, you need to keep your strength up so that you can keep searching for her. It'll be ok. Besides, Theresa, Ethan, Miguel, Kay, Mama, and lots of other people are still out there searching right now. We'll find her, Sher."

"Oh, Luis, I hope so!" Sheridan prayed.

~*~*~*~

After their late dinner, Luis insisted on heading up to Pilar's room to look for clues. In reality, he was hoping that Sheridan would fall asleep, but he wasn't counting on that happening.

Sheridan sat on the edge of the bed, while Luis searched the room for signs of an intruder. She prayed that Bella hadn't been kidnapped. It could take a long time to track down a kidnapper—too long.

"Luis?" Sheridan asked as she felt something brush against her leg. "You don't have a cat, do you?"

"No…" Luis replied curiously. "Why?"

"I thought I felt something against my ankle, but I must have imagined it."

Luis immediately dropped to the ground and looked beneath the bed. Carefully, he removed something from under the bed.

"Could this be what brushed against your ankle, Sher?" he asked with a smile on his lips.

"Bella!" Sheridan cried happily, snatching her beautiful daughter from his hands.

"Oh, baby," Sheridan cooed softly. "Are you ok? Oh, Mommy's so sorry, sweetie!"

Luis watched the interaction awkwardly. He wasn't quite sure as to what he should do or how he should act.

Sheridan noticed this. "And, Bella, honey, do you know who found you? Daddy found you. We have both been so worried about you!"

Sheridan saw that Luis was still uncomfortable about the whole situation, so she motioned for him to come over by her and Bella.

Luis walked over, put his arm around Sheridan's waist, and looked into the chocolate brown eyes that mirrored his own. "Hello, sweetheart. We're so glad that you're ok. Everyone has been searching all over for you."

"Luis! Everyone is still out there looking for Bella! We have to let them know that we found her!" Sheridan exclaimed.

"You're right. I'll go spread the word. Wait here, and I'll be right back."

Sheridan watched the man of her dreams walk out the door with a smile on her face. True, she and Luis weren't together, but while she was sitting on Pilar's bed holding their daughter, she could pretend that they were for at least a little while.