Love Will Find a Way

Chapter 9

        Sheridan was sitting on her bed too. But she was crying. //I went to all this trouble to get away from Luis... and now he's here... and he hates me! I knew it... that's why I left in the first place! Oh, Luis...//

        [Okay... time to look at this from MY point of view. Not the cop point of view, not as a Lopez-Fitzgerald, but from Luis' point of view. I love Sheridan. I know that. She's kind, thoughtful, and generous... not to mention beautiful... and... she's got a thing for me too. Actually, it's not just a thing. She loves me. She told me that. But... she kept this huge secret from me; the one thing I was looking for, she knew. And she never told me... but why?] Luis pondered, and hard.

        [Because she loves you!]

        Luis sat up, finally realizing why Sheridan had left, why she'd had the nightmares she never told him about, why she always got that hint of fear and sadness in her eyes when she talked about her past... He remembered that night in Santa Fe. "I didn't mean to do it!" she said, over and over.

        [She loves me... she didn't want to lose me... so she left me.]

        He sat there, grateful, because no woman had ever been that devoted to him. Not even Beth. Sure, Beth was a great woman... beautiful, too, but Sheridan... Sheridan was his soulmate. Luis felt it.     [I'm so sorry I put you through this, Sheridan,] he thought, sadly.

        //It's okay, Luis, I know you didn't know about me... you know I still love you, right?//

        Luis and Sheridan both recoiled in shock. //I just heard him think that!//

        [I can hear you think, Sheridan.]

        //I know. I hear you too.//

        Luis sat there, thoughtless and speechless, when he couldn't hear a female voice in his head. Only his own.

        [Where did that come from? Maybe... maybe Sheridan and I have ESP or something. Oh well. Back to the subject. She lied to me... but she did it to protect me. And herself. I can see how hurt she's been by her past loves... and I swear, I will never hurt her again. My father's dead. Nothing can change that. But even if she did kill him, she didn't mean to do it; it was an accident. Nothing I say or do will bring my father back. But to live the rest of my life without Sheridan, well... that would be double torture.] Luis finally got up and opened the door. Ethan was there.

        "So, did you think?"

        "Yes," Luis said.

        "And?"

        "You'll see." Luis took his Walkman and left.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        Sheridan smiled through her tears. //I heard him say that he was sorry... Maybe this means we have a chance!// She picked up the phone and tapped out a number. "Hello?... Yes, I'd like to request a song... You can? Great! Thank you so much!" Sheridan turned on the radio and heard the DJ say, in his English accent, "Now, for a brand-new song, called 'I Wanna Love You Forever,' by Jessica Simpson. I've gotten many calls for this one, and one was from a young woman who wants to tell the man she loves that she'll always be there. Here it is!"

//You set my soul at ease
Chased darkness out of view
Left your desperate spell on me
Say you feel it too; I know you do
I've got so much more to give
This can't die, I yearn to live
Pour yourself all over me
And I'll cherish every drop here on my knees

I wanna love you forever
And this is all I'm asking of you
Ten thousand lifetimes together
Is that so much for you to do?
'Cause from the moment that I saw your face
And felt the fire in your sweet embrace
I swear I knew
I wanna love you forever

My mind fails to understand
What my heart tells me to do
And I'd give up all I have just to be with you
And that would do
I've always been taught to win
And I never thought I'd fall
Be at the mercy of a man; I've never been
Now I only want to be right where you are

In my life I've learned that heaven never waits, no
Let's take this now before it's gone like yesterday
'Cuz when I'm with you, there's nowhere else
That I would ever wanna be, no
I'm breathing for the next second I can feel you loving me...//

        Luis smiled as he finished his little walk. He had heard the song on the radio and knew that Sheridan had requested it. He just knew. He walked back into the hotel lobby, when one of the English officers stopped him. This man was off-duty, but Luis recognized him.

        "Sir," he began, "I'd just like you to know that there's a dance here tonight."

        "Really? Cool!"

        "It's a Valentine's Day dance," the man added. "You can take that girl... you know... the blond one. Short hair, blue eyes... always dressed nice...You and her would make a great couple." Luis blushed. "Actually... well, it's a long story. But thank you for telling me this!" He ran up to his room and found Ethan. "Ethan!"

        "Luis."

        "You've gotta help me, Ethan. Please."

        "With what?"

        "You'll see." Luis whispered in his ear, and Ethan quickly agreed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Later)

        Knock, knock!

        Sheridan went to answer the door. "Ethan!" she said. "What are you doing all dressed up like that?"

        "Didn't you hear, Sheridan? There's a dance here tonight!"

        "Really?" Her heart sank. //Luis probably doesn't want to go with me.//

        "Yes. Do you have a nice dress or something?"

        "Of course I do. You know me," Sheridan said, pulling out a nice red strappy dress with spaghetti straps and little slits on the sides.

        Ethan let out a low whistle. "Wow. Sheridan, you're going to look stunning tonight..." he said, as Sheridan went to the bathroom to get changed, "...and you'll be in for the surprise of your life." He smiled.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        Luis was already downstairs, running around the ballroom. "Are you sure I can do that?"

        "Yes. Ethan Crane told us to."

        "And since when did Ethan Crane have the power to pull off things like this?"

        "Since he became the heir of Crane Industries."

        [I knew it. Count on Ethan to use his connections. I just hope the power doesn't go to his head.] Luis looked around at the decorated ballroom. [Tonight is going to be one night that neither Sheridan nor I will ever forget!]