A/N: Before I begin, just to let anyone know... this happened oh say, a month or two after the double disaster Shuis wedding thing! Antonio did NOT have his little incident and all those yada yada things didn't happen... LOL I'm bad with some content, I know but let's just say it happened around a couple of months after Ivy was kicked to the curb. If you want, you can pretend that stuff didn't happen and focus on the Fox/Theresa storyline like I have *wink*
Chapter Four:
"Can I just say again just how amazing you look, Mrs. Crane?" Fox complimented, his gaze never leaving her.
Theresa giggled, smoothing down her red and white floral tank top. "You did an excellent job in choosing my outfit, Fox. From the Hawaiian print top to the black capris and platforms. My compliments to the you, sir." She then regarded Fox and teasingly, "Looks like someone's trying to out fox someone in the 'most charming in blue' category!"
Fox feigned shock with a mixture of innocence. "What?" He glanced down at his own attire, which seemed to match that of little Ethan's with the exception of jeans and an opened shirt revealing a tight white shirt underneath. "Don't tell me that I don't look good in blue!"
The young woman laughed, "You look handsome, Mr. Crane. Both of my boys look beautiful in blue!" She turned towards her son, tickling the little one while leaving Fox to consider her words. Silence fell upon the limo, with the exception of little Ethan's giggles.
Suddenly Fox broke it with, "Theresa, I want you to make me a promise."
She glanced over from her son to Fox. His eyes so serious and intent that, for a moment, scared her. "What's wrong, Fox? Why are you looking at me that way?"
"Before we reach the airport and hop on that jet towards Hawaii, I want you to make me a promise."
"What kind of promise, Fox?" Her eyes searched his for a hint, even a clue as to why he was acting so mysterious, so urgent.
"That the moment our plane leaves the solid ground of Harmony, you must promise to leave behind all your troubles. I don't want you to even think of Ethan, or the bride of Ethanstein, of my father or his sex chimp, nor of my mother. Not your family, not anything even remotely related to this town!"
Half teasing, she asked, "But what about you? What about my son? Or the Crane Industry that just happens to be the reason we're taking this trip in the first place?"
Fox, though trying his best to keep up the serious act, managed a small smirk when he replied, "Well, we don't count because we're not going to be in Harmony. We'll literally be out of state, so we can't be out of your thoughts."
She raised an eyebrow in question, though Fox wondered if she was serious or joking when she said, "Nor out of my heart?"
He paled a bit, his heart pounding at that question. Keeping his cool, "Mind, body, and soul, sweet Theresa. You're going to have to try harder to get rid of us."
Theresa laughed, "I wouldn't dare try, dear Nicholas."
Fox hesitated for a moment before lightly taking her hand. "So do you promise, Theresa? Promise me?" His voice was urgent, almost pleading with her.
Wanting to ease his concern, she nodded and smiled. Theresa squeezed his hand, and whispered, "I promise, Fox."
"Okay," Fox grinned, still having her hand in his. "And I promise you that after this trip, your life in Harmony will be ten times better than it was when we left."
"Why do I have a deep feeling in my stomach that you're right about that?" She asked, giving him this semi-suspicious, semi-teasing look.
"Because I'm always right." He replied with a coy grin that Theresa only knew so well.
"Oh brother! You men and your egos!" She laughed with mock exasperation, reaching over with her other hand to slap his arm playfully.
Both were semi conscious of the fact that they were still holding hands, and little Ethan certainly was aware of that fact as he stared at the two from his car seat next to Theresa.
Theresa glanced over at her son, a thoughtful look crossed her face as she voiced her concern. "Hello, sweetheart. You okay, little Ethan?" To Fox, "I wonder what's going through that sweet mind of his?"
Fox regarded the child, and mysteriously replied "I bet he knows all sorts of secrets..."
A bit worried, "Well, he must know a secret or two about us because look at the way he's looking at us."
"I wouldn't be surprised..." Was Fox's only response as he bit her lower lip to refrain from saying anymore. It would be best if Theresa was kept in the dark for a while. He met eyes with the little boy, as if silently telling him that he didn't have to worry about the truth just yet. That there was still time and that eventually it'll be okay.
"Hey now! Someone's happy!" Theresa laughed as her son suddenly began giggling happily. She unintentionally removed her hand from Fox's grasp and started playing with her son. Fox, for once, didn't silently protest for he was glad that little Ethan reacted the way that he did. He watched the two people that he now considered his world, and for the first time since coming home, ironically enough that they're leaving it, he felt like he was truly at home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Theresa, this is Maile James. She's a friend of mine from Maui. Maile, this is Theresa."
Upon hopping on board the Crane's private jet, Theresa was surprised to find a young woman, around her brother Miguel's age, sitting down and waiting for their arrival. She certainly was a sight with petite status and a nice golden tan. Maile definitely looked like she was from Hawaii.
Fox began explaining to Theresa the purpose of Maile's arrival. "Rugrat over here knows the island like the back of her pinkie! I figured that since we're going to be staying there for a few days that Maile can not only serve as a tour guide, but also as a baby-sitter for little Ethan during our conference with Omiat. Theresa, I trust Maile. She's a good kid. Believe me."
"I believe you, Fox." Theresa smiled. To Maile, "Hello, Maile. It's a pleasure to meet you." Theresa, while holding her son in the other, with her free hand shook hands with the young woman.
"Same here, Theresa. I hope you don't mind us meeting like this at the very last moment." Maile gave a teasing glare at Fox, "I expected better introductions from a gentleman like our Fox here."
Fox shrugged innocently, prompting Theresa to poke fun at him. "There you go again, Nicholas! You can't fool us with your innocent act!"
Maile's jaw practically dropped as she stared at Theresa incredulously. "Wow! You called him 'Nicholas' and yet you're still standing!" She glanced over at Fox, "Huh, now there's two things I never thought I'd live to see; one, you actually letting someone call you by your birth name, and two..."
"Drop it, Maile." Fox growled, causing Theresa to inwardly giggle with amusement over the scene before her.
Maile winked at Fox, "And I thought we were closer than that!"
Theresa began buckling herself and little Ethan to one of the seats of the jet. Fox took the seat next to Theresa, while Maile sat herself across from Theresa. She smiled at Maile, wanting to know more about Fox's friend... make that, wanting to know what Fox's friend knew about their Nicholas that Theresa herself knew nothing about! As the plane began taking off, Theresa vowed to get to know everything she can about this other woman in Fox's life. Though she had a feeling she had nothing to be jealous over...
"So how did you two meet?"
Maile glanced at Theresa's son, choosing her words carefully yet allowing a bit of herself to shine through her. "Through my stepsister, Angel." Maile scoffed, "Do not let the name fool you because she's anything but." Playful-like, "Did Fox tell you that I'm probably the only Hawaii-born female acquaintance that he hasn't slept with or made a move on?"
Theresa raised an eyebrow at Fox, apparently intrigued. "Really?"
Playing along, "Hey, now. A guy has to have some kind of moral ethics to maintain. I'm not completely my father's son." He smirked.
Maile winked at little Ethan, "Guess there's hope still yet for you, sport."
Theresa laughed, "Hey! Leave my son out of it! I want to hear more about you and Fox!"
"If I sound pro-Fox in this story, it's because I hate my stepsister with a passion. So I'm a bit bias," Maile warned Theresa before continuing on with her story. "But basically, Angel seduced the fool, they did it," The young woman shuddered, then, "And in her lame attempt to make me jealous, introduced me to her quote unquote 'best sex partner in the entire world.' Unfortunately for her, the bitch didn't count on the both of us getting along so well and remaining good friends way after he dumped her plastic booty."
Fox crossed his arms, apparently satisfied with that version of the story. "That sounds about right, Rugrat."
"'Rugrat'? How did you get that nickname?" Theresa asked, amused by this other part of Fox's life. Theresa never saw Fox interact this way with anyone in Harmony. It is only with herself that she's seen the "good friend" side of Nicholas Foxworth Crane.
Maile rolled her eyes in mock frustration. "Because the dork treats me like a baby. Not to mention that I was watching that kid show when we first met."
"So you two first met on Maui?"
"Actually," Fox began, "On Oahu. Rugrat was just a freshmen at college. I met Angel at a club downtown Honolulu. Maile and Angel are from Maui, but they're both students at the University of Hawaii, Manoa campus."
"So you've known each other for... a year?"
Both Fox and Maile looked at each other, surprised by how long they've known each other.
"About a year... year and a quarter... half..." Maile softly muttered when unexpectedly surprising Theresa with, "Your son's about a six months old? Not nearly a year old, right?"
Theresa glanced over at Fox, who only merely shrugged with equal confusion. To Maile, "He's going to be seven months in two weeks from now. Why?"*
*(A/N: I had to do some research here b/c I wasn't fully watching Passions until the arrival of Fox. Ethan Martin was born June 2002 our time so just theoretically he should be around six months old our time. Theoretically...)
The young woman softly chuckled, which didn't go unnoticed by Fox. He discreetly coughed, trying his best to come off natural. Theresa looked over at Fox with concern, though apparently smart enough to catch the small tension between the two.
"Fox?"
"I'm okay, Theresa. It's nothing that a little tropical vacation wouldn't cure." He grinned, rubbing his throat.
Distracting Theresa, "Wow! And soon enough, your son's going to be turning the big one!" Maile smiled broadly. To little Ethan, "I bet your parents are looking forward to that, huh little one?"
Answering for Theresa, with a last minute sarcasm. "You bet they are! Though poppa Julian isn't as thrilled as the rest of us are." He turned his attention to the little boy, "But who cares, right? Just as long as you have me and your mommy and of course all the presents a child could ask for, the whole world is your oyster, huh little one?"
Maile sat back for a moment, just watching Fox and Theresa interacting with the baby. The way that Theresa tilted her body closer to Fox so that he could have a better view of little Ethan. How Fox was cooing at the babe while every so often stealing a glance at its mother. She held a secretive smile that could have mirrored Fox's to a T. Unable to resist a chance to shake things up a bit for her favorite Crane, "Theresa, is it just me or does little Ethan look more like Fox or more like Julian? Because I can see a lot of Fox in your son..."
For a fraction of a second, Fox stared at Maile in disbelief. However, with his quick thinking he managed to mask his surprise, and even anger, with a coy grin. If Theresa hadn't been thrown off by such a question, she herself would have been able to catch the Fox changing his colors for certainly Maile witnessed such an act.
Theresa turned towards Fox, eyeing him in a way that began to make the young man uncomfortable. She then turned towards her son, whose very eyes startled her. Theresa took one last glance at Fox before turning towards Maile, her voice a bit confused and unnerved as she choose her words carefully. "Well, I suppose there is a bit of Fox in little Ethan. I mean, after all they are half-brothers. Sons of Julian Crane..."
Fox held back a sigh of relief for in his mind he complimented Theresa's answer. However, it didn't help his case knowing his dear Maile, someone he decided he owes a good talking to very soon, would begin stirring up trouble.
"Of course." Maile agreed, seeming to drop it right there and then. She glanced over at little Ethan, then at Fox, who was trying his best to disguise the annoyance in his eyes. The young woman knew she was due for a long scolding from her friend, but she had to do it...
If not, she was practically ordered to do so...
~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Okay, you're all probably wondering WTH is going on with this story? Who is this Maile character? Is she a threat between TheRox? Why is Maile dropping the hints that she's dropping? And I bet you all are still wondering how the heck does Alistair fit into all of this... In due time it will all be revealed. Just remember: All is not what it seems and what is yet can't be just might be...
Oh! And thanks to everyone that reviewed and/or read! I really want to get this story written and I'm trying my best to do a chapter a day because I've already plotted everything, I just need it to be written! LOL Theories and guesses are welcomed in reviews BUT whether or not it comes true, what will be written is what I've intended to happen so I'm telling you now, it's purely coincidental if your guesses prove true! Other than that, enjoy the rest of the "show" as it is TBC...