Ch 8
Paloma was the first one awake the next morning. It was five-thirty when she tiptoed out of the room she and Theresa were sharing. She loved having a little bit of quiet time in the morning to just sip some tea or coffee and read the newspaper.
But it looked like she wasn't the only one who was awake.
"Hi Chad," she greeted. "Still on East Coast time?"
He yawned. "Something like that."
"Couldn't find a bed?"
"Not that there's anything wrong with a sleeping bag on Ethan and Sam's floor, but I decided to come out here."
"Feel free to use the couch."
"Thanks, I'll remember that."
"We have a crew coming in today to finish the rooms upstairs. You should have better accommodations soon," she assured him. "Is the coffee fresh?"
"Not even ten minutes old."
"Great," Paloma poured herself a cup and then sat down. She took the business section of the L.A. Times and opened it up.
He watched her for a minute. "Ok, I'll bite. Why are you up this early?"
"I like having a little quiet time before the day gets going. I'll take a nap later probably."
Chad nodded. "So, everyone seems pretty settled on this whole thing."
"What whole thing?"
"The part where you four took off on your families only to be found out six years later."
"We can breathe here without asking permission." Paloma offered.
"That's true," Chad nodded. "It's a good place to live. Of course it isn't the safest neighborhood and Theresa doesn't have the safest job but you're making it work."
"She's making the world safer for others." Paloma said. "And the neighborhood doesn't scare me."
"It should, little girl."
"Everyone knows who owns this building." She said. "We've survived five years as a working club, not counting the one we lost to set up."
"What about the local schools? They can't be that good."
"The local Catholic school is just fine. If that's where we have to send them to protect them against gangs then we will."
"Are you sure?"
"Chad, I know you grew up here, and I know you know this area, but I've looked at the schools. The Catholic one down the street has an amazing pastor who's doing so much with the community and cleaning it up. Cole even believes in him--you remember Cole?"
"Looks like he's made of brick."
"Yes. And at the first sign of real trouble, well, I'm not married to this building. My business will stay here, but if it becomes necessary, we can move."
"And how do your brothers, a cop and a future cop, feel about your choice in home locations?"
"You ask a lot of questions."
"How do they feel?"
"They know by now how stubborn we can be."
"They haven't said anything yet have they?"
"No. I get the feeling they're waiting for the right moment to tell us we're being stupid by living above a nightclub when we could be living in a nice normal house in a nice neighborhood."
"And Ethan? The boy worried about her and all of you for six years."
"Ethan seems like a nice guy. I hope he knows that if he hurts my sister again he's in for a world of pain he can't begin to imagine."
Chad snorted. "I'd worry more about her hurting him."
"Theresa's willing to work with him. She's just not looking to go back to Harmony."
"He's not really in love with the place either. It stole plenty of people and things from him."
"So why has he stayed there so long?"
"In case she came back."
Paloma settled back into a corner of the couch.
"L.A. could always use another attorney," Paloma thought out loud.
"Oh no, you let them figure it out." Chad ordered.
"I will," Paloma said. "The Southwest Station could always use a few more cops."
"You think putting all four of you Lopez-Fitzgeralds under the same roof is a good idea?" Chad whistled. "You were young when you went away."
"They could live upstairs. The staircase comes down in the kitchen."
Chad looked at her. "I know how it feels to want to make up for lost time." He said. "My childhood was lonely too. But at this point, you're adults."
"Adults who know how nice it can be to have a family close by."
"It's your business, I guess." He said. "So where does Hank stay when he's here?"
"The couch," Paloma nodded.
"Where is he now?" Chad yawned again.
"Last night he took the red eye up to Seattle. He'll be back this afternoon."
Chad nodded. "You hungry?"
"Yeah. C'mon I'll make eggs."
"I'll just sit here."
She began frying eggs as he fell asleep.
HR
"Daddy?" Rosemary patted her dad's face.
He sat up. "I'm awake." He mumbled.
"You said to wait till you're awake to go out but I'm hungry."
Ethan sniffed the air. "And you smelled eggs right?"
She nodded.
"What time is it?" He grabbed the watch, and then looked at Sam, who was still asleep. "Honey, it's six o'clock. Let's go out so we don't wake up Grandpa."
"Okay," she smiled and took his hand as she pulled him out of the bedroom and towards the smell.
"Good morning," he said to Paloma.
"Morning." She smiled, a little guardedly.
"Someone smelled eggs." He nodded at Rosie.
"Oh, she did, did she? Well is that someone hungry?"
"Yes please." Rosie said politely, climbing into a chair at the table.
"Okay. Do you like ketchup with your eggs?"
Rosie grinned and nodded enthusiastically as Ethan sighed. "I'm trying to break her of that habit."
"Silly Daddy." Rosie giggled.
"If it's okay with your father, in this house, if you want ketchup, you may have ketchup." Paloma said.
"Yes, please," Rosie nodded.
"Okay," Paloma got out the ketchup. "You know it's not as strange as your dad thinks. My nephew likes ketchup on his eggs."
"Chloe likes ketchup too. She's my best friend."
"What's Chloe look like?"
"Like herself." Rosie said literally, looking strangely at Paloma.
"Does she look like her mom or her dad?"
"I don't know her mommy. She's sick, like mine."
"That's enough." Ethan said fiercely.
"Sorry," Paloma said. "Here you go Miss Rosie. Eggs and ketchup. Would you like some milk?"
"How did you know my name?" Rosie asked with a child's wonder.
"Your daddy told me. Milk?"
"Apple juice."
"Dad?" Paloma looked at Ethan.
"Apple juice is fine," Ethan nodded. "Is there coffee?"
"Chad made it. It's probably still good."
"Please." He said.
She poured drinks for the Winthrops, and sympathetically watched Ethan try to wake up while Rosie gobbled eggs.
"So Rosie, what are you and your dad gonna do today?"
"Daddy said he wants me to meet some important people and then maybe we'll all go to the zoo."
"The Los Angeles zoo is very nice. Do you have a favorite animal?"
"I like monkeys, but Chloe likes horses. We both like cats."
"Big or little?"
"Both." She said decisively.
"Oh so you like lions and tigers?"
"Uh-huh," Rosie nodded.
"Do you like bears?"
"Yes."
"Oh my!" Paloma giggled. She saw the confused look on Rosie's face. "You've never seen the Wizard of Oz, have you?"
"Grandma says the monkeys are bad and that they would scare me." Rosie hmmphed. "I don't get scared that easy."
Ethan rolled his eyes over his daughter's head. "Of course not." He said.
"You know, you should take her down to the beach while you guys are here and show her the Pacific Ocean."
"Grandmother says that the water in California is dirtier than water in Maine. I didn't bring a bathing suit."
"Your grandma says a lot."
"I have four of them." Rosie said. "Daddy's mommy, Mommy's mom, Nana Grace and Chloe's abuela."
"Yes but which one do you actually listen to?" Paloma asked. "Which one has the best advice?"
"Chloe's abuela and Nana Grace." Rosie decided. "But the others talk louder and more."
Paloma smiled, thinking, iSome things never change and it looked like Rebecca and Ivy were two of them/i.
"Daddy said everyone would be here. I saw Grandpa, and I saw Chad, but who else is here?"
"Chloe's papa is here," Ethan said. "So is her uncle Miguel."
"What about Nana Grace?"
"Nana Grace is at home with Chloe and her abuela."
"Oh," a little frown covered Rosemary's face. "I missed you Daddy," she said a few moments later.
"I missed you too, Princess." He said.
She crawled from her chair to his lap. Ethan kissed the top of her head. He couldn't help mentally contrasting Rosie's blond halo with Emma's dark waves.
"Rosie? Do you like weddings?" Paloma asked.
Rosie's eyes shone. "With pretty dresses and flowers and cake?"
"Yep. You see, my sister's a paramedic, and the girl she rides with, well her step-brother is getting married this weekend. Would you like to go with us?"
Rosie blinked. "I don't have a pretty dress." Her lip trembled. "I don't have anything I need."
Ethan hugged her. "Hey, hey, if you really want to go we'll find a dress and a bathing suit, okay?"
"Ethan? Why don't I take her? I think I'm a little better at girly stuff then you. What do you think Rosie?" Paloma knelt down in front of her. "Would you like to go shopping with me? I don't get to go shopping for girly stuff that much. I have a little boy."
Rosie's smile was confused, but happy. "Grandmother says I shouldn't let Daddy buy clothes for me. But I don't like what she gets either."
"Which grandmother?"
"Rebecca. She thinks I should go to boarding school." Rosie flinched at the idea and cuddled with her dad.
Paloma met Ethan's eyes as he comforted his child. He was a good father. When Rosie was calm, and the eggs were gone, Ethan ruffled Rosie's fine blond hair. "Honey, when was the last time someone brushed your hair?"
"Mia did it before Chad and I got on the plane last night," Rosie said after a moment of thought.
"Chad didn't brush your hair?" Paloma asked.
"I didn't ask him to."
"Oh. Well, can I?" Paloma asked. "I'll be very careful."
Rosie nodded. Ethan helped her hop down, and then took a sip of his coffee. As Paloma passed, Ethan nailed her with a look. "No questions that you wouldn't want me to ask your son."
"Why Ethan, if I didn't know better, I'd think you didn't trust me," Paloma batted her eyes innocently.
"Paloma-"
"Relax. I'm just going to brush her hair and make her feel at home. You know, before you and Theresa drop the bomb and shake the very foundation of her world and Ethan and Emma's."
"Gee, you sound like you disapprove of the truth."
They rolled their eyes at each other and smiled briefly. A tiny connection had been made.
HR
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Sheridan asked Miguel as she straightened up the drug supply room.
"Do me a favor, don't introduce doubts like that."
"I am merely pointing out that Kay will be here soon and she has no idea that you are here."
"I am not attacking her. I am not bothering her. I am simply helping at one of far too few free clinics on this side of LA."
"That's how you see it, heck, that's even how I see it. That's not how she's going to see it and you know it."
"I don't pretend to understand her perceptions." He said, lifting a box to a higher shelf.
"She'll see it as an ambush. A way of you getting her to spend time around you."
Miguel sighed. "I know, but she's just gonna have to deal with me sooner or later."
Sheridan sighed. "Look, since I was married to Antonio, I'm still technically your sister. So here's some sisterly advice. You keep pushing her, and you're gonna push her right out the door."
"Is Luis pushing you?"
"No."
"Have you spoken to him at all?"
"Not really."
"I rest my case."
"There's a difference. I was married to his, your brother."
"Yep. Don't you think he worries about you?"
"I stopped being someone Luis had the right to worry about a long time ago. We are talking about you."
"The right to worry? Love gives us the right to worry. Mama worries. I worry. Ethan worries. Hell, Sam worries about you." Miguel's face took on a stubborn aspect.
Sheridan wondered how much more they'd all worry about her if they knew about the time she spent in the hospital. She didn't have the time to voice it cause they heard,
"Sheridan? Hey, where are you?"
"In here Kay."
"You won't believe that grade I got on my presentation!" Kay called, as she entered. She saw Miguel and her face lost its enthusiasm.
"What did you get?" Sheridan asked.
"What?" Kay said blankly.
"The presentation." Sheridan prompted gently.
"Oh, uh I got an 'A'. Can I speak to you alone?" Kay asked Sheridan.
"Sure. Miguel, keep on stacking those boxes for me, ok?"
"I live to be a glorified stock boy." He said sarcastically.
Kay and Sheridan entered an empty exam room.
"What is he doing here?" Kay hissed.
"Well," Sheridan began.
"Five words or less," Kay interrupted.
"He wanted to help out," Sheridan said.
"He's here to pester me."
"That too."
"Sheridan! How could you do this to me? I haven't pushed Luis at you have I?"
"I didn't invite him. He showed up. It's pre-natal screening tomorrow, I can't afford to turn away hand that can work."
"Fine," Kay said. "But if he gets in my way, I know where the scalpels are kept and I have the key to the cabinet."
"He's curious about Livvie. It's kind of cute."
"Then let him go talk to Livvie. She's not shy."
"He's a little scared to."
"Why?"
Sheridan snorted. "Just yesterday you threatened to sue him if he breathed one word about Harmony to her. You know Livvie, you know she won't just sit there and be interrogated. She'll ask him questions too."
"Fine, I'll work with him. I'll answer his questions about Livvie. But that's it. I will not be any friendlier then absolutely necessary. Are we clear?"
"Sure," Sheridan said.
"Not you. Miguel? I know you're listening. Are we clear?"
"Very," Miguel said.
Sheridan sighed. "You two know each other a little too well."
HR
"Emma? Don't eat the bread. It's for the ducks," Theresa said.
Caught, she lifted dark eyes to her mother's face. "I was just making sure it was good for them." She defended.
"Okay Baby," Theresa smiled. She looked over at Ethan Martin who was on the jungle gym with a couple of friends. Emma and her friends were giggling and chasing the ducks.
They were the most important people in her life. She couldn't imagine what she would do without both of them.
"Theresa?"
She looked up. "Hi Ethan. Hi Rosie. I like your dress."
"Thank you." Rosie responded, politely. Her hand was in Ethan's. He smiled down at her. The sun glinted off their matched set of blond heads. Theresa almost winced at the feeling that she was sitting in Gwen's place. Half of a poster couple for the WASPS...no, that wasn't her, and she didn't even want it to be her anymore. The displaced feeling vanished. Rosie let go of Ethan's hand to join a game of tag that Ethan Martin and the boys on the jungle gym had climbed down to start. He sat beside her.
"So, how do you wanna do this?"
"What?" Theresa shook out of her thoughts.
"How do you wanna tell them?" Ethan asked.
"I don't know. We make quite the unmatched family don't we?"
Ethan shrugged. "Each of them is perfect. I wouldn't change a single thing about any of my children."
Theresa had to smile. "That is the way things should be, then."
"Yeah," Ethan nodded.
"She's a little tomboy isn't she?" Theresa asked looking at Rosie.
"Yeah, a little. So is Chloe."
"I believe it," Theresa nodded. "Emma and Livvie are girly girls. Kay and I kinda made this unspoken decision not to let them become tomboys because they were outnumbered."
Ethan smiled. "They hold their own just fine, it seems to me."
"They do give as good as they get." Theresa admitted.
"She confuses me." He watched closely as a larger boy tagged Rosie. "She loves buying dresses, then she goes out and gets mud and grass stains on them playing tag." He winced as she fell down, but relaxed when she jumped up and chased the boy--and grinned when she grabbed Ethan Martin instead.
"We could take them for a walk," Theresa said watching Emma play near the lake. "Em! Back it up!"
"Do the ducks actually eat the bread or are they too scared of the kids?"
"Mostly they eat the bread after the kids chase them. They're used to people," Theresa relaxed after Emma distanced herself from the pond. "So about a walk, what do you think?"
"If we get them ice cream after." Ethan said.
"Good idea," Theresa nodded. "If all goes well, how about some touristy stuff tomorrow? At least in the morning. Poe can take the girls shopping for dresses after I go to work."
"She was talking about that."
"My sister loves shopping for kid clothes. She sometimes laughs that it's nature's joke that she got a boy who only likes two shirts, one pair of pants, and one pair of shorts."
"Maybe she'll have more kids."
"I think she'd like that," Theresa nodded. "But only if she finds the right guy." She sighed. "You ready? I think we should do this while we have a couple of hours to answer questions."
"And before bones break. Rosie! Ethan!" Ethan called, as his daughter got ready to tackle a stranger.
"Emma! C'mon sweetie!"
The kids protested as they moved towards their parents.
"C'mon, we're going for a walk." Theresa said. "We want to talk to you."
"Hi," Emma said to the little blonde girl. "I'm Emma."
"I'm Rosemary. You can call me Rosie."
"That's Ethan. He's my brother." Emma said.
Rosie nodded seriously. Ethan grinned at Theresa. Introductions taken care of, it would seem.
"That's my dad. His name is Ethan too," Rosie said.
"I know. I met him. That's my mom. Her name's Theresa."
As trained, Rosie held out her hand to the grownup to shake her hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Theresa."
Theresa thought she could hear Ivy and Rebecca in the little girl's practiced voice.
Theresa knelt down and smiled. "You don't have to call me Mrs. Theresa. You can just call me Theresa, okay?"
Rosie nodded. Ethan looked at her. "Girls aren't supposed to play tag like you." He pronounced.
"Ethan Martin." His mother said in a serious tone.
Emma balled up her little fists. "Take that back."
"Mom!" Ethan protested. "We always let girls play, but Emma and Livvie don't play-play. They get bored."
"Ethan Martin Soltini-McKay, what do I, and your aunts, always tell you about boys and girls?"
"That girls can do anything boys can do," he mumbled.
"And?"
"That sometimes girls are better at things," he said reluctantly.
"Now, do you have something to say to Rosie?"
Ethan Martin looked at Rosie. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.
She shrugged. "I don't care."
Ethan Martin rolled his eyes. That would be the day. He was used to girls saying they didn't care and then actually caring. "I'm still sorry."
"How come you look like Chloe?" Rosie asked Emma.
Ethan and Theresa looked at each other. Couldn't ask for a better opportunity.
"Who's Chloe?" Emma looked confused.
"Well," Theresa said, taking Emma's hand as they started to walk. "Chloe is your cousin."
"Livvie and Thomas and Alex are our cousins."
"Yes, they are," Theresa nodded. "But Chloe is your uncle Luis' daughter."
"Mr. Luis?" Ethan frowned.
"Luis and Miguel are my brothers."
"How come we've never met them before?" Emma asked.
"Well, before you were born, your aunt Poe, Kay, Sheridan, and I decided to leave the town we used to live in and come here. We wanted another life."
"Why?" Ethan Martin asked.
"That's hard to answer." Theresa said. "We were very unhappy there, and we didn't feel safe."
Rosie slipped her hand into her father's.
"But you never let us go away when we're mad."
Emma tilted her face at her mother.
"It's a little different when you're older Em," Theresa told her. "When you're older you have more feelings and they're confused by the ones you've always had."
"Doesn't sound like fun," Ethan Martin said.
"It isn't," Theresa agreed. "But that's what it means to grow up."
Rosie clutched at her father's hand. He soothed her softly. Theresa looked at the man who had given her the best parts of her life.
"You guys," Theresa motioned for Ethan Martin and Emma to come closer, "I need to tell you both something."
"What?" Emma said snuggling against her mother's side.
Theresa bent so she was eye level with them both. "It's about your dad."
Ethan and Emma looked at each other, then at their mother. She had never said the word father to them.
Theresa blew out a breath and tucked her hair behind her ears. She was nervous. There well frogs leaping around in her stomach. Big ones.
She hadn't even been this nervous the first time she'd done an intubation on a real person.
"Your father and I argued a long time ago, and I was so angry and so sad that I didn't think I could be around him anymore. I moved here, but I didn't tell him where I had gone."
Emma gasped. "Mama, that's bad!" The kids of the Soltini-McKays had been drilled and trained to tell their parents where they were going since the day Livvie spontaneously left preschool with another child.
"I did tell somebody. I told your Uncle Hank. But I finally told your father where we are. And he came to visit us."
"Who is he?" Ethan Martin asked.
"I am." Ethan answered.
"But you're my daddy!" Rosie said.
Ethan bent down. "I will always be your daddy. But I'm Ethan Martin and Emma's daddy too."
Rosie looked at Theresa. "How come you didn't tell him?"
"I was very mad at him and I didn't think I should tell him when I found out about Emma."
"But you're not my mommy." Rosie said, hiding her face in Ethan's side. "She's sick, and she can't ever come home, no matter how much we wish she could."
"You're right." Theresa admitted. "I'm not your mom. But if you'd like, we can be friends."
Ethan looked at Rosie, "What do you say sweetie? Can you and Theresa be friends?"
Rosie looked at her dad and then at Theresa. She smiled a little. "If Emma and Ethan are my dad's kids does that mean they're my sister and brother?"
Theresa and Ethan nodded. Rosie smiled shyly. Ethan Martin smiled back.
"Another girl?" He mock-moaned.
Emma hit his shoulder and smiled at Rosie. "Good. We need more." Rosie giggled.
"Emma, don't hit him. You're not his mother, it's not your job to correct him. And you need to watch it, mister." Theresa reprimanded her children.
"S'alright." Rosie said. "He's just mad cause I'm faster."
The three kids smiled tentatively
How about some ice cream?" Ethan suggested. "You can tell me what your favorite flavors are."
"Guess." Emma challenged him.
"Hmm. Strawberry?"
"She's allergic," Theresa told him. "So's Ethan Martin."
Ethan accepted the fact with equanimity. The kids did not. "He doesn't know anything." Emma whispered to Ethan Martin. Though Theresa hadn't heard the words, she got the sense of them.
"Hey, he's got a lot to learn. So do you." She reminded the kids. "Guess again." She told Ethan.
"Chocolate," he said.
"You're getting warmer."
Ethan narrowed his eyes in thought. "Ah. Chocolate with peanut butter."
Emma nodded her head. "It's Aunt Sheridan's favorite too. She's my godmother."
"That does not surprise me." He told her. "She has been one of my best friends since I was younger than you."
"Like Mommy." Rosie reminded him. Ivy and Rebecca had told her their version of her parents story often enough. She was a little girl in the Disney culture, and couldn't help being fascinated by love stories. She knew that her parents had met at school when they were very young, and that they had been best friends for most of their lives. There had been a problem, but they still got married and had her, and she made them both very happy, but then her mother got sick but someday she would get better and they would be a perfect family.
Daddy talked to her very seriously about her grandmothers' stories. It was true, he'd told her, that he and her Mommy had been very good friends. They had understood each other, and loved each other, but after a while they should have been just friends. But they still loved each other, so they had her, and she made them happier than they had ever been, but her mommy had gotten sick, and she couldn't get better and come home. They could pray for it, but it was better if Daddy looked for friends his age.
Rosie was a bit conflicted. Harmony was sometimes lonely. She'd often wanted a brother or a sister. She loved Chloe, and they had often pretended to be sisters, but having a real sister and a real brother was different. And Theresa wasn't her mom, but Daddy had said he needed friends, just like she did. "Guess me, Theresa." She prompted, her sense of fair's fair motivating her.
"Hmm..." Theresa thought for a moment. "I bet you're allergic to chocolate, am I right?"
"How'd you know that?"
"Cause your mom was," Theresa said. "So, vanilla?"
"Boring." Rosie announced. "You knew my mom?"
"Yes."
"Were you friends?"
"For a while." Theresa hedged. "So, vanilla's boring. Chocolate's out. Strawberry?"
Rosie laughed. "Need a hint?"
"I do." Ethan said, considering Ethan Martin. "I'm guessing you're not the chocolate fan of the crowd. I'm betting you like fruit flavors."
"Maybe," Ethan Martin teased.
Ethan smiled at his son. "Okay. Oh I bet I know. You always used to smile when your mom fed you peaches. I bet you like peach ice cream."
Ethan stared. "You never saw me when I was a baby."
"I did." Ethan laughed. "You were a handsome kid."
"Don't know what happened?" Ethan Martin asked.
"What?"
"That's what Aunt Sheridan always says to Hank, and what he always says to Thomas and Alex and me." Ethan smirked. "He always says the girls gets prettier every time." He rolled his eyes, expressing a six-year-old male's perspective on flattery.
"Oh," Ethan laughed. "Nah, you're still pretty good looking. So? Is it peach?"
"Yeah."
"And you Miss Rosie, do you like butter pecan?"
"I think she needs a hint." Ethan told her.
"It's not really ice cream. It's sherbet." Rosie offered.
"Orange." Theresa knew right away. "My brother Antonio loved orange everything. I bet that's your favorite lollypop too."
"Let me guess for Emma. Grape?"
"What about me?" Ethan Martin suddenly wanted to be included.
"Red."
"That's not a flavor." Emma laughed.
"Is so," Ethan teased.
Ethan Martin frowned. "So if you're my dad and you're my sister, are you gonna live with us now?"
"We're still thinking about that mijo," Theresa told him. "But right now, I want some ice cream, so what do you all say?"
"Yay!" The kids cheered.
"I think that's a yes," Ethan said. "And Theresa?"
"Yeah?"
"We do need to talk."
"I know. Wait up for me?"
"Where are you going?"
"Work," Theresa reminded him.
"Right. Leave me with three kids so you can run off to ride around in a bus." He teased. He caught her arm and kissed her cheek quickly, then left to herd the hyper kids to an ice cream store.
"It's an ambulance. We just call it a bus," she said after him, to cover her fluster. "Oh yeah, I'm in trouble," she said softly.
Paloma was the first one awake the next morning. It was five-thirty when she tiptoed out of the room she and Theresa were sharing. She loved having a little bit of quiet time in the morning to just sip some tea or coffee and read the newspaper.
But it looked like she wasn't the only one who was awake.
"Hi Chad," she greeted. "Still on East Coast time?"
He yawned. "Something like that."
"Couldn't find a bed?"
"Not that there's anything wrong with a sleeping bag on Ethan and Sam's floor, but I decided to come out here."
"Feel free to use the couch."
"Thanks, I'll remember that."
"We have a crew coming in today to finish the rooms upstairs. You should have better accommodations soon," she assured him. "Is the coffee fresh?"
"Not even ten minutes old."
"Great," Paloma poured herself a cup and then sat down. She took the business section of the L.A. Times and opened it up.
He watched her for a minute. "Ok, I'll bite. Why are you up this early?"
"I like having a little quiet time before the day gets going. I'll take a nap later probably."
Chad nodded. "So, everyone seems pretty settled on this whole thing."
"What whole thing?"
"The part where you four took off on your families only to be found out six years later."
"We can breathe here without asking permission." Paloma offered.
"That's true," Chad nodded. "It's a good place to live. Of course it isn't the safest neighborhood and Theresa doesn't have the safest job but you're making it work."
"She's making the world safer for others." Paloma said. "And the neighborhood doesn't scare me."
"It should, little girl."
"Everyone knows who owns this building." She said. "We've survived five years as a working club, not counting the one we lost to set up."
"What about the local schools? They can't be that good."
"The local Catholic school is just fine. If that's where we have to send them to protect them against gangs then we will."
"Are you sure?"
"Chad, I know you grew up here, and I know you know this area, but I've looked at the schools. The Catholic one down the street has an amazing pastor who's doing so much with the community and cleaning it up. Cole even believes in him--you remember Cole?"
"Looks like he's made of brick."
"Yes. And at the first sign of real trouble, well, I'm not married to this building. My business will stay here, but if it becomes necessary, we can move."
"And how do your brothers, a cop and a future cop, feel about your choice in home locations?"
"You ask a lot of questions."
"How do they feel?"
"They know by now how stubborn we can be."
"They haven't said anything yet have they?"
"No. I get the feeling they're waiting for the right moment to tell us we're being stupid by living above a nightclub when we could be living in a nice normal house in a nice neighborhood."
"And Ethan? The boy worried about her and all of you for six years."
"Ethan seems like a nice guy. I hope he knows that if he hurts my sister again he's in for a world of pain he can't begin to imagine."
Chad snorted. "I'd worry more about her hurting him."
"Theresa's willing to work with him. She's just not looking to go back to Harmony."
"He's not really in love with the place either. It stole plenty of people and things from him."
"So why has he stayed there so long?"
"In case she came back."
Paloma settled back into a corner of the couch.
"L.A. could always use another attorney," Paloma thought out loud.
"Oh no, you let them figure it out." Chad ordered.
"I will," Paloma said. "The Southwest Station could always use a few more cops."
"You think putting all four of you Lopez-Fitzgeralds under the same roof is a good idea?" Chad whistled. "You were young when you went away."
"They could live upstairs. The staircase comes down in the kitchen."
Chad looked at her. "I know how it feels to want to make up for lost time." He said. "My childhood was lonely too. But at this point, you're adults."
"Adults who know how nice it can be to have a family close by."
"It's your business, I guess." He said. "So where does Hank stay when he's here?"
"The couch," Paloma nodded.
"Where is he now?" Chad yawned again.
"Last night he took the red eye up to Seattle. He'll be back this afternoon."
Chad nodded. "You hungry?"
"Yeah. C'mon I'll make eggs."
"I'll just sit here."
She began frying eggs as he fell asleep.
HR
"Daddy?" Rosemary patted her dad's face.
He sat up. "I'm awake." He mumbled.
"You said to wait till you're awake to go out but I'm hungry."
Ethan sniffed the air. "And you smelled eggs right?"
She nodded.
"What time is it?" He grabbed the watch, and then looked at Sam, who was still asleep. "Honey, it's six o'clock. Let's go out so we don't wake up Grandpa."
"Okay," she smiled and took his hand as she pulled him out of the bedroom and towards the smell.
"Good morning," he said to Paloma.
"Morning." She smiled, a little guardedly.
"Someone smelled eggs." He nodded at Rosie.
"Oh, she did, did she? Well is that someone hungry?"
"Yes please." Rosie said politely, climbing into a chair at the table.
"Okay. Do you like ketchup with your eggs?"
Rosie grinned and nodded enthusiastically as Ethan sighed. "I'm trying to break her of that habit."
"Silly Daddy." Rosie giggled.
"If it's okay with your father, in this house, if you want ketchup, you may have ketchup." Paloma said.
"Yes, please," Rosie nodded.
"Okay," Paloma got out the ketchup. "You know it's not as strange as your dad thinks. My nephew likes ketchup on his eggs."
"Chloe likes ketchup too. She's my best friend."
"What's Chloe look like?"
"Like herself." Rosie said literally, looking strangely at Paloma.
"Does she look like her mom or her dad?"
"I don't know her mommy. She's sick, like mine."
"That's enough." Ethan said fiercely.
"Sorry," Paloma said. "Here you go Miss Rosie. Eggs and ketchup. Would you like some milk?"
"How did you know my name?" Rosie asked with a child's wonder.
"Your daddy told me. Milk?"
"Apple juice."
"Dad?" Paloma looked at Ethan.
"Apple juice is fine," Ethan nodded. "Is there coffee?"
"Chad made it. It's probably still good."
"Please." He said.
She poured drinks for the Winthrops, and sympathetically watched Ethan try to wake up while Rosie gobbled eggs.
"So Rosie, what are you and your dad gonna do today?"
"Daddy said he wants me to meet some important people and then maybe we'll all go to the zoo."
"The Los Angeles zoo is very nice. Do you have a favorite animal?"
"I like monkeys, but Chloe likes horses. We both like cats."
"Big or little?"
"Both." She said decisively.
"Oh so you like lions and tigers?"
"Uh-huh," Rosie nodded.
"Do you like bears?"
"Yes."
"Oh my!" Paloma giggled. She saw the confused look on Rosie's face. "You've never seen the Wizard of Oz, have you?"
"Grandma says the monkeys are bad and that they would scare me." Rosie hmmphed. "I don't get scared that easy."
Ethan rolled his eyes over his daughter's head. "Of course not." He said.
"You know, you should take her down to the beach while you guys are here and show her the Pacific Ocean."
"Grandmother says that the water in California is dirtier than water in Maine. I didn't bring a bathing suit."
"Your grandma says a lot."
"I have four of them." Rosie said. "Daddy's mommy, Mommy's mom, Nana Grace and Chloe's abuela."
"Yes but which one do you actually listen to?" Paloma asked. "Which one has the best advice?"
"Chloe's abuela and Nana Grace." Rosie decided. "But the others talk louder and more."
Paloma smiled, thinking, iSome things never change and it looked like Rebecca and Ivy were two of them/i.
"Daddy said everyone would be here. I saw Grandpa, and I saw Chad, but who else is here?"
"Chloe's papa is here," Ethan said. "So is her uncle Miguel."
"What about Nana Grace?"
"Nana Grace is at home with Chloe and her abuela."
"Oh," a little frown covered Rosemary's face. "I missed you Daddy," she said a few moments later.
"I missed you too, Princess." He said.
She crawled from her chair to his lap. Ethan kissed the top of her head. He couldn't help mentally contrasting Rosie's blond halo with Emma's dark waves.
"Rosie? Do you like weddings?" Paloma asked.
Rosie's eyes shone. "With pretty dresses and flowers and cake?"
"Yep. You see, my sister's a paramedic, and the girl she rides with, well her step-brother is getting married this weekend. Would you like to go with us?"
Rosie blinked. "I don't have a pretty dress." Her lip trembled. "I don't have anything I need."
Ethan hugged her. "Hey, hey, if you really want to go we'll find a dress and a bathing suit, okay?"
"Ethan? Why don't I take her? I think I'm a little better at girly stuff then you. What do you think Rosie?" Paloma knelt down in front of her. "Would you like to go shopping with me? I don't get to go shopping for girly stuff that much. I have a little boy."
Rosie's smile was confused, but happy. "Grandmother says I shouldn't let Daddy buy clothes for me. But I don't like what she gets either."
"Which grandmother?"
"Rebecca. She thinks I should go to boarding school." Rosie flinched at the idea and cuddled with her dad.
Paloma met Ethan's eyes as he comforted his child. He was a good father. When Rosie was calm, and the eggs were gone, Ethan ruffled Rosie's fine blond hair. "Honey, when was the last time someone brushed your hair?"
"Mia did it before Chad and I got on the plane last night," Rosie said after a moment of thought.
"Chad didn't brush your hair?" Paloma asked.
"I didn't ask him to."
"Oh. Well, can I?" Paloma asked. "I'll be very careful."
Rosie nodded. Ethan helped her hop down, and then took a sip of his coffee. As Paloma passed, Ethan nailed her with a look. "No questions that you wouldn't want me to ask your son."
"Why Ethan, if I didn't know better, I'd think you didn't trust me," Paloma batted her eyes innocently.
"Paloma-"
"Relax. I'm just going to brush her hair and make her feel at home. You know, before you and Theresa drop the bomb and shake the very foundation of her world and Ethan and Emma's."
"Gee, you sound like you disapprove of the truth."
They rolled their eyes at each other and smiled briefly. A tiny connection had been made.
HR
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Sheridan asked Miguel as she straightened up the drug supply room.
"Do me a favor, don't introduce doubts like that."
"I am merely pointing out that Kay will be here soon and she has no idea that you are here."
"I am not attacking her. I am not bothering her. I am simply helping at one of far too few free clinics on this side of LA."
"That's how you see it, heck, that's even how I see it. That's not how she's going to see it and you know it."
"I don't pretend to understand her perceptions." He said, lifting a box to a higher shelf.
"She'll see it as an ambush. A way of you getting her to spend time around you."
Miguel sighed. "I know, but she's just gonna have to deal with me sooner or later."
Sheridan sighed. "Look, since I was married to Antonio, I'm still technically your sister. So here's some sisterly advice. You keep pushing her, and you're gonna push her right out the door."
"Is Luis pushing you?"
"No."
"Have you spoken to him at all?"
"Not really."
"I rest my case."
"There's a difference. I was married to his, your brother."
"Yep. Don't you think he worries about you?"
"I stopped being someone Luis had the right to worry about a long time ago. We are talking about you."
"The right to worry? Love gives us the right to worry. Mama worries. I worry. Ethan worries. Hell, Sam worries about you." Miguel's face took on a stubborn aspect.
Sheridan wondered how much more they'd all worry about her if they knew about the time she spent in the hospital. She didn't have the time to voice it cause they heard,
"Sheridan? Hey, where are you?"
"In here Kay."
"You won't believe that grade I got on my presentation!" Kay called, as she entered. She saw Miguel and her face lost its enthusiasm.
"What did you get?" Sheridan asked.
"What?" Kay said blankly.
"The presentation." Sheridan prompted gently.
"Oh, uh I got an 'A'. Can I speak to you alone?" Kay asked Sheridan.
"Sure. Miguel, keep on stacking those boxes for me, ok?"
"I live to be a glorified stock boy." He said sarcastically.
Kay and Sheridan entered an empty exam room.
"What is he doing here?" Kay hissed.
"Well," Sheridan began.
"Five words or less," Kay interrupted.
"He wanted to help out," Sheridan said.
"He's here to pester me."
"That too."
"Sheridan! How could you do this to me? I haven't pushed Luis at you have I?"
"I didn't invite him. He showed up. It's pre-natal screening tomorrow, I can't afford to turn away hand that can work."
"Fine," Kay said. "But if he gets in my way, I know where the scalpels are kept and I have the key to the cabinet."
"He's curious about Livvie. It's kind of cute."
"Then let him go talk to Livvie. She's not shy."
"He's a little scared to."
"Why?"
Sheridan snorted. "Just yesterday you threatened to sue him if he breathed one word about Harmony to her. You know Livvie, you know she won't just sit there and be interrogated. She'll ask him questions too."
"Fine, I'll work with him. I'll answer his questions about Livvie. But that's it. I will not be any friendlier then absolutely necessary. Are we clear?"
"Sure," Sheridan said.
"Not you. Miguel? I know you're listening. Are we clear?"
"Very," Miguel said.
Sheridan sighed. "You two know each other a little too well."
HR
"Emma? Don't eat the bread. It's for the ducks," Theresa said.
Caught, she lifted dark eyes to her mother's face. "I was just making sure it was good for them." She defended.
"Okay Baby," Theresa smiled. She looked over at Ethan Martin who was on the jungle gym with a couple of friends. Emma and her friends were giggling and chasing the ducks.
They were the most important people in her life. She couldn't imagine what she would do without both of them.
"Theresa?"
She looked up. "Hi Ethan. Hi Rosie. I like your dress."
"Thank you." Rosie responded, politely. Her hand was in Ethan's. He smiled down at her. The sun glinted off their matched set of blond heads. Theresa almost winced at the feeling that she was sitting in Gwen's place. Half of a poster couple for the WASPS...no, that wasn't her, and she didn't even want it to be her anymore. The displaced feeling vanished. Rosie let go of Ethan's hand to join a game of tag that Ethan Martin and the boys on the jungle gym had climbed down to start. He sat beside her.
"So, how do you wanna do this?"
"What?" Theresa shook out of her thoughts.
"How do you wanna tell them?" Ethan asked.
"I don't know. We make quite the unmatched family don't we?"
Ethan shrugged. "Each of them is perfect. I wouldn't change a single thing about any of my children."
Theresa had to smile. "That is the way things should be, then."
"Yeah," Ethan nodded.
"She's a little tomboy isn't she?" Theresa asked looking at Rosie.
"Yeah, a little. So is Chloe."
"I believe it," Theresa nodded. "Emma and Livvie are girly girls. Kay and I kinda made this unspoken decision not to let them become tomboys because they were outnumbered."
Ethan smiled. "They hold their own just fine, it seems to me."
"They do give as good as they get." Theresa admitted.
"She confuses me." He watched closely as a larger boy tagged Rosie. "She loves buying dresses, then she goes out and gets mud and grass stains on them playing tag." He winced as she fell down, but relaxed when she jumped up and chased the boy--and grinned when she grabbed Ethan Martin instead.
"We could take them for a walk," Theresa said watching Emma play near the lake. "Em! Back it up!"
"Do the ducks actually eat the bread or are they too scared of the kids?"
"Mostly they eat the bread after the kids chase them. They're used to people," Theresa relaxed after Emma distanced herself from the pond. "So about a walk, what do you think?"
"If we get them ice cream after." Ethan said.
"Good idea," Theresa nodded. "If all goes well, how about some touristy stuff tomorrow? At least in the morning. Poe can take the girls shopping for dresses after I go to work."
"She was talking about that."
"My sister loves shopping for kid clothes. She sometimes laughs that it's nature's joke that she got a boy who only likes two shirts, one pair of pants, and one pair of shorts."
"Maybe she'll have more kids."
"I think she'd like that," Theresa nodded. "But only if she finds the right guy." She sighed. "You ready? I think we should do this while we have a couple of hours to answer questions."
"And before bones break. Rosie! Ethan!" Ethan called, as his daughter got ready to tackle a stranger.
"Emma! C'mon sweetie!"
The kids protested as they moved towards their parents.
"C'mon, we're going for a walk." Theresa said. "We want to talk to you."
"Hi," Emma said to the little blonde girl. "I'm Emma."
"I'm Rosemary. You can call me Rosie."
"That's Ethan. He's my brother." Emma said.
Rosie nodded seriously. Ethan grinned at Theresa. Introductions taken care of, it would seem.
"That's my dad. His name is Ethan too," Rosie said.
"I know. I met him. That's my mom. Her name's Theresa."
As trained, Rosie held out her hand to the grownup to shake her hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Theresa."
Theresa thought she could hear Ivy and Rebecca in the little girl's practiced voice.
Theresa knelt down and smiled. "You don't have to call me Mrs. Theresa. You can just call me Theresa, okay?"
Rosie nodded. Ethan looked at her. "Girls aren't supposed to play tag like you." He pronounced.
"Ethan Martin." His mother said in a serious tone.
Emma balled up her little fists. "Take that back."
"Mom!" Ethan protested. "We always let girls play, but Emma and Livvie don't play-play. They get bored."
"Ethan Martin Soltini-McKay, what do I, and your aunts, always tell you about boys and girls?"
"That girls can do anything boys can do," he mumbled.
"And?"
"That sometimes girls are better at things," he said reluctantly.
"Now, do you have something to say to Rosie?"
Ethan Martin looked at Rosie. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.
She shrugged. "I don't care."
Ethan Martin rolled his eyes. That would be the day. He was used to girls saying they didn't care and then actually caring. "I'm still sorry."
"How come you look like Chloe?" Rosie asked Emma.
Ethan and Theresa looked at each other. Couldn't ask for a better opportunity.
"Who's Chloe?" Emma looked confused.
"Well," Theresa said, taking Emma's hand as they started to walk. "Chloe is your cousin."
"Livvie and Thomas and Alex are our cousins."
"Yes, they are," Theresa nodded. "But Chloe is your uncle Luis' daughter."
"Mr. Luis?" Ethan frowned.
"Luis and Miguel are my brothers."
"How come we've never met them before?" Emma asked.
"Well, before you were born, your aunt Poe, Kay, Sheridan, and I decided to leave the town we used to live in and come here. We wanted another life."
"Why?" Ethan Martin asked.
"That's hard to answer." Theresa said. "We were very unhappy there, and we didn't feel safe."
Rosie slipped her hand into her father's.
"But you never let us go away when we're mad."
Emma tilted her face at her mother.
"It's a little different when you're older Em," Theresa told her. "When you're older you have more feelings and they're confused by the ones you've always had."
"Doesn't sound like fun," Ethan Martin said.
"It isn't," Theresa agreed. "But that's what it means to grow up."
Rosie clutched at her father's hand. He soothed her softly. Theresa looked at the man who had given her the best parts of her life.
"You guys," Theresa motioned for Ethan Martin and Emma to come closer, "I need to tell you both something."
"What?" Emma said snuggling against her mother's side.
Theresa bent so she was eye level with them both. "It's about your dad."
Ethan and Emma looked at each other, then at their mother. She had never said the word father to them.
Theresa blew out a breath and tucked her hair behind her ears. She was nervous. There well frogs leaping around in her stomach. Big ones.
She hadn't even been this nervous the first time she'd done an intubation on a real person.
"Your father and I argued a long time ago, and I was so angry and so sad that I didn't think I could be around him anymore. I moved here, but I didn't tell him where I had gone."
Emma gasped. "Mama, that's bad!" The kids of the Soltini-McKays had been drilled and trained to tell their parents where they were going since the day Livvie spontaneously left preschool with another child.
"I did tell somebody. I told your Uncle Hank. But I finally told your father where we are. And he came to visit us."
"Who is he?" Ethan Martin asked.
"I am." Ethan answered.
"But you're my daddy!" Rosie said.
Ethan bent down. "I will always be your daddy. But I'm Ethan Martin and Emma's daddy too."
Rosie looked at Theresa. "How come you didn't tell him?"
"I was very mad at him and I didn't think I should tell him when I found out about Emma."
"But you're not my mommy." Rosie said, hiding her face in Ethan's side. "She's sick, and she can't ever come home, no matter how much we wish she could."
"You're right." Theresa admitted. "I'm not your mom. But if you'd like, we can be friends."
Ethan looked at Rosie, "What do you say sweetie? Can you and Theresa be friends?"
Rosie looked at her dad and then at Theresa. She smiled a little. "If Emma and Ethan are my dad's kids does that mean they're my sister and brother?"
Theresa and Ethan nodded. Rosie smiled shyly. Ethan Martin smiled back.
"Another girl?" He mock-moaned.
Emma hit his shoulder and smiled at Rosie. "Good. We need more." Rosie giggled.
"Emma, don't hit him. You're not his mother, it's not your job to correct him. And you need to watch it, mister." Theresa reprimanded her children.
"S'alright." Rosie said. "He's just mad cause I'm faster."
The three kids smiled tentatively
How about some ice cream?" Ethan suggested. "You can tell me what your favorite flavors are."
"Guess." Emma challenged him.
"Hmm. Strawberry?"
"She's allergic," Theresa told him. "So's Ethan Martin."
Ethan accepted the fact with equanimity. The kids did not. "He doesn't know anything." Emma whispered to Ethan Martin. Though Theresa hadn't heard the words, she got the sense of them.
"Hey, he's got a lot to learn. So do you." She reminded the kids. "Guess again." She told Ethan.
"Chocolate," he said.
"You're getting warmer."
Ethan narrowed his eyes in thought. "Ah. Chocolate with peanut butter."
Emma nodded her head. "It's Aunt Sheridan's favorite too. She's my godmother."
"That does not surprise me." He told her. "She has been one of my best friends since I was younger than you."
"Like Mommy." Rosie reminded him. Ivy and Rebecca had told her their version of her parents story often enough. She was a little girl in the Disney culture, and couldn't help being fascinated by love stories. She knew that her parents had met at school when they were very young, and that they had been best friends for most of their lives. There had been a problem, but they still got married and had her, and she made them both very happy, but then her mother got sick but someday she would get better and they would be a perfect family.
Daddy talked to her very seriously about her grandmothers' stories. It was true, he'd told her, that he and her Mommy had been very good friends. They had understood each other, and loved each other, but after a while they should have been just friends. But they still loved each other, so they had her, and she made them happier than they had ever been, but her mommy had gotten sick, and she couldn't get better and come home. They could pray for it, but it was better if Daddy looked for friends his age.
Rosie was a bit conflicted. Harmony was sometimes lonely. She'd often wanted a brother or a sister. She loved Chloe, and they had often pretended to be sisters, but having a real sister and a real brother was different. And Theresa wasn't her mom, but Daddy had said he needed friends, just like she did. "Guess me, Theresa." She prompted, her sense of fair's fair motivating her.
"Hmm..." Theresa thought for a moment. "I bet you're allergic to chocolate, am I right?"
"How'd you know that?"
"Cause your mom was," Theresa said. "So, vanilla?"
"Boring." Rosie announced. "You knew my mom?"
"Yes."
"Were you friends?"
"For a while." Theresa hedged. "So, vanilla's boring. Chocolate's out. Strawberry?"
Rosie laughed. "Need a hint?"
"I do." Ethan said, considering Ethan Martin. "I'm guessing you're not the chocolate fan of the crowd. I'm betting you like fruit flavors."
"Maybe," Ethan Martin teased.
Ethan smiled at his son. "Okay. Oh I bet I know. You always used to smile when your mom fed you peaches. I bet you like peach ice cream."
Ethan stared. "You never saw me when I was a baby."
"I did." Ethan laughed. "You were a handsome kid."
"Don't know what happened?" Ethan Martin asked.
"What?"
"That's what Aunt Sheridan always says to Hank, and what he always says to Thomas and Alex and me." Ethan smirked. "He always says the girls gets prettier every time." He rolled his eyes, expressing a six-year-old male's perspective on flattery.
"Oh," Ethan laughed. "Nah, you're still pretty good looking. So? Is it peach?"
"Yeah."
"And you Miss Rosie, do you like butter pecan?"
"I think she needs a hint." Ethan told her.
"It's not really ice cream. It's sherbet." Rosie offered.
"Orange." Theresa knew right away. "My brother Antonio loved orange everything. I bet that's your favorite lollypop too."
"Let me guess for Emma. Grape?"
"What about me?" Ethan Martin suddenly wanted to be included.
"Red."
"That's not a flavor." Emma laughed.
"Is so," Ethan teased.
Ethan Martin frowned. "So if you're my dad and you're my sister, are you gonna live with us now?"
"We're still thinking about that mijo," Theresa told him. "But right now, I want some ice cream, so what do you all say?"
"Yay!" The kids cheered.
"I think that's a yes," Ethan said. "And Theresa?"
"Yeah?"
"We do need to talk."
"I know. Wait up for me?"
"Where are you going?"
"Work," Theresa reminded him.
"Right. Leave me with three kids so you can run off to ride around in a bus." He teased. He caught her arm and kissed her cheek quickly, then left to herd the hyper kids to an ice cream store.
"It's an ambulance. We just call it a bus," she said after him, to cover her fluster. "Oh yeah, I'm in trouble," she said softly.