Part III

Teresa's eyes fluttered open. The sunlight was soft coming through the pale curtains and caressed her face with warmth. She sat up and stretched, she pulled her legs together under the covers and put her arms around them as she leaned her head on her knees. She turned her head as she heard a noise coming from behind the door and saw it open. Fox made his way inside holding a breakfast plateau.

"I see that you're finally awake."

"Hi.you should have woken me up."

"I think you had a pretty rough night Teresa. You deserve a break."

Teresa forced a smile upon her face and felt that tears were about to start spilling yet again from her eyes. Fox sat beside her and put the tray down between them.

"What is this?"

"It is called breakfast, the most important meal of the day."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not hungry."

Fox looked at Teresa disappointed.

"Look, you eat on your own free will or I'm forcing it down your throat. You didn't even have dinner last night, Teresa."

"Can you blame me?"

"No, of course not. What Ethan did to you last night was awful. You didn't deserve it."

"Thank you for been there for me, Fox. It meant a lot."

"Well, nothing would have kept me away last night. Now, eat up."

"You cooked?"

"Of course I did."

Teresa looked at the plates and smiled.

"I have to admit that it really looks good. How long did it take you?"

Fox laughed.

"You'll know when you see the poor state I left the kitchen in."

Teresa giggled at Fox's response. She looked at him as he moved on the bed and faced her. He put the plateau between them.

"This is my famous scrambled egg a la Fox. And it is delicious if I say so myself."

"Always loved your modesty, Nicholas."

She took her fork to her mouth as he watched her attentively.

"So, did I pass the test?"

A wide smile spread across Teresa's face as she looked at Fox.

"This is good. Wow, I am impressed Fox. A Crane who can cook and who knows the diffrence between a frying pan and a pot. What else is there that I don't know about you, Fox?"

"Stick around and you'll find out. In the meantime, you are helping me clean the kitchen Teresa."

She grimaced at the thought of cleaning.

"Can't I just stay in bed?"

"No, you can't. I can't clean the mess that I made on my own and the dishwasher is not working."

"It was working fine when I loaded it with the dishes yesterday lunch."

Fox put his hand at the back of his head and ran it in his hair.

"I pulled something in it and it made this really weird noise and then it just stopped."

"Let me get changed and I will help you out."

Teresa got out of bed and looked out the window. It was another beautiful and gorgeous day in Southern California. The ocean was as blue as ever and the sun was shinning as brightly as it had the previous day and yet, Teresa couldn't shake the feeling of melancholy that fell upon her as she looked at couples walking together and holding hands.

"Why do you think he was so cruel to me last night?"

"I don't know, maybe he is just so much of an idiot that he doesn't realize what a good thing is when it is staring it in the face."

"The fact that he was dreaming of me means that what he feels for me is very deep."

"Maybe, but Teresa.you need to move on. You cannot give him the chance to crush you the way he did last night."

"I know.I'm going to jump in the shower and I'll join you in the kitchen."

"Alright."

Fox picked up the tray and walked out the room, but not before taking another glance at Teresa. Last night had been rough on her. He had stayed with her most of the night as she cried in his arms. When she fell asleep, he went back to his room, but it wasn't long before she had joined him and slept beside him.

*****

"If I stay alone tonight, I don't know what will happen to me, Fox. I don't know what I will do to myself."

He had invited her to his bed and she had slept, curled up next to him. Since the day he had met her, Teresa had always been a fighter, a survivor.but Ethan seemed to have drained all the life out of her and Fox had seen it. From the previous night when Teresa was so vivacious until that kiss, that fight and all the tears she had cried, Teresa had become vulnerable and broken and Fox felt broken for her.

*****

Teresa walked in the shower and leaned her back to the wall as water washed over her. She hadn't had this hard of a night since.well since Bermuda and now, she was confronted to an entirely different situation. Ethan was lying to himself, about his feelings for her.

"I'm done pursuing him. I can't keep been crushed like this time after time. If he loves me, he will just come back to me on his own. But I am not putting my life on hold for him anymore, I am through with this."

She thought back to when she had woken up in the middle of the night scared and frightened, how lost she felt when she saw that the place beside her was empty. She had walked in the hallway past Whitney's door and into Fox's bedroom where she found him asleep. She felt bad that she had to wake him, but she needed him. She needed a friend and he understood her better than anyone. He had been kind to her and understanding. She had curled up beside him and laid her head on the same pillow and then drifted in a deep sleep from which she awoke in the morning. There were no bad dreams, no nightmares. She felt like nothing could touch her as long as she stayed beside him.

Teresa closed the water and came out of the shower. She dried her hair, got dressed and made her way to the kitchen where Fox was sitting on the counter sipping a mimosa. His spirits were high and Teresa envied him for been in such a great mood. She looked around the kitchen.

"I wouldn't be so cheery if I were you. This kitchen looks like a war zone. Did you have a food fight this morning."

Fox looked at with innocence and charm.

"No, I just made you breakfast."

"Maybe we should get started if we want to do something else today."

"Yes, ma'am. Your wish is my command."

"Oh stop it, Fox. I soap, you rinse."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do Crane. Now start working or I'll make you dry everything as well."

Fox gave her a grotesque look and she laughed at his expression.

"Your laughter is like music to my ears, Resa."

"The only reason I'm laughing is because I have you to make me laugh and cheer me up."

Fox put down the plate and faced her as she did the same.

"Well, you did it for me plenty of times, Teresa. And besides, what are friends for?"

"True, but not all friends would have done what you did for me last night. You kept me from going insane, from hurting myself."

"And you did the same for me as well."

Teresa stood on her toes and kissed Fox on the cheek.

"Thank you for last night, and thank you for this morning."

"Anything to see you smile and hear you laugh, Teresa. Anything.."

Ethan stood under the kitchen's door and watched as his brother cozied up with his Teresa. He didn't like it at all and he certainly didn't like the fact that they both seemed comfortable with each other. He walked away from the kitchen and into the living room where he sat. He had pondered the thought of finding another place for him and Gwen, but now he didn't want to leave. He didn't want to leave Teresa behind with Fox.