Back at the mansion, Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Crane was having what had turned out to be a very good day. For the first time in months, things mostly seemed to be going her way. Not only had she not been executed (a fact which alone made everything else seem pretty rosy), but Antonio had come back to town, her every look was causing Rebecca and Ivy to squirm, and, best of all, Ethan was completely overjoyed that she was alive, and bonding with Ethan-Martin! She couldn't believe that he had not killed Julian, and though this made her confession and near-execution ultimately pointless, it was all worth it when he realized that she loved him enough to die for him. She could just see it now: Ethan would dump Gwen, she'd get a divorce from Julian, and they could marry and be a family with her son. If only Ethan had really been the father of her baby! Still, his paternity wouldn't matter since Ethan will adopt her baby and be his father in every way that matters, making sure that the Cranes won't taint him.
Above all things, this concern was foremost on Theresa's mind. Before his birth, Theresa had forced herself to think of him as Julian's child, like some sort of subhuman creature growing inside of her. When she finally held him in her arms, though, he suddenly became HER baby, the most wonderful baby in the entire world, who couldn't help having Crane blood any more than a wonderful person like poor Sheridan could. Her baby was totally innocent, and Theresa would see to it that he stays that way. She would not let him be warped by Alistair and Julian, who would surely corrupt him completely until he was a mirror image of them. Theresa shivered a bit at the thought, but then collected herself; there was absolutely no danger of that happening, and Ethan would be a wonderful father to Ethan-Martin.
Although Theresa was sure of herself, she was not nearly as naïve as she once was. She knew perfectly well that Ivy, Rebecca, and Gwen would have a scheme or two to sabotage her. No matter, she'd face them and weather it through. Once, she would have trembled and cried at any threats like this, but she was no longer a doe-eyed innocent. Ivy and Rebecca had seen to that, and they were soon going to realize the fruits of their labors.
*****
"She knows we had her killed, Rebecca! Face it, we're done for," Ivy Winthrop Crane hissed to her partner in crime as they watched Theresa nervously from the other side of the living room.
"Little Miss Enchilada can't prove it, Ivy. She can't do anything to us," Rebecca Hotchkiss replied with more confidence than she felt.
"Oh, nothing but taunt and torment us, and plan God knows what to slowly torture us," Ivy scoffed. "I don't trust her one bit. She's changed, got this look in her eyes that she didn't have before, like she's capable of anything. I—"
"And what are my two wayward wrongdoing women whispering about?," Julian asked, having snuck up behind the duo in order to startle them. "It surely doesn't have anything to do with my nubile young bride and that phony surveillance tape, does it?"
Ivy was about to counter with one of her patented sarcastic replies when one of the servants entered the room. "Mr. Crane, your daughter Laura was in a car accident on her way home from school. She was fairly close to home and has been taken to Harmony Hospital where she's in serious condition."
Ivy's heart lurched in her chest. She'd never been particularly close to any of her three daughters, since she'd always focused on Ethan, but they were still her children and she cared about them greatly in her own way. Lately, she'd been feeling guilty about neglecting her girls, and had recently resolved to set things right with them. If anything were to happen to Laura, she didn't know if she'd be able to handle the guilt.
Ivy glanced up at Julian, who to his credit did look suitably upset at the news, like he needed a good stiff drink. He looked at her, and ordered the servant to ready a car to take them to the hospital. For once neither seemed to want to argue. Ethan wished to come, of course, and Theresa and Gwen were certainly going with him, and Rebecca elected to come along as well to support Gwen and keep an eye on Theresa, and to be close to her "pookie."
*****
Dr. Eve Russell was having a strange and busy night. Charity and Timmy had mysteriously sustained injuries which seemed physically impossible, but very clearly fatal. Then, after a flash of light, they both suddenly recover, in perfect health, though both were very tired. None of this could possibly be happening, but then again, she reminded herself, she'd thought the same thing last year when she had witnessed the men fighting demons and Sam and Grace's house being sucked into the earth. Oh well, she decided, she'd just accept the unacceptable and be thankful that the Bennetts were friends and therefore would not slap her with a malpractice suit for insisting Charity would die and advising she be taken off of life support.
Then, a car crash victim was wheeled in, who turned out to be none other than Laura Crane, youngest daughter of Julian and Ivy, her two least favorite people in the world. As she attended to her, Dr. Eve's anger kept rising to the forefront, but she managed to control it and concentrate on her work. At first, things looked bad for the Crane girl, but Dr. Eve managed to stabilize her. She would remain unconscious for a bit longer, but would make a full recovery.
Harder to deal with was the drill session she received once Ivy and Julian arrived at the hospital. She had barely managed to be civil with the two, but had finally managed to satisfy them. Though Laura appeared to be doing fine, Dr. Eve thought it best to take a blood sample and test for any congenital conditions that might cause complications.
*****
Ivy nervously wheeled back and forth, anxiously waiting to be allowed in to see Laura. She wanted to be there, but she was afraid her daughter might resent her and not want her around. What would she say once she awoke, how would she apologize for paying so little attention in the past? Ivy decided to take a valium, but paused briefly to wonder if that would mix well with the pain pills and champagne. Oh what the hell, she thought. I've done it plenty of times before and there haven't been any serious side effects to speak of!
As Ivy spun around, she flew right into Sam Bennett, knocking him backward a few feet.
"Ivy, what are you doing here?" Sam asked in a suspicious tone.
"Well, if you must know, Sam, my daughter's been in a car accident," Ivy replied testily, slightly annoyed since she actually wasn't scheming to get Sam back for once! "Why are you here?"
Sam looked contrite. "I'm sorry, Ivy. Charity was hurt really badly in some sort of fight. She wasn't supposed to make it, but she's fine now. Don't ask me how or why, because I honestly don't know. How's your daughter?"
"Laura's unconscious right now, but she's going to be okay."
"I'm glad to hear that. Say, isn't she your youngest, the one who's the same age as my Kay?"
"Yes, that's right; they were born at almost exactly the same time, weren't they? I remember now, Grace and I were in the hospital at the same time. Huh, odd coincidence," Ivy muttered, half to herself.
"Yes, well, I'd better get back," Sam said, vaguely uncomfortable, and dashed off.
*****
Dr. Eve studied the results of Laura's blood test. Everything seemed normal, but the doctor decided to compare her results to those of her parents, just to be on the safe side and look for family conditions. Luckily the hospital had the results of previously taken samples of both Ivy and Julian's blood on file.
Dr. Eve did a quick comparison and couldn't believe her eyes. No, this can't be, I'm looking at this wrong, that's all. The good doctor did a double check, this time more thoroughly. The same outcome. She then did a triple check, and a quadruple check. No difference. After the fifth check, Dr. Eve had to accept that she was reading it properly, and that there was only one conclusion that could possibly be reached. Oh God, the ramifications of her findings would shake Harmony to the core!