Strange, Kay thought, this should be the most horrible news imaginable, so why do I feel so...numb?
As she watched the fallout around her, she had the sensation that she was looking in at the event from far away. Even when her "parents" grabbed her, hugging her so hard she felt like she would be smothered, and telling her that there was surely some mistake, she felt oddly detached, as if she weren't actually there at all. Through expressionless eyes, Kay watched the various reactions: her "Uncle" Hank's incredulity, Jessica's tears, Simone's glaring, TC's accusatory stare, and Ivy and Julian's wide-eyed appraisal. She'd never noticed it before, but her coloring was very similar to Julian's, and her features as a whole, especially her eyes, were really not unlike Ivy's.
It all made perfect sense, come to think of it. Everyone was always talking about how evil the Cranes were, and Kay knew Ivy was a consummate schemer, always going after her dad, or rather, after Sam. She wasn't the black sheep of an otherwise virtuous family, but rather the long-lost but nevertheless exemplary member of another clan!
This also explained her family's attitude towards her. They claimed to love her, and possibly even thought they did, but Kay knew that, even before Charity's arrival, they had never really had a connection with her. Grace, possessing some sort of weird intuition, probably sensed subconsciously that there was something "off" about her, and consequently held back. Although this truth hurt Kay, there was a certain level of comfort in the knowledge that this other girl was supposed to be Sam and Grace's daughter, Jessica and Noah's sister, and Charity's cousin. It wasn't really her fault at all! One little thought began eating away at her, though. Did it also mean that this Laura was actually supposed to be Miguel's best friend? Should she even know him except as the son of a servant?
Her reverie was broken when Simone approached her and began hissing so that nobody else could hear. "I knew it! You are evil, Kay! Evil, evil, evil! I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett could never have a daughter like you! Only a Crane would try to kill Charity so she could get Miguel, and invite evil back into Harmony!"
Simone was about to keep going, but TC grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her away. "I'm sorry, sugarbear, but I have to protect you from evil, and the Cranes are as evil as they come." TC's attention then turned to Kay. "And as for you, now that you're a Crane, I don't want you coming anywhere near my family again. No daughter of Julian's is going to associate with MY child!"
Sam instinctively positioned himself between Kay and his psychopathic buddy. "You're my best friend, TC, but I don't let anybody threaten my daughter!"
TC snorted. "Didn't you hear what my wife said? She isn't your daughter, man, she's Julian's!"
"Look, we don't have any proof that Kay isn't ours, and I refuse to believe it."
Just when it looked as if the two would come to blows, Hank stepped in. "I hate to say this, bro, but it sounds like Eve's right."
Grace took Sam's hand, and said to Kay, "I pray that the test will show that you're ours, but even if you're not related genetically, I want you to know that you'll always be our daughter." With these words, Grace attempted to hug Kay again, but the girl refused to respond.
"Nice, sentiment, "Mom," but you've never acted like my mother, and I don't see why you should start now that it's turned out you're not." Grace looked hurt, and Sam tried to say something, but Kay cut him off. "Just don't, please, don't. I don't wanna hear it."
Dr. Eve once again intervened and addressed Sam, Grace, and Kay. "I'm sorry, but you'll probably want to do a DNA test. The results should be available late tomorrow if we take it now. Follow me, please." With that, the three of them left with the doctor, leaving everybody else in the lounge to sort through what just happened.
*****
Ethan Winthrop stared quizzically after the departing group, flanked by Gwen Hotchkiss on one side and Theresa and the baby on the other. "I can't believe it, Laura and Kay aren't my sisters!"
Theresa leaned into him sympathetically and said, "This must be so hard for you, Ethan. I just want you to know that I'm here if you need somebody to talk to." She looked up at him demurely, ready to soothe away the hurt he must be feeling.
Gwen couldn't help staring at both of them incredulously. She wanted to attack Theresa for throwing herself at Ethan, but decided instead to direct her comments to Ethan's remark. "Um, Ethan, not that it's still not really hard or anything, but if Laura was switched with Kay, then they're still your sisters."
Ethan didn't seem to comprehend. "But, they've been switched! How can I still be related?"
Gwen sighed and bit her tongue a bit. "If Laura is Sam and Grace's daughter, and Kay is Ivy and Julian's, then they're still your half-sisters, since you still share one parent with each. Before, Laura was related through your mother and Kay through your father, but now it's the other way around."
Ethan thought really hard for a minute, until the meaning of his girlfriend's words finally sunk in. "They've switched places, then, but only with each other so since they were both my sisters before they're still my sisters!"
Gwen forced a smile. "Yes, Ethan, that's it!"
Ethan grinned happily but then looked confused. "How does that work again?"
Gwen quickly excused herself, and went over to her mother, who of course had been listening in the whole time.
"Honestly, mother, I swear I love Ethan with all of my heart, but sometimes I don't know how he got through law school, even as a Crane."
"Never mind that," Rebecca advised, somewhat agitated. "You're giving Terrorcita a chance to work her wiles on him. You've got to get back in there and fight for your man!"
"I don't know mother. Sometimes I feel like if I have to battle Theresa at all times, it's not worth it. He keeps refusing her, but I know he'd still rather be with her than me, and I don't want to end up in a marriage where I'm my husband's second choice."
Rebecca stared at her daughter as if she'd grown a second head. "You must take after your father, since I don't understand a word you're staying. Let me put it this way, do you want to lose to Theresa again?"
"Well, no. But—"
"Then no buts, Gwennie. Now get back there!"
Gwen gave up arguing and began moving over to Ethan, but was intercepted by Hank. "So, Gwen, what are you up to, stirring up trouble again?"
The nerve of this guy! "No, I'm just going to be with Ethan now, which I have every right to, seeing as he's with ME now, not Theresa."
"A situation which I'm sure you had a little hand in. I watched you last year, and I knew you were planning something. I just didn't think you'd succeed in breaking up those two. Ethan loved her so much."
Gwen suppressed the pang of guilt she felt at having deceived Ethan, and replied in an even tone. "Well, he obviously didn't love her as much as you thought, did he? Now, if you'll excuse me, I think Ethan needs me right now."
She fled Hank as quickly as she could without seeming panicked, but she could feel his eyes upon her. Why did her stomach lurch a bit whenever she talked to Hank? She wasn't interested in him, certainly. After all, Ethan was the one she loved, and would always love. Still, she remembered the time before Ethan and Theresa's botched wedding when he'd asked her to go out for coffee. She had almost said yes, until she remembered all the plotting she'd done to get Ethan back. No, it couldn't mean anything, she just must have been feeling particularly lonely and vulnerable at that time. Focusing her mind on Ethan, she started thinking of a subtle, non-bitchy way to pry Theresa off of him.
*****
Hank Bennett watched Gwen go with more than a little regret. He knew she was a schemer, someone who shouldn't be trusted. However, nobody's perfect, and Hank himself had no shortage of skeletons in his closet. How could he ever let himself forget, for example, the time the drug cartel had forced him to kill Sheridan and he had cooked up the whole "bury her alive" scheme that had so nearly ended tragically? Gwen had, he had no doubt in his mind, orchestrated, with a little help from Rebecca, the situation that eventually led to Ethan leaving Theresa. Whenever he was with Gwen, though, he could see glimpses of a warm, vibrant, and spirited young woman who had more of a moral compass than most would give her credit for. If only someone would get her away from her mother, whom he figured was behind all of Gwen's lapses, and convince her that she didn't need Ethan, Hank knew that Gwen could be wonderful, someone he could possibly...love?