39



Theresa held Ethan Martin as Fox let Belle ride on his shoulders. Dylan lingered behind and watched the family as they strolled ahead of him. Dylan felt an odd sense of want flow through him as he watched Fox with his family. "Maybe I'll have that one day," Dylan thought to himself. Once Fox carefully took Belle off his shoulders, Belle immediately ran up to Dylan and smiled. She then poked him and yelled, "Tag! You're it!" Giggling, Belle ran off.

Dylan looked over at Theresa and Fox and shrugged. "That's my cue!" He said as he chased Belle around. Theresa laughed. "You know, he's great with kids," She said to Fox.

"Yeah, surprisingly he is." Fox commented as he ruffled Ethan Martin's hair. "Da!" Ethan Martin cried happily as he reached for Fox. Fox picked up Little Ethan. "I can't wait to teach this little guy how to play sports."

Theresa smiled and stared in awe at her husband and son. Fox noticed Theresa staring and grinned. "What?" He asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

Still smiling, Theresa shook her head to indicate that Fox did not have anything on his face. "I'm just admiring my son and husband bonding. You two look adorable together."

"Well we are handsome fellas, aren't we Little E?" Fox asked as he tickled Ethan Martin. Unable to resist Fox's tickles, Little Ethan began laughing so hard that Theresa and Fox could not resist laughing themselves.

"Gotcha!" Dylan said as he picked up Belle and twirled her around. Belle squealed. "Look Daddy! Look Mommy!" Belle called.

Theresa looked up in shock. "Did you just hear her call me Mommy?" She asked Fox.

"Yeah." Fox said surprised himself. "She did. It's okay isn't it?"

"Oh it's fine." Theresa said. "I was just taken by surprise. I didn't expect her to call me Mommy so soon."

"Well- she's going to be a part of our family soon." Fox replied.

Theresa smiled. "Yeah- she is. I'm going to have a daughter." She sighed happily.

Fox placed his arms around Theresa and kissed her on the forehead. Little Ethan giggled softly as he watched his parents. He glanced at Dylan and Belle and began to take wobbling steps towards them.

"Look!" Theresa said excitedly. "He's walking on his own."

Fox got up and followed Little Ethan from behind. "That's it, buddy." Fox encouraged. Ethan Martin looked up at Fox and smiled. His walking endeavor soon ended as he toppled over and fell to the ground.

"Whoops!" Fox said as he quickly picked up Little Ethan. Ethan Martin's lower lip began quivering. Fox quickly brushed the grass off him and tickled Little Ethan to prevent him from bursting into tears. "It's okay, little guy. Look how far you got! In no time you'll be running around with your big sister." Little Ethan's lower lip was still protruded in a pout. Fox began making faces to make his son smile. A small smile formed on Ethan Martin's lips. "C'mon, I know there's a bigger smile somewhere." Fox said as he picked up Little Ethan and twirled him around like Dylan had with Belle. Ethan Martin let out a laugh. "That's my boy." Fox smiled as he kissed the top of his son's head. "Now, you go onto your big sister." Fox placed Little Ethan on his feet.

Little Ethan looked warily at Belle. "C'mon Ethan!" Belle said. "You can do it!" She called with her arms invitingly opened.

Little Ethan began taking tentative steps towards Belle. Slowly he made his way over to his future big sister. Theresa, Fox, Dylan, and Belle cheered as Little Ethan came closer to Belle's awaiting arms. When he reached his destination, Belle hugged him tightly. "Yay!" She cried happily. "He did it!" Theresa and Fox ran over to them and hugged Ethan Martin.

Ethan Martin enjoyed all of the attention he received from accomplishing his feat. He let out a laughed and squirmed in everyone's arms. Belle took Little Ethan's hand and walked over to a patch of daisies. "Let's pick some for Mommy!" She said. Little Ethan carefully walked with Belle. "I wish I had my camera!" Theresa said. "They're so cute!"

Fox laughed. "So Dylan," He said. "When do you expect to see Alexandria again?"

Dylan shrugged. "Dunno. I'm trying to find out where she's staying."

"Well, you know, she's going back to Chicago eventually." Theresa pointed out. "If you're going to put the moves on her, you're going to have to do it soon."

Dylan sighed in a melodramatic fashion. "I know." He said. He joined Theresa and Fox on the bench they sat on and scanned the crowd. His attention was diverted to three kids yelling and running around three adults. One of them looked oddly familiar. Dylan waited until the person- obviously a woman- turned around so that he could get a glimpse of her face. When she did finally face towards him, Dylan's jaw dropped. "Oh my God," He said softly.

"What?" Fox asked.

"She's here." Dylan said. "Alexandria's here."

"Well, here's your chance Romeo." Theresa said pushing Dylan off the bench. "Go win her over with your charms."

Dylan began to walk forward, but after taking a few steps he spun around. "I can't." He choked. "I can't do it."

"What do you mean you can't do it?" Fox asked. "Go over there and talked to the woman!"

"Aw, are you nervous?" Theresa asked.

"Me? Nervous?" Dylan let out a shaky laugh.

"Dylan go talk to her~" Theresa encouraged.

"Let me practice on you." Dylan said.

"What?" Fox interjected. "Uh- I don't think so buddy."

"Theresa~" Dylan whined. "Please?"

Theresa sighed. "Dylan, just go say and hi and go from there. Be your witty and charming self."

Dylan took a deep breath. "Okay, I can do that." Dylan mumbled as he began to walk over to Alex.

He followed behind her as she headed to the playground. He wondered about the people that were with Alex. He stayed behind the group until they reached the playground. He walked over to the sandbox and cleared his throat.

~*~

"I wanna go on the swings!" Kelly said as she jumped out of the car.

"Me too!" Karen responded as she followed her sister.

Devin walked up behind his sisters and tugged at their pigtails. The girls cried in annoyance and chased him around.

"Mommy!" Devin cried as he ran around the adults. Alex looked at her reflection in the car's window. She sighed and turned around. Devin ran behind her and hugged her legs at the knees. "Make them stop Auntie Alex!" He cried.

"Girls," Alex said in a soft but firm tone. "Leave your brother alone."

"But he started it!" Kelly whined. "He pulled my pigtail!"

"Mine too!" Karen pouted as she crossed her arms and frowned.

"Devin, apologize to your sisters." Alex said as she pried him from her legs.

"Aw, Auntie Alex!" Devin complained. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," Alex replied. "C'mon Devin. Say you're sorry."

Devin rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry." He said in a tone that indicated that he really was not sorry. Instead he sounded resentful.

"Okay," Alex said.

"Let's head to the playground." Amanda suggested as she reached for her daughter's hands.

"I wanna go to the sandbox." Devin said. "Auntie Alex," He began, "Will you play with me in the sandbox?" He asked as he slipped his small hand into hers. A new feeling- odd yet nice- came over Alex at Devin's small gesture. She was not sure if it were the request or the act of putting his hand in hers, but something triggered something new within Alex. "Sure," Alex said.

As the group walked to the playground, Alex had a strange urge to turn around, but she didn't. Instead she walked with her nephew over to the sandbox. He immediately sat down and placed his hands in the sand. Alex heard footsteps and someone clearing their throat behind her. She turned around and was surprised to find Dylan Banning standing behind her. "You." She said in surprise.

"Yeah," Dylan said sheepishly. "It is I." He said with his arms outstretched.

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked.

"What no hug?" Dylan asked- his arms still outstretched.

Alex raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms. "A hug? I don't think so."

"Aw," Dylan said pouting. "Ah well- can't blame a guy for trying."

Alex rolled her eyes. "You gonna answer my question?"

"I'm here with some friends." Dylan said. "Who are you here with?"

"My brother's family." Alex answered. "That's my nephew Devin." She motioned to the little boy digging in the sand. "And those two little girls on the swings are my nieces Kelly and Karen, and the woman and man behind them are my sister-in-law and my brother Amanda and Tommy."

"Oh I see. So you have family in Harmony. That's nice." Dylan replied as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah." Alex said. "Where are your friends?"

"Theresa and Fox are over there on that bench by the trees." Dylan pointed. Alex was surprised when she recognized Theresa. "I've met her before~" Alex mumbled.

"In Chicago?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah," Alex answered.

"Well, Fox is her husband, and they brought their kids Belle and Ethan Martin. They're playing in that patch of daisies over there." Dylan turned and pointed in Belle and Ethan's direction.

"Nice family." Alex commented as she shifted her weight from her right leg to her left.

"Yeah, they're pretty nice. They feed me." Dylan replied.

Alex laughed at Dylan's statement. "They feed you?"

"I guess that didn't come out the way I meant it to." Dylan said scratching the back of his neck and laughing. "I just meant that I spend time with 'em. They're cool. Fox and I have known each other forever and once I got acquainted with their family- well, I guess you could say that I couldn't stay away."

Dylan looked up at Alex and stared into her eyes. She found herself staring back. They stood there until Devin interrupted them. "Hey Auntie Alex!" He said. "Look what I did!"

A little startled, Alex turned her attention to her nephew who had built a mini castle. "That's so cool!" Alex commented.

"Hey you know what would make it even cooler?" Dylan said as he stooped near Alex and Devin. Alex felt jittery with Dylan so close beside her. His hand brushed slightly against hers as he reached out to add to the castle. Alex felt electricity at his touch. Flustered, she tried moving away from Dylan and almost ended up falling over. Dylan caught her in time. "Whoa there," He said smiling. After staring into Dylan's mesmerizing eyes, Alex shook off his hands and stood up. "Thanks," She mumbled as she brushed sand off of her pants.

"I'll be back, you stay here Devin." She said as crossed her arms and walked off."

"What's her problem?" Dylan mumbled as he continued to help Devin add on to his castle.

"She likes you." Devin said.

Dylan grinned. "You think so?"

"Yup." Devin replied. "Do you like her?" He asked.

"Yeah, actually I do." Dylan admitted.

Devin frowned. "Why?" He asked with a disgusted look on his face. "Girls are icky."

Dylan laughed. "You'll understand when you're older."

~*~



"This is relaxing." Theresa said as she laid her head on Fox's shoulder. "And it's so beautiful today."

"It doesn't compare to your beauty." Fox said softly as he leaned in and kissed Theresa softly on the lips.

"Are you flirting with me?" Theresa smiled as she ran her finger down the side of Fox's cheek.

"Maybe." Fox grinned.

Theresa sighed and watched Little Ethan and Belle. She laughed when Belle placed a crown of daisies on Little Ethan's head. "Look at that." She whispered to Fox. Fox laughed as he watched Little Ethan frown and try to take the crown off of his head.

Theresa sighed and looked around at all the people in the park. The sunlight bounced off an object and caught Theresa's eye. She frowned when she realized that a camera was pointed in hers and Fox's direction.

"Fox, I think that Paul guy who's been writing rumors about us is spying on us again." Theresa said in an annoyed tone.

"Where?" Fox asked as he looked around.

"Over there by the bushes." Theresa said. "You know what? I'm going to have a word with him. I'm tired of all the b/s they keep spreading about us. I'm sick of it, and I want to put and end to it." With that Theresa got up and walked quickly over in the cameraman's direction. Fox watched Theresa angrily approach the man. "He's in trouble." Fox mumbled.

"Excuse me." Theresa said icily as she walked up to Paul.

"Yes?" Paul said coolly. "May I help you?"

"Yes, in fact you can. How about you leave me and my family the hell alone? How about you stop spreading lies about my husband and me? I'm frankly sick of it, and I will personally kick your ass if it doesn't end." Theresa replied- her eyes fiery with anger.

"Is that a threat?" Paul said indifferently.

"Paul right?" Theresa asked.

"Yes." Paul said.

"Look Paul, I've been the center of this town's rumor mill before and it was a living hell. It was difficult enough dealing with the unfortunate events in my life, but do you know how much more stress was added in my life when the media got a hold of my business? Rumors and blatant lies inevitably ruin people's lives. I am finally happy with my life. I have a wonderful husband, a wonderful son, and I'll soon have a daughter. I am finally living a happy life, but it's been tainted with these rumors that you've been spreading. You're preventing me from fully enjoying my new life. I don't want these rumors to affect my family. They aren't true, and once you start messing with my family, you've crossed the line."

Paul sighed. "The truth Mrs. Crane is that rumors sell. Right now, you and your husband just happen to be the center of attention. You know those stories I wrote about you and your husband boosted sales?"

"I don't give a damn." Theresa replied angrily. "They're all lies, and it's sad that people feed of the lies you write. You're a journalist. Your job is to inform, give people the truth. Instead, you're doing the opposite so you can boost sales. That's pathetic! You're absolutely pathetic and a sorry excuse for a writer. You're lying, deceitful, manipulative, and you obviously don't possess a conscious. If you did, you would realize how wrong you are for spreading lies. You don't realize the burden that these lies have on my life do you? You wouldn't understand because you probably don't possess an ounce of consideration."

"Hey lady, I'm just doing my job." Paul said. "This is how I make my living."

"My personal life or anyone's personal life for that matter isn't real news. There are more important things out there in this world that individuals need to be aware of. There are more serious matters that need to be brought to the public's attention, but instead of focusing on those issues, you focus on formulating lies and rumors about people. You waste stories on lies instead of real stories. You're just a gossip that feeds off of people's ignorance and inability to mind their own business. How can you look yourself in the mirror knowing that the rumors you spread hurt people? You're despicable." Theresa said with disgust. "Keep spreading your lies, and you'll continually deal with me." Theresa said. "And I assure you Paul, you don't want to deal with me."

"You don't scare me." Paul said.

"You just wait." Theresa replied in a low tone. "You just wait Paul. You obviously don't know who you're messing with. You're playing with fire now Paul, and you're going to get burned. Badly." Theresa gave Paul and icy stare before walking away. He shuddered a little and warily watched her walk away.

"She doesn't scare me." He mumbled as he walked off. Paul took a deep breath and walked away. He suddenly had an urge to look back. When he did, he was met with a glare from Theresa. Paul quickly turned around and walked hastily to his car.

~*~