40



"You scared the crap out of him, didn't you?" Fox asked with a smirk on his face.

"He should've known better. He shouldn't have messed with me." Theresa said firmly.

"You got that right." Fox said.

"Mommy!" Belle cried. "Come here!"

"Go on," Fox said. "I'll be here." Fox watched as Theresa ran over to Belle and Little Ethan. He smiled as Belle placed the crown of daisies on Theresa's.

"Well hello son," Fox heard behind him.

Fox turned around and was surprised to find Julian standing behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to get away from Rebecca." Julian frowned. "That woman is driving me crazy."

"Well, father, I'm sorry, but if you're looking for sympathy you aren't going to get it from me." Fox replied.

"She's quite the little mother isn't she?" Julian said as he observed Theresa.

"She's a wonderful mother, and you know, it's awful that you're still trying to take Little Ethan away from her. Away from us."

Julian looked to the ground. "I've been thinking about that~" His voice trailed off as he looked in another direction.

"And what about it?" Fox asked. "What? Are you more determined that ever to take him away?"

"No." Julian replied. "I'm not going to take him away at all. I'm going to give custody to you and Theresa."

"What?" Fox said in shock. "You are? Why the change of heart?"

"I've tried to find ways of breaking you and Theresa up, and none of them worked. This attempt isn't going to do anybody any good. I may as well end it. There's no point to it anymore. You've surprisingly established a little family of yours, and you and Theresa are in love. You're a better father to Little Ethan than I ever was to you Fox." Julian said his voice full of regret. "I'm sorry, Fox. But you won't have to worry about any custody battle. Little Ethan's yours."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Fox asked warily. "How do I not know that this isn't another one of your schemes?"

Julian stood up and cleared his throat. "You're just going to have to take my word for it."

"Father?" Fox asked. One question had been plaguing Fox's mind since Angela had shown up at his home.

"What is it Fox?" Julian asked.

"Were you trying to use Angela to break Theresa and me up? Is Belle really my daughter or was that all fake?" Fox searched Julian's eyes for an answer. When Julian averted his gaze, Fox knew the answer.

"Belle isn't your child. Her real father is somewhere in New York. He didn't want anything to do with Angela or Belle."

"Why did you do that, father? Why were you trying to break up Theresa and me?"

"I'm not proud of my actions." Julian said quietly. "I have my reasons and frankly they're ridiculous. I just hope you can establish a happy family, Fox. From the looks of it you already have. Don't make the mistakes I did Fox. At least you married a woman you truly love." Julian said his tone full of sadness.

"Father?" Fox asked. "Will you and I ever be able to have a real father-son relationship?"

"I suppose we can if we try." Julian said. "But it's not going to be easy."

"Nothing ever is." Fox commented.

Julian nodded. "I'll talk to you later son." Julian walked away leaving a baffled Fox to his thoughts.

~*~



"You're back." Dylan said as Alex returned to the sandbox. "I didn't think you'd still be here." She said.

"And miss the opportunity to build castles with Devin?" Dylan replied. "Besides, I was hoping you'd come back."

Alex felt her cheeks burn. She knew she was probably turning beet red. "You did huh?"

"Yeah, in case you hadn't noticed, I like you Alex." Dylan said smiling.

"Well, unfortunately I don't know if I can say the same." Alex replied as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"Aw, c'mon. You know you like me." Dylan said with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"You annoy me." Alex replied frowning.

"But you think I'm cute." Dylan replied grinning. Alex could not resist the urge to smile. "You're so~"

"Cute? Adorable? Witty?" Dylan suggested.

"Weird." Alex finished.

"Weird can be good. Okay, I'll take that." Dylan said standing up and brushing the sand off his pants.

"I've never met anyone like you." Alex admitted. "You're different than any guy I've ever met."

"And you are unlike any woman that I've ever met." Dylan said. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"You're just full of compliments aren't you?" Alex said crossing her arms.

Dylan shrugged. "What can I say? I aim to please?"

Alex looked down and shifted nervously. "So~"

"Have dinner with me." Dylan said hastily.

"Excuse me?" Alex asked surprised.

"Have dinner with me. Tonight. Pretty please?"

"I don't think so~" Alex said turning away.

"It'll be fun." Dylan said. "Please? Just a small little dinner."

"I don't know~" Alex's voice trailed off.

"You know you want to." Dylan grinned widely. "C'mon Alex. Just one dinner."

Alex looked at Dylan warily. "I suppose one dinner couldn't hurt."

"Great." Dylan smiled. "I'll pick you up at seven. Where are you staying?"

After Alex gave Dylan directions to her brother's home, Dylan walked back to Fox while Alex walked over to Amanda. "Who was that guy?" Amanda asked.

"Dylan." Alex replied. "He's taking me out tonight."

"Really?" Amanda said nudging Alex. "You go girl."

Alex laughed nervously. "Yeah. Yay me." Alex sighed. "What have I gotten myself into?" She thought to herself.

~*~

Little Ethan yawned. "Ma!" He said sleepily as he reached for Theresa. Theresa picked up her son. "Aw, are you sleepy?" She asked. Little Ethan lay his head on his mother's shoulder in response. Theresa looked down at Belle who was working on another daisy crown. "Belle, sweetie, we've got to go home now. It's nap time."

"Already?" Belle asked frowning.

"Yes, already," Theresa said softly. "Let's go Belle." Theresa reached for Belle's hand. Belle picked up her daisy crown and slipped her hand in Theresa's. "Okay Mommy." She said.

Theresa and Belle walked hand in hand as they strolled over to Fox who was still sitting on the bench. Theresa noticed that he looked differently. "Fox, what is it?" She asked curiously.

"I'll tell you later. It's the craziest thing actually. I never expected it to happen." Fox said still a bit bewildered.

Dylan rejoined the group with a grin plastered on his face. "I take it things went well?" Theresa asked.

"Oh they went perfectly." Dylan said. "I knew I had it!"

Theresa laughed. "Well, we have to be heading on home. It's nap time for Little Ethan and Belle."

"Drop me off at my place will ya?" Dylan asked. "I have a date to prepare for."

"A date?" Theresa smiled. "Ooh, go Dylan!"

"Just don't screw it up." Fox said patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Dylan said frowning at Fox. "Anyhow, I'm not going to screw this one up."

"All right, time to pile in the car." Fox said picking up Belle.

Theresa who was still carrying Little Ethan followed behind her husband. Dylan walked beside her. As they passed the playground he looked around to see if he could see Alex. When he did, he caught her eye and smiled. She gave him a small wave. Alex's small gesture gave Dylan a boost of confidence. He could not wait to have dinner with her that night.

After dropping off Dylan at his place, Fox drove home. He glanced in the rear view mirror and saw that both Belle and Little Ethan were fast asleep. Once they got home, Theresa carried Little Ethan while Fox carried Belle.

As soon as Belle and Little Ethan were tucked into bed, Theresa and Fox headed to the living room. They sat in comfortable silence. The ticking of the clock was the only sound in the room. Theresa found herself drifting off to sleep until the sound of the doorbell woke her. Fox walked up to the door and found two officers standing on the doorstep.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" Fox asked with a confused look on his face.

"You are Fox Crane, correct?" One officer asked.

"Yes." Fox answered.

"Mr. Crane, we have some unfortunate news to deliver. Angela Bellemin was found dead in her home. We searched her home for any information on any family that we could contact, but instead we found your name scribbled on a piece of paper."

"She's- she's dead?" Fox said in disbelief. "What happened?"

"She overdosed on drugs. She was on the floor of her bathroom. There were syringes all over the place."

"Oh my God," Fox said stroking his chin. "What's been done with the body?"

"It's down at the coroner's." The officer replied. "We assume you're going to take care of everything from this point."

"Uh- yeah." Fox said still in a state of shock. "Thank you for coming by."

"We're sorry for your loss." The officers said before they left.

Theresa came up behind Fox. "What are we going to do?"

"You heard?" Fox asked gravely.

"Every word. Poor Belle. How do you think she's going to take it?" Theresa asked worriedly. Her heart went out to the little girl. She knew that Angela was not exactly the mother of the year, but she was still Belle's biological mother. They still had a connection.

"I honestly don't know. We'll break the news to her after she gets up." Fox said. "In the meantime, I'll make arrangements for Angela's burial. I- I don't know if any of her family is still around. I doubt it though. She's an only child and both her parents died."

"Okay," Theresa said. "This is so sad. I didn't like Angela much, but she actually died."

"I know." Fox replied as he hugged Theresa to himself. "But one thing is for sure. We'll be there for Belle. I have a feeling that she's going to need us more now than ever."

~*~



"Hey," Ethan said quietly as he watched Gwen feed Sarah.

"Hi," Gwen replied her voice barely above a whisper.

"Uh- you're busy, I'll just come back later." Ethan said as he began to leave the room.

"It's okay, Ethan." Gwen said hastily. "Sarah's done feeding anyhow. Let me get her cleaned up and put back into her crib. We can talk down in the living room."

"All right. I'll wait for you down there." Ethan said quietly. His mind was swirling with words that he wanted to tell Gwen. Mostly they comprised of words of apology of regret and sorrow. Ethan knew that things between him and Gwen were going to be rocky for awhile. He was relieved that she was finally talking to him. He was even more relieved that she was giving their marriage a chance.

As Ethan contemplated his relationship with Gwen, she entered the living room. "Ethan." She said quietly. Ethan turned and put his hands in his pockets. "So~" He said as he sat down on the couch.

"So." Gwen repeated as she took a seat beside him.

"Gwen, this isn't going to be easy." Ethan said clearing his throat.

"No, Ethan," Gwen said. "It's not going to be easy, but we're doing this for our daughter." She said quietly.

"Yeah," Ethan said as he reached for Gwen's hand. At first Gwen flinched at his touch, but she did not remove her hand from Ethan's. Instead she placed her other hand over his.

Gwen's small gesture warmed Ethan's heart. "We've known each other our whole lives." Ethan said quietly.

"We have." Gwen agreed. "We've had quite a history together."

"I was thinking~" Ethan began.

"What is it?" Gwen prompted.

"Well, I'd like to take you somewhere, if it's okay with you." Ethan shifted nervously. He anxiously waited for Gwen to answer.

"Uh- Sure, I suppose." Gwen said a little flustered. "When?"

"Tonight." Ethan said. "I've already asked one of the maids to look after Sarah."

"All right," Gwen said taking a deep breath. "What time?"

"Seven thirty. I'll wait for you here." Ethan said.

"Okay." Gwen said. "Seven thirty sharp."

"I've got to go down to the office for awhile. I haven't exactly been working much, but I'll be back in time for our date."

"Date." The word made Gwen's heart skip a beat. After Ethan left, Gwen remained in the living room. She felt as though she were rediscovering the feelings she had towards Ethan. She hoped that her heart would be mended. In time, Gwen felt it would. She just hoped that Ethan would not break it again.

~*~