Cat's- eye. noun. a gem of the quartz group which reflects a single ray of light

~Simone~

It's the third day since Whitney and Chad's broken wedding. For three days, the members of our family haven't said a word to each other. For three days, we have sat through breakfast, lunch and dinner, not daring to bring up the subject. It's even more distressing to see Mom and Dad passing each other around the house like total strangers. Our parents who once, didn't let anything get in the way between them…

I glance at the clock. It's 20 past 11 already and Mom and Dad are still out. Whitney and I sit in the lounge room, doing and saying nothing. I don't think any of us go to sleep very easily, these days. I look at my sis again, wishing she'd say something, but she gazes dolefully at the wall as usual.

"It's good that you were stopped from getting married. At least you should be thankful for that," I blurt out stupidly, becoming increasingly sick of the suffocating silence. Uh, Uh. I realise that it was the wrong thing to say when she slowly turns her face to me, glaring.

"You only did this 'coz you wanted him for yourself!" she snaps. "I bet it was all made up! I can't believe my own sister is low enough to team up with those…those bastards to do something like this to us! I'm not the only one suffering from these lies Simone, and you know that!"

"They're not lies, Whitney! Okay, so I loved Chad just as much as you did and wished it were me instead of you he wanted to marry, but I'd never have done anything to ruin your happiness, I feel horrible about it too, but it's all true, Whit, that's what…"

The ring of the doorbell promptly puts an end to our argument.

"Oh god, please don't tell me it's him," moans Whitney, burying her face on the lounge. I walk quickly to the door and look through the security hole [is that what you call it???] to see who is outside.

"It's Fox," I whisper to her, feeling pretty anxious.

"Fox? What does he want?" she replies, half questioningly, half annoyedly.

I open the door reluctantly and let him in. Maybe he's here to do the explaining. I could do with that…

"Hey. Whitney's not sleeping is she?" he asks. I can tell he's nervous about it too.

"No, no," I say hurriedly and lead him into the lounge room where Whitney sits in quiet contemplation, eyes on the floor. Fox stares at her weirdly for a moment and looks at me, obviously informing me that my presence is not wanted there. I indignantly walk out of the room, but stop behind the half- closed door. Out of curiosity…

He says her name, but she doesn't answer.

"Whitney, you shouldn't blame your sister for all this. I'm the one that told her about…it."

Whitney looks up with a start.

"I guess that's why you didn't come then," she says slowly. "Why you, Fox? What do you have against us? We're your friends remember? Or did you forget that?" she asks tearfully.

"I only brought it up because whether you like it or not, it's the truth, Whitney. I am your friend and I think things would've been much harder if you found out later. I just wanted… wanted to protect you."

"But how do you know?"

"Remember when Chad was looking for his parents? And the DNA results were magically unavailable? Well you might not know that it was all the work of Grandfather. He ordered the results to be deleted 'coz he wanted to wreck your lives, Whitney. Father gave the secret away last week while he was drunk. That's how I found out what'd happened."

They remain silent for a long while and I'm getting a little sleepy.

"I have to go now. I'm really sorry about the whole thing, but I only did it because I care about you, Whitney. I…"

He stops, unable to continue for some reason, and starts to leave the room. I hurry to the kitchen under the pretense of getting a glass of water.

Giving him a quick glance, I see his eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Not to mention that your half- brother doesn't even deserve you," Fox mutters angrily, thinking himself unheard. But I hear him, clear enough…

******

~Sheridan~

They have plotted to murder Luis and me so many times. Now they've put me in a mental hospital. They've taken my baby from me and I'm sure they're trying to stop Luis from seeing me. All these, the work of my own brother and father.

I know Antonio is on their side. Angry and jealous that I love his brother and not him. Not surprisingly, he is allowed to visit me, but I refused to see him myself yesterday. Once, he had me believing that Luis was a bad man, but now I know it is Antonio who is rotten. Cruel and patronising man. I wish I'd never have to see his face.

Suddenly, an image of Luis flashes in my mind. He is driving a truck along the highway. Pilar is sitting behind him, with… Martin in her arms.

The image disappears just as fast as it arrived and I gasp frustratedly at losing sight of my love and our child…

"Ms Crane, Ms Crane," I hear a voice in my ear and slowly awaken to find the nurse shaking my arm. "There's someone here to see you."

I gawk at her groggily, not quite registering her words.

"You fainted, Ms Crane. And remained unconscious for two hours."

I nod at her and ask who is waiting to see me.

"Mr Ethan Winthrop," she replies, letting my visitor into the room.

Ethan? But he's supposed to be honeymooning with his new wife, I think confusedly to myself. As I gape at him, I instantly realize that it isn't Ethan. The eyes that are gazing back at me are as recognizable to me as my own eyes are.

"Luis!" I whisper breathlessly, only to have my mouth covered by his hand.

"Sheridan, sweetheart, I'm gonna get you outta here. We're going to sneak out through that door when the nurse isn't watching okay?" he whispers back excitedly, but determination sounds in his voice. "Mama's waiting with Martin," he adds, grinning nervously.

Waiting till the nurse leaves, we slip out of the gloomy ward, hand in hand.

It seems that Luis has worked out an alternative way out of the hospital, because we weren't captured by any security guards on our escape.

As he walks me quickly to the road behind the building, I am greeted by a familiar black truck.

"Do you know how to drive this thing?" I ask him worriedly, huddling into him.

"Of course."

With that, he lifts me into the truck. He jumps into the driver's seat and starts the engine.

"Freedom!" he yells, pulling into the highway.

I laugh giddily and pull off his chestnut wig, ruffling his raven, black hair. I look behind me to find a sleeping Pilar with my baby in her arms.

"Where are we going honey?" I ask suddenly.

"Does it matter, Sheridan?" He says, turning to me for a moment. "We can go to New York, Texas or Los Angeles…"

"…as long as we're together, it doesn't matter." I finish off for him, feeling real happiness for the first time in a long while.

"And no- one tries to shoot, drown, kidnap or put us into mental hospitals," he adds.

I gaze lovingly at him, knowing deep down that we'll finally get to live happily ever after, as we drive on into the balmy night…

*****

A/N: Lotz of thanx to chril1, MahoganyMiss, foxayfan and silverskies for their reviews. I hope Sheridan's pov didn't sound too spoofy, but don't you think it's kinda funny how tragic they are in the show? And sorry x 10 that the surprise person couldn't appear in this chapter. Definitely will in the next, since he's a major character in the story. (I think u know who it is anyway!) Foxay or Foxney??? Both sounds good, but keep reading to find out which will happen! Plz continue reviewing & suggesting too! Love ya!