Yay! Yay! Yay!!!!! Finals are over, school's almost out, and my computer
is fixed!!!!! For those who are wondering, the reason for my lack of
updates is that my computer was broken and I couldn't open any of my
documents. However, I finally got someone to come over and look at it and
after he fixed it, I immediately went to work on this chapter. Thanks to
all those who left feedback and I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope you
guys like this chapter!!!
Chapter 4
Fox and Theresa immediately bent down and opened their arms for the two children. Fox picked up Jessica while Theresa picked up Justin. The man that had been chasing them had finally stopped and seemed to be catching his breath.
"I'm really sorry sir," he said worriedly. "I tried to get them to sit still, but they wouldn't, so I decided to let them in to come look for you two. As soon as I let them go, they took off," he explained.
"Don't worry about it, Charles," Theresa said as she started to play with Justin. "I know how they can get," she added.
"Didn't Mommy and Daddy tell you two to behave for Charles?" Fox asked Jessica and Justin in a semi-serious voice. The two children simply giggled, unable to say much. Fox couldn't help but smile at the adorable looks on his children's faces. "You're so lucky, daddy loves you so much," Fox said as he kissed Jessica's cheeks. Jessica giggled again and wrapped her small arms around Fox's neck while Justin started playing with Theresa's hair. Their intimate family moment was interrupted by a voice.
"Who the hell are they!!!?!?!" Ivy exclaimed.
"Ssh," Theresa scolded. "Don't use that language in front of my children," she said as she tried to cover the ears of Justin.
"Your children!!!!?" Ethan exclaimed. "You had children with Fox! You let him touch you and become the father of your children!!?" he asked incredulously.
"And why is that so hard to believe?" Fox asked indignantly. "You certainly didn't think that she'd let you be the father of her children, especially not after the way you treated her."
"That's between Theresa and I - stay out of it," Ethan replied.
"Well Theresa's my wife, and her business is my business," Fox said confidently.
"Why you little-"
"All right stop it!" Sheridan exclaimed. "We're not going to have this discussion in the middle of a hospital waiting room."
"Sheridan's right," Julian agreed. "The tabloids would have a field day with this. Luis needs to rest so he and Sheridan are going back to the cottage and the rest of you are coming to the mansion so that we can talk about all of this," he said.
"No way," Luis said. "There is no way that I'm missing this discussion, I'm going to the mansion with you."
"Luis, you just got shot, you're going home," Theresa said as she continued to bounce Justin up and down
"No, I'm not. I'm going to the mansion to find out what the hell you've been doing for the past five years," he said in a voice that left no room for argument.
"There's no point in arguing over this, let's just get out of here," Sheridan said.
"Theresa, do you need a ride?" Ethan asked, not noticing the dark look that came across Gwen's face.
"That won't be necessary Ethan," Fox said. "My wife and I have our limo waiting outside," he said with a smile. "We'll see you at the mansion," he added before putting his arm around Theresa's waist and walking out of the hospital with their children and Charles. Ethan glared at the back of Fox's head.
"Ethan, honey, are you ready?" Gwen asked.
"Huh? Yeah, sure, let's hurry up and get to the mansion to hear what they have to say," he said, taking Gwen's hand and practically running out of the hospital.
"Do we have to be there? It really has nothing to do with us, let's just go out for the night," Gwen said, not wanting Ethan to be anywhere around Theresa.
"We should be there, I want to know where Fox has been," Ethan lied, not really caring about Fox.
"Since when did you care about Fox," Gwen asked as they reached their car.
"Since he had two kids and made me an uncle. I should be there for my niece and nephew," he lied.
"Whatever," Gwen muttered to herself as she settled into her seat and began to prepare herself for a night that she knew she would hate.
Twenty minutes later, everyone was crowded around the Crane living room, awaiting the arrival of Fox and Theresa. They only had to wait a few more minutes before Fox entered the mansion, followed by Theresa who was pushing the twin stroller that held a sleeping Justin and Jessica.
"All right, you're here, now start explaining," Ivy demanded. Theresa and Fox simply ignored her.
"Dr. Russell, do you mind if place them in a room upstairs before we get started?" Theresa asked Eve.
"Of course not, dear," Eve replied. "Come on, I'll find a room for them," she said.
"You can just put them in my room, Resa," Whitney cut in. "It's the third door on the left," she instructed.
"Thanks Whit," Theresa replied with a smile as she and Fox took Jessica and Justin out of the stroller and headed toward the staircase.
"You better hurry up because we want answers," Ivy threatened.
"Oh, shut up, Ivy," Eve said in an annoyed voice.
"Yes, please do, your voice is very irritating," Sheridan agreed. Ivy huffed in response before turning to glare at the retreating forms of Fox and Theresa.
When Fox and Theresa reached Whitney's room, the softly placed Jessica and Justin beside each other on her bed. Theresa sat on the bed beside Justin and lightly ran her hands through his hair. Fox, seeing that Theresa didn't want to go downstairs yet, laid down at the edge of the bed.
"How long do you think we can stay up here before Ivy sends up the Crane security to come get us?" Theresa asked. Fox laughed at her statement.
"I give her five minutes," he replied as he took her hand in his and started playing with her wedding ring. He could still remember the day he proposed to her years ago.
***********
Fox and Theresa sat in their living room watching a rerun of an old game show. The show had just gone on commercial and Theresa noticed that Fox was acting unusually nervous.
"Fox, are you okay?" she asked in a concerned tone.
"Of - of course I am," Fox stuttered. "Why do you ask?"
"You just seem weird," she replied. "It's like you're worried about something," she added.
"That's ridiculous, what's there to worry about?"
"I don't know, why don't you tell me," Theresa replied with an arched eyebrow.
"I'm fine, so I have no idea what you're talking about," Fox replied.
"All right," Theresa replied, not even pretending to believe Fox. "Fine, anyway, I was thinking about inviting Whitney and Chad over. It's a few months since we've seen them and the last time I talked to her, she was still having problems with her mother. So I thought I'd ju-"
"Marry me."
"Wha - what?" Theresa asked, surprised by Fox's sudden statement.
"I asked you to marry me," Fox said, a little more nervously this time.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes.look, I know that this isn't really the most romantic proposal and I know that most girls dream of dinner and flowers, but if you marry me, I promise I will do my best to make all your dreams come true, and I also prom-"
Theresa quickly leaned over Fox and brought into a soul-shattering kiss, cutting off the rest of his statement. When the need for air became to great, she finally pulled away.
"So, I assume that's a yes," Fox said with a smile.
"You bet your life it is," Theresa replied with a smile before leaning in for another kiss.
************
Fox would never forget how nervous he was that day; he had the ring for almost a month before he finally had the guts to propose to her. He and Theresa were married shortly after in a small Parisian church with Chad, Whitney, and few close friends that they had known.
"Well, we might as well head downstairs, there's no point in delaying the evitable," Theresa said as she rose from the bed.
"How do you think they'll react when they here the other reason we Harmony?" Fox asked as he rose and brought Theresa into his arms.
"They'll either be extremely shocked or extremely outraged, either way it's going to be a long night," Theresa replied.
"Lucky us," Fox said sarcastically. "Come on babe, let's get this over with," he said before taking her hand in his and heading downstairs.
"Nice of you to finally join us," Ethan muttered as Fox and Theresa entered the living room.
"Aww, did you miss us Ethan?" Fox asked with a smile.
"Will you two just sit down and tell us what the hell you've been doing for the past five years?" Ethan asked.
"I really don't know why you're so interested, mine and Theresa's lives are really none of your business."
"Stop stalling and tell us how the two brats came into being," Ivy cut in.
"If you call my children brats again, I swear I'll -"
"You'll what?" Ivy asked, taunting Theresa.
"I'll -"
"All right, enough!" Julian yelled, interrupting Ivy and Theresa. "Now, we all have questions that we want answered, and we aren't go to get anywhere if you two continue to argue."
"Sorry," Theresa muttered. Ivy simply grunted.
"Now the question that I'm sure everyone wants to know is how you, Theresa, went from being in Harmony one day and married with children to Fox the next," Julian said.
"It's simple really," Theresa said. "I left Harmony and went to Paris; I ran into Fox at the airport and he offered to let me live with him in his penthouse -"
"I'll bet he did," Ethan interrupted.
"Anyway," Theresa continued, not bothering to acknowledge Ethan's remark. "I moved in with Fox and since we were already friends, we just became closer. One thing led to another, and here we are," she ended.
"And the children?" Ivy asked.
"Do you really need us to go us into details, Mother? I'm sure you know all about the birds and the bees," Fox said sarcastically.
"Shut up, Fox," Ivy replied.
"What are their names?" Pilar asked, speaking up for the first time.
"Jessica and Justin, they're one and a half years old, they'll be two in a few months," Theresa replied.
"I'm a grandmother?" she asked in shock.
"Yeah, they're so amazing, Mama, you're going to love them," Theresa replied.
"Of course I will," Pilar replied with a smile.
"Why?" Ivy asked simply.
"Excuse me?" Fox asked, knowing that his mother was not going to make to easy for anyone.
"Why Theresa? Jesus, you saw what she did to your brother and you still fell for her. Not only that but you produced children with her! What the hell were you thinking!?" she yelled. Both Theresa and Pilar advanced toward Ivy, preparing to give her a piece of their minds, when Fox stopped both of them with his words.
"Gee, mother, I guess I was thinking that I didn't want to end up old, lonely and bitter like my mother. I bet you would've loved it if I married some damn socialite and forced myself into the same miserable life that you lived for over twenty years."
"Anyone is better than that tramp!" she exclaimed.
"All right Ivy, that's enough. I don't give a damn who you are, no one talks about my sister like that," Antonio said sternly.
"Your sister is going to ruin my son's life!" Ivy exclaimed.
"How the hell would you know what is and isn't good for your son's life, Ivy? You haven't given him the time of day since the day he was born," Theresa said.
"I know you're nothing but trouble," Ivy replied with a glare. "And my relationship with my son is absolutely none of your business."
"We have no relationship, Mother-we never did," Fox said as he scratched his eyebrows.
"Can you two settle this family problem later?" Luis asked in an annoyed voice as he spoke for the first time. "I'd like to know what the hell you and my sister were up to in Paris for five years," he said as he stared at Fox.
"We've actually been running a business," Theresa said quietly. "But that's not important, what's important is that we're here, and we're staying now," she said quickly.
"A business? What kind of business?" Luis prodded.
"It was more of an industry than a business-but like Theresa said, it really isn't important," Fox said.
"Why the hell do I feel like you two are purposely keeping something from us?" Antonio asked, seeing the quick glances between Fox and Theresa.
"I don't know, maybe you're just paranoid," Fox suggested feebly.
"No, I don't think he is, because I'm getting the same feeling," Luis said.
"Luis, just relax, and stop looking at us like we made a deal with the devil," Theresa said. "You and Antonio are just worried and -"
"How did you two know that I was shot?" Luis asked calmly, interrupting Theresa.
"What.what did you say?" Theresa asked.
"I asked you how you knew that I was shot," Luis repeated. "Call me modest, but I doubt that the newspapers in Paris consider me important enough to write about the shooting. So how did you and Fox know that I was shot and how were you able to hear about it so quickly that you arrived only a few hours later?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh my God," Gwen said, attracting the attention of everyone in the room.
"Gwen, what is it?" Ethan asked, semi-concerned, semi-interested in Fox and Theresa's answer.
"Alistair," Gwen said quietly, in a shocked tone.
"Huh? What about Alistair?" Ethan asked, wondering what Gwen was talking about.
"Don't you remember? When we were all about to leave the hospital, we heard Theresa arguing with the receptionist and she told the lady that her husband's grandfather called her and informed her of Luis's condition; someway or another, Theresa and Fox must have been keeping in touch with Alistair," Gwen said, ending with a smug smile as she thought of the outburst that would surely come from Theresa's brothers. She wasn't disappointed.
"ALISTAIR CRANE!!!!" three voices bellowed at the same time. The first two weren't surprising-they were from Luis and Antonio, after all, it was the last voice, the voice of Ethan, which surprised some people in the room.
"What the hell do you think you're doing by keeping in touch with Alistair Crane!? Don't you know how dangerous of a man he can be?" Antonio asked angrily. Theresa glared at Gwen before trying to explain.
"Antonio, let me explain," Theresa started.
"How the hell can you explain that?" Luis interrupted. "And you," he said, turning to Fox. "You got some nerve putting my sister in Alistair Crane's clutches."
"I didn't put her in anybody's clutches, she's a big girl, she can make her own decisions," Fox said defiantly.
"And her decision just happened to be your grandfather?" Antonio asked bitterly.
"You two don't even know what the hell we've been doing so you have no right to stand there and blame me for anything," Fox said angrily.
"Stop it, all of you," Theresa interrupted. "Fox is right, you don't even know what we've been doing for the past few years so you can't just sit here and make assumptions," she said to Luis and Antonio.
"Oh, then please, enlighten us Theresa," Ivy said with a roll of her eyes. Theresa glared at Ivy before turning to her brothers and replying.
"Yes, it's true that we've kept in touch with Alistair, but it's a really long story," she said.
"Well we've got time, so get started," Luis said before taking a seat.
"Well, it all started a few weeks after Fox and I had gotten married."
************
"Resa, can you get that?" Fox called out from the bedroom after hearing the doorbell ring.
"Sure," Theresa yelled before heading to the door. She opened the door to find a tall, well-built man standing in front of her dressed in an expensive suit. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"You can't, but Fox can. Where is my grandson?" he asked coldly.
"Grandson? Wait.Alistair?"
"The one and only-where's Fox?" he asked as he let himself in.
"He's in the bedroom," Theresa replied nervously before calling out for Fox. "How did you find out where we lived?" she asked.
"I have my ways," Alistair replied nonchalantly as Fox entered the room.
"Grandfather," Fox said, shock evident in his voice and face. "Wha- what are you doing here?"
"I decided to come congratulate the newlyweds," Alistair said with a cruel smile. "After all, that's what you and Theresa are-newlyweds. Although I how can I be sure, seeing as how you two decided to get married without informing anyone," he said icily.
"Yeah about that, your invitation must have gotten lost in the mail somewhere," Fox said uninterestedly. Theresa had to stifle her laugh.
"What the hell were you thinking to go and get married without my consent!?" Alistair exclaimed.
"Your consent? I'm a grown man, Grandfather, I don't need your permission to do anything, especially not choose who I decide to marry," Fox replied.
"Are you forgetting who I am?" Alistair asked in a threatening voice, not liking Fox's calm attitude.
"No, but you seem to be forgetting that I, unlike everyone else, am not easily swayed by your power," Fox replied.
"Is that so?" Alistair asked in a semi-amused voice.
"Yes it is. You see, besides Julian, I'm the only heir left, and I'm the only one that can give you an heir, so there is no way that you'd do anything to jeopardize my life-because that in turn would jeopardize the future of Crane Industries," Fox replied confidently.
"And what about your little wife, over there?" Alistair asked, pointing to Theresa. "Do you think I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize her life?" he asked. Before Fox could reply, Theresa cut in.
"You aren't going to do a damn thing to me Alistair, so don't bother with the empty threats," she said.
"And why not? Why wouldn't I just get rid of you now?" Alistair asked.
"For one thing, you and I both know that without me, you have no heir," she started.
"Fox could always remarry," Alistair cut in.
"But you know he wouldn't. If you've been watching us, like I'm sure you have, you know that Fox loves me too much to remarry."
"I could work around that after I got rid of you" Alistair said.
"Maybe you could, but you'd have to catch me first, and you know for a fact that I'll be damned if I let you get you claws on me," she said boldly. Alistair smiled at Theresa's response.
"You're a feisty one, Theresa. You might actually be able to survive in this family this time around," he said.
"Oh, I'll definitely survive; there's no way you're keeping me away from Fox," she said confidently.
"All right, let's see how well you do," he said before holding his hand out for Theresa. Theresa instantly shook his hand, not hesitating for a second. "Welcome to the family, Theresa. Good luck dealing with us," he said.
"And good luck dealing with me," Theresa replied with a smile. Alistair turned back Fox.
"You may have actually done something right, for once in your life," he said to Fox.
"Oh, go to hell," Fox replied aggravatingly, not wanting to hear another speech about what a failure he was.
"I probably will," Alistair replied. "Anyway, I've wasted enough time here, I have other business to attend to," he said as he headed toward the front door. "This was entertaining, I'm sure I'll be seeing you two soon," he said before walking out the door without a backwards glance. ***********
"All right, so Alistair came to visit you after you got married. The only thing that story shows me is that he threatened to kill you. Tell why you two continued to keep in touch with him," Luis said.
"Let me finish, Luis," Theresa said.
"Fine, hurry up," he replied.
"All right, so after that visit, we hadn't seen Alistair for about five or six months. Then one day."
***********
Theresa opened the front door to see Alistair standing there in his usual black suit.
"Alistair, what an unpleasant surprise," she said sarcastically as she let him in. Although she and Alistair hadn't seen each other since his last visit, they had talked occasionally whenever he called to speak with Fox and most of their conversations consisted of one sarcastic remark after another.
"Always nice to see you too, Theresa," Alistair replied with the same sense of sarcasm. "Where's Fox?" he asked, not wasting time with pleasantries.
"You know, generally, it's normal for someone to be kind and polite to someone when you visit them after five months."
"Gee, thanks, I'll be sure to add that to my list of manners-I'll put it right under please and thank-you," he replied with a fake smile.
"You're such a bastard, sometimes," she replied with a roll of her eyes.
"Why, thank-you, Theresa," Alistair replied with a smile. "Now where is my grandson?"
"Right here," Fox said as he entered the room and headed over to shake hands with Alistair. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I have a proposition for you," Alistair said as he took a seat on the couch. He waited for Fox and Theresa to sit down before continuing. "Now, as I'm sure you've heard, Julian and Eve recently married," he said bitterly.
"Eve Russell is a wonderful woman," Theresa said, quickly coming to Eve's defense.
"I'm sure she is, but the fact of the matter is she reminds Julian of everything he wants, and that, unfortunately, does not include running the Crane Empire," Alistair replied.
"And you telling us this because." Fox asked wondering what Alistair's point was.
"Because I'm going to need you to run the Crane Empire when I step down, since Julian refuses to," Alistair said.
"And when exactly do you plan on 'stepping down'" Theresa asked warily.
"Sometime within the next year," Alistair replied.
"Are you serious? You can't just come here and tell him that he has to drop everything and take over an entire company because you want to go into an early retirement," Theresa said incredulously.
"It's his birthright, he doesn't have a choice," Alistair argued.
"Yeah, but you could have at least let me know about this earlier, Grandfather. I can't just drop my life in Paris to run the company in Harmony," Fox said.
"So you're going to just ignore the chance to run the empire?" Alistair asked in disbelief.
"If it means that I have to make the decision now, then yes," Fox replied.
"Why?" Alistair asked, almost pleaded.
"Because unlike you, Fox doesn't live, breathe, and dream of power and money," Theresa said, answering for Fox.
"Must you persist in annoying me?" Alistair asked Theresa irritatingly.
"Of course, otherwise my day isn't complete," Theresa replied with smile. She loved it when Alistair was annoyed but couldn't do anything to stop it- it showed how powerless he could be at times.
"What if we made a compromise?" Alistair asked.
"I'm listening," Fox and Theresa said at the same time. Alistair rolled his eyes at Theresa before replying.
"What if I were to build a Crane Empire outlet somewhere around here? You could run it, learn everything you need to learn, and when you're ready and comfortable, you can run the branch in Harmony."
"Really?" Fox and Theresa asked at the same time again.
"Yes, it'd be perfect, actually. This way you'll be an expert at being a businessman by the time you go back to Harmony."
"That does sound good," Fox said.
"It's perfect, and you'll be able to run the company the way you want, not the way someone else wants you to," Theresa said, looking pointedly at Alistair. Alistair simply rolled his eyes.
"All right, I'll do it, but on one condition," Fox said.
"What?" Alistair asked.
"Theresa works right beside me as my partner and helps me run the company," Fox said.
"What!?" Alistair and Theresa asked, both equally shocked and surprised.
"Fox, are you crazy? There's no way that would work," Theresa said.
"Why not? You and I always work well together. Could you imagine us as leaders of the number one company? We'd be unstoppable, we'd bring in millions," Fox said, trying to encourage Theresa.
"We would be pretty hard to turn down," Theresa said as she pondered Fox's words. "Okay! Let's do it!" she said excitedly as reached over and hugged Fox.
"Wait, wait!" Alistair exclaimed. "There is no way I'm allowing her to run the Crane Empire," he said firmly.
"And why not?" Fox challenged. "You know she'd be good, you can't deny how determined and confident she can be, no one would get away with anything with her around," Fox insisted. Alistair simply kept his firm expression
"Come on Alistair," Theresa said with a small smile. "You know that Fox and I could bring millions, maybe billions, to the Crane Empire, you might as well say yes now instead of arguing and saying yes an hour later," she said as she tried to crack his stony expression.
"And what makes you think I'll say yes at all?" he asked.
"Because I always get what I want when I work hard enough-it's usually just a matter of time," Theresa replied with a smile. Alistair continued to stare at Theresa before finally cracking and allowing an exhausted expression to come across his face.
"You are unbelievably tiring, you know that right?" he asked Theresa as he rubbed his forehead.
"Yes, Fox tells me that all the time, but I take it as a compliment," Theresa replied with a wave of her hand. "Anyway, don't worry Alistair, you won't regret this," she said as she linked her arm in Fox's.
"That's right, Grandfather. We'll make sure of that," Fox said.
"For some reason, I don't doubt you will," he replied as he watched the two of them stand together in front of him. Fox was right; he and Theresa were not a force to be reckoned with.
"So, do we have a deal?" Fox asked.
"Yes, I believe we do," Alistair said as he shook hands with Fox and Theresa. "I'll get started on constructing the Crane Industry outlet and I'll keep in touch with both of you," he said as he headed for the door.
"Hey, Alistair!" Theresa said, stopping Alistair from leaving the room. Alistair turned around, expecting a sarcastic remark to fall from Theresa's lips. He was shocked by what did come out of her mouth.
"Thanks," she said with a smile.
"You're welcome," Alistair replied with a genuine smile of his own before leaving their penthouse. ***********
"Let me get this straight, for the past few years you and Fox have been running a branch of Crane Industries in Paris?" Julian asked.
"Yes, Father, that is correct," Fox replied.
"And why didn't your grandfather tell me about this?" he asked Fox.
"Probably because he knew you wouldn't be interested," Fox replied.
"I see, and now you and Theresa are here to take over the company?" he asked.
"Yes, Julian, that's true," Theresa replied.
"Over my dead body," Luis said. "There is no way you're running that company and getting sucked into that lifestyle," he said.
"You don't have much of a say in this Luis. I enjoy what I do and I'm not going to stop," Theresa said.
"Theresa, Luis is right, look at what running the company did to Alistair; he's so driven by power and money that he cares about nothing else," Pilar said.
"I won't turn out like that, Mama," Theresa insisted. "Besides, you have to be strong and cold sometimes in this business to get what you want," she said.
"I did not raise me daughter to have a career where it's acceptable to be emotionless," Pilar said.
"It's nothing like that, Pilar," Fox said, coming to Theresa's defense. "We've been doing this for four years and as you can see, Theresa is still the loving and caring person she was when she left Harmony."
"No she's not, she's different. My Theresa wouldn't threaten a receptionist with her job; my Theresa wouldn't join forces with Alistair Crane, a devil in every since of the word."
"And your Theresa would probably still be crying over the loss of her first love," Fox said. "Maybe she's changed a little, but she's changed for the better. She's stronger than she's ever been before."
"And I suppose that's all thanks to you?" Ethan asked coldly.
"Why do you ask, Ethan? Are you upset that Theresa finally had the courage to get over you?" Fox taunted.
"Ethan could care less what Theresa does," Gwen cut in.
"Why don't you let your husband answer Gwen," Fox said as he continued to stare at Ethan.
Before Ethan could answer, everyone heard the sound of cries fill the room. Fox and Theresa immediately rushed up the stairs and into Whitney's room. They reemerged a few minutes later with a fully awake Jessica and Justin in their arms. Everyone in the room watched as Fox fed Justin some baby food while Theresa sat on the couch and began to play with Jessica. No one could deny the closeness of their family. Eventually, Fox and Theresa noticed that all eyes were on them.
"Sorry," Theresa apologized.
"Don't worry about it," Eve said. "They're beautiful children," she said as she looked at them.
"Thank you," Fox said as Justin began to cry.
"They're getting fussy, we better get going," Theresa said as she rose from the chair with Jessica in her arms.
"Where are you staying?" Pilar asked.
"We're going to stay in a hotel until our house is finish," Fox replied.
"House?"
"Yeah, we're having our house built, it was supposed to be done in a few months, which is when we planned to move here. But with the shooting and everything, it just got pushed up," Fox replied.
"You can't live in a hotel for a few months-you can stay here," Eve suggested, not noticing the glint of hope that appeared in Ethan's eyes at her suggestion
"No, no, no," Theresa replied quickly, seeing Ethan's reaction. "We'll be fine in a hotel."
"Nonsense," Pilar said. "You four will stay with me. Theresa, you guys can just take your old room," she said.
"What do you think?" Theresa asked as she looked up at Fox.
"It's fine with me, if it's fine with you," Fox said as he tried to calm down a still crying Justin.
"All right, Mama, we'll stay with you," Theresa said.
"Okay, let's go," Pilar said as she began to gather her things.
"Theresa, this conversation isn't over," Antonio said.
"Not by a long shot," Luis added.
"Fine, we'll discuss this tomorrow. I'll see you both later," she said as she reached up and gave both of them, along with Miguel, a light kiss on the cheeks. She then went over and gave Whitney a quick hug before heading toward Fox and Pilar.
"Are you ready?" Fox asked.
"Yeah, let's get out of here," she replied.
"Goodnight, Theresa," Ethan called out, upset that he didn't get to spend any time with her. Theresa gave Ethan a small nod before muttering a quick 'goodbye' and leaving the Crane mansion with Fox, Pilar, and her children.
TBC.
Please, please leave feedback and tell me what you think!!! I really want to know if you guys liked this chapter and the concept of the flashbacks, if so, I may put various flashbacks of Fox an Theresa's life in Paris. So let me know!!!!
Chapter 4
Fox and Theresa immediately bent down and opened their arms for the two children. Fox picked up Jessica while Theresa picked up Justin. The man that had been chasing them had finally stopped and seemed to be catching his breath.
"I'm really sorry sir," he said worriedly. "I tried to get them to sit still, but they wouldn't, so I decided to let them in to come look for you two. As soon as I let them go, they took off," he explained.
"Don't worry about it, Charles," Theresa said as she started to play with Justin. "I know how they can get," she added.
"Didn't Mommy and Daddy tell you two to behave for Charles?" Fox asked Jessica and Justin in a semi-serious voice. The two children simply giggled, unable to say much. Fox couldn't help but smile at the adorable looks on his children's faces. "You're so lucky, daddy loves you so much," Fox said as he kissed Jessica's cheeks. Jessica giggled again and wrapped her small arms around Fox's neck while Justin started playing with Theresa's hair. Their intimate family moment was interrupted by a voice.
"Who the hell are they!!!?!?!" Ivy exclaimed.
"Ssh," Theresa scolded. "Don't use that language in front of my children," she said as she tried to cover the ears of Justin.
"Your children!!!!?" Ethan exclaimed. "You had children with Fox! You let him touch you and become the father of your children!!?" he asked incredulously.
"And why is that so hard to believe?" Fox asked indignantly. "You certainly didn't think that she'd let you be the father of her children, especially not after the way you treated her."
"That's between Theresa and I - stay out of it," Ethan replied.
"Well Theresa's my wife, and her business is my business," Fox said confidently.
"Why you little-"
"All right stop it!" Sheridan exclaimed. "We're not going to have this discussion in the middle of a hospital waiting room."
"Sheridan's right," Julian agreed. "The tabloids would have a field day with this. Luis needs to rest so he and Sheridan are going back to the cottage and the rest of you are coming to the mansion so that we can talk about all of this," he said.
"No way," Luis said. "There is no way that I'm missing this discussion, I'm going to the mansion with you."
"Luis, you just got shot, you're going home," Theresa said as she continued to bounce Justin up and down
"No, I'm not. I'm going to the mansion to find out what the hell you've been doing for the past five years," he said in a voice that left no room for argument.
"There's no point in arguing over this, let's just get out of here," Sheridan said.
"Theresa, do you need a ride?" Ethan asked, not noticing the dark look that came across Gwen's face.
"That won't be necessary Ethan," Fox said. "My wife and I have our limo waiting outside," he said with a smile. "We'll see you at the mansion," he added before putting his arm around Theresa's waist and walking out of the hospital with their children and Charles. Ethan glared at the back of Fox's head.
"Ethan, honey, are you ready?" Gwen asked.
"Huh? Yeah, sure, let's hurry up and get to the mansion to hear what they have to say," he said, taking Gwen's hand and practically running out of the hospital.
"Do we have to be there? It really has nothing to do with us, let's just go out for the night," Gwen said, not wanting Ethan to be anywhere around Theresa.
"We should be there, I want to know where Fox has been," Ethan lied, not really caring about Fox.
"Since when did you care about Fox," Gwen asked as they reached their car.
"Since he had two kids and made me an uncle. I should be there for my niece and nephew," he lied.
"Whatever," Gwen muttered to herself as she settled into her seat and began to prepare herself for a night that she knew she would hate.
Twenty minutes later, everyone was crowded around the Crane living room, awaiting the arrival of Fox and Theresa. They only had to wait a few more minutes before Fox entered the mansion, followed by Theresa who was pushing the twin stroller that held a sleeping Justin and Jessica.
"All right, you're here, now start explaining," Ivy demanded. Theresa and Fox simply ignored her.
"Dr. Russell, do you mind if place them in a room upstairs before we get started?" Theresa asked Eve.
"Of course not, dear," Eve replied. "Come on, I'll find a room for them," she said.
"You can just put them in my room, Resa," Whitney cut in. "It's the third door on the left," she instructed.
"Thanks Whit," Theresa replied with a smile as she and Fox took Jessica and Justin out of the stroller and headed toward the staircase.
"You better hurry up because we want answers," Ivy threatened.
"Oh, shut up, Ivy," Eve said in an annoyed voice.
"Yes, please do, your voice is very irritating," Sheridan agreed. Ivy huffed in response before turning to glare at the retreating forms of Fox and Theresa.
When Fox and Theresa reached Whitney's room, the softly placed Jessica and Justin beside each other on her bed. Theresa sat on the bed beside Justin and lightly ran her hands through his hair. Fox, seeing that Theresa didn't want to go downstairs yet, laid down at the edge of the bed.
"How long do you think we can stay up here before Ivy sends up the Crane security to come get us?" Theresa asked. Fox laughed at her statement.
"I give her five minutes," he replied as he took her hand in his and started playing with her wedding ring. He could still remember the day he proposed to her years ago.
***********
Fox and Theresa sat in their living room watching a rerun of an old game show. The show had just gone on commercial and Theresa noticed that Fox was acting unusually nervous.
"Fox, are you okay?" she asked in a concerned tone.
"Of - of course I am," Fox stuttered. "Why do you ask?"
"You just seem weird," she replied. "It's like you're worried about something," she added.
"That's ridiculous, what's there to worry about?"
"I don't know, why don't you tell me," Theresa replied with an arched eyebrow.
"I'm fine, so I have no idea what you're talking about," Fox replied.
"All right," Theresa replied, not even pretending to believe Fox. "Fine, anyway, I was thinking about inviting Whitney and Chad over. It's a few months since we've seen them and the last time I talked to her, she was still having problems with her mother. So I thought I'd ju-"
"Marry me."
"Wha - what?" Theresa asked, surprised by Fox's sudden statement.
"I asked you to marry me," Fox said, a little more nervously this time.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes.look, I know that this isn't really the most romantic proposal and I know that most girls dream of dinner and flowers, but if you marry me, I promise I will do my best to make all your dreams come true, and I also prom-"
Theresa quickly leaned over Fox and brought into a soul-shattering kiss, cutting off the rest of his statement. When the need for air became to great, she finally pulled away.
"So, I assume that's a yes," Fox said with a smile.
"You bet your life it is," Theresa replied with a smile before leaning in for another kiss.
************
Fox would never forget how nervous he was that day; he had the ring for almost a month before he finally had the guts to propose to her. He and Theresa were married shortly after in a small Parisian church with Chad, Whitney, and few close friends that they had known.
"Well, we might as well head downstairs, there's no point in delaying the evitable," Theresa said as she rose from the bed.
"How do you think they'll react when they here the other reason we Harmony?" Fox asked as he rose and brought Theresa into his arms.
"They'll either be extremely shocked or extremely outraged, either way it's going to be a long night," Theresa replied.
"Lucky us," Fox said sarcastically. "Come on babe, let's get this over with," he said before taking her hand in his and heading downstairs.
"Nice of you to finally join us," Ethan muttered as Fox and Theresa entered the living room.
"Aww, did you miss us Ethan?" Fox asked with a smile.
"Will you two just sit down and tell us what the hell you've been doing for the past five years?" Ethan asked.
"I really don't know why you're so interested, mine and Theresa's lives are really none of your business."
"Stop stalling and tell us how the two brats came into being," Ivy cut in.
"If you call my children brats again, I swear I'll -"
"You'll what?" Ivy asked, taunting Theresa.
"I'll -"
"All right, enough!" Julian yelled, interrupting Ivy and Theresa. "Now, we all have questions that we want answered, and we aren't go to get anywhere if you two continue to argue."
"Sorry," Theresa muttered. Ivy simply grunted.
"Now the question that I'm sure everyone wants to know is how you, Theresa, went from being in Harmony one day and married with children to Fox the next," Julian said.
"It's simple really," Theresa said. "I left Harmony and went to Paris; I ran into Fox at the airport and he offered to let me live with him in his penthouse -"
"I'll bet he did," Ethan interrupted.
"Anyway," Theresa continued, not bothering to acknowledge Ethan's remark. "I moved in with Fox and since we were already friends, we just became closer. One thing led to another, and here we are," she ended.
"And the children?" Ivy asked.
"Do you really need us to go us into details, Mother? I'm sure you know all about the birds and the bees," Fox said sarcastically.
"Shut up, Fox," Ivy replied.
"What are their names?" Pilar asked, speaking up for the first time.
"Jessica and Justin, they're one and a half years old, they'll be two in a few months," Theresa replied.
"I'm a grandmother?" she asked in shock.
"Yeah, they're so amazing, Mama, you're going to love them," Theresa replied.
"Of course I will," Pilar replied with a smile.
"Why?" Ivy asked simply.
"Excuse me?" Fox asked, knowing that his mother was not going to make to easy for anyone.
"Why Theresa? Jesus, you saw what she did to your brother and you still fell for her. Not only that but you produced children with her! What the hell were you thinking!?" she yelled. Both Theresa and Pilar advanced toward Ivy, preparing to give her a piece of their minds, when Fox stopped both of them with his words.
"Gee, mother, I guess I was thinking that I didn't want to end up old, lonely and bitter like my mother. I bet you would've loved it if I married some damn socialite and forced myself into the same miserable life that you lived for over twenty years."
"Anyone is better than that tramp!" she exclaimed.
"All right Ivy, that's enough. I don't give a damn who you are, no one talks about my sister like that," Antonio said sternly.
"Your sister is going to ruin my son's life!" Ivy exclaimed.
"How the hell would you know what is and isn't good for your son's life, Ivy? You haven't given him the time of day since the day he was born," Theresa said.
"I know you're nothing but trouble," Ivy replied with a glare. "And my relationship with my son is absolutely none of your business."
"We have no relationship, Mother-we never did," Fox said as he scratched his eyebrows.
"Can you two settle this family problem later?" Luis asked in an annoyed voice as he spoke for the first time. "I'd like to know what the hell you and my sister were up to in Paris for five years," he said as he stared at Fox.
"We've actually been running a business," Theresa said quietly. "But that's not important, what's important is that we're here, and we're staying now," she said quickly.
"A business? What kind of business?" Luis prodded.
"It was more of an industry than a business-but like Theresa said, it really isn't important," Fox said.
"Why the hell do I feel like you two are purposely keeping something from us?" Antonio asked, seeing the quick glances between Fox and Theresa.
"I don't know, maybe you're just paranoid," Fox suggested feebly.
"No, I don't think he is, because I'm getting the same feeling," Luis said.
"Luis, just relax, and stop looking at us like we made a deal with the devil," Theresa said. "You and Antonio are just worried and -"
"How did you two know that I was shot?" Luis asked calmly, interrupting Theresa.
"What.what did you say?" Theresa asked.
"I asked you how you knew that I was shot," Luis repeated. "Call me modest, but I doubt that the newspapers in Paris consider me important enough to write about the shooting. So how did you and Fox know that I was shot and how were you able to hear about it so quickly that you arrived only a few hours later?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh my God," Gwen said, attracting the attention of everyone in the room.
"Gwen, what is it?" Ethan asked, semi-concerned, semi-interested in Fox and Theresa's answer.
"Alistair," Gwen said quietly, in a shocked tone.
"Huh? What about Alistair?" Ethan asked, wondering what Gwen was talking about.
"Don't you remember? When we were all about to leave the hospital, we heard Theresa arguing with the receptionist and she told the lady that her husband's grandfather called her and informed her of Luis's condition; someway or another, Theresa and Fox must have been keeping in touch with Alistair," Gwen said, ending with a smug smile as she thought of the outburst that would surely come from Theresa's brothers. She wasn't disappointed.
"ALISTAIR CRANE!!!!" three voices bellowed at the same time. The first two weren't surprising-they were from Luis and Antonio, after all, it was the last voice, the voice of Ethan, which surprised some people in the room.
"What the hell do you think you're doing by keeping in touch with Alistair Crane!? Don't you know how dangerous of a man he can be?" Antonio asked angrily. Theresa glared at Gwen before trying to explain.
"Antonio, let me explain," Theresa started.
"How the hell can you explain that?" Luis interrupted. "And you," he said, turning to Fox. "You got some nerve putting my sister in Alistair Crane's clutches."
"I didn't put her in anybody's clutches, she's a big girl, she can make her own decisions," Fox said defiantly.
"And her decision just happened to be your grandfather?" Antonio asked bitterly.
"You two don't even know what the hell we've been doing so you have no right to stand there and blame me for anything," Fox said angrily.
"Stop it, all of you," Theresa interrupted. "Fox is right, you don't even know what we've been doing for the past few years so you can't just sit here and make assumptions," she said to Luis and Antonio.
"Oh, then please, enlighten us Theresa," Ivy said with a roll of her eyes. Theresa glared at Ivy before turning to her brothers and replying.
"Yes, it's true that we've kept in touch with Alistair, but it's a really long story," she said.
"Well we've got time, so get started," Luis said before taking a seat.
"Well, it all started a few weeks after Fox and I had gotten married."
************
"Resa, can you get that?" Fox called out from the bedroom after hearing the doorbell ring.
"Sure," Theresa yelled before heading to the door. She opened the door to find a tall, well-built man standing in front of her dressed in an expensive suit. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"You can't, but Fox can. Where is my grandson?" he asked coldly.
"Grandson? Wait.Alistair?"
"The one and only-where's Fox?" he asked as he let himself in.
"He's in the bedroom," Theresa replied nervously before calling out for Fox. "How did you find out where we lived?" she asked.
"I have my ways," Alistair replied nonchalantly as Fox entered the room.
"Grandfather," Fox said, shock evident in his voice and face. "Wha- what are you doing here?"
"I decided to come congratulate the newlyweds," Alistair said with a cruel smile. "After all, that's what you and Theresa are-newlyweds. Although I how can I be sure, seeing as how you two decided to get married without informing anyone," he said icily.
"Yeah about that, your invitation must have gotten lost in the mail somewhere," Fox said uninterestedly. Theresa had to stifle her laugh.
"What the hell were you thinking to go and get married without my consent!?" Alistair exclaimed.
"Your consent? I'm a grown man, Grandfather, I don't need your permission to do anything, especially not choose who I decide to marry," Fox replied.
"Are you forgetting who I am?" Alistair asked in a threatening voice, not liking Fox's calm attitude.
"No, but you seem to be forgetting that I, unlike everyone else, am not easily swayed by your power," Fox replied.
"Is that so?" Alistair asked in a semi-amused voice.
"Yes it is. You see, besides Julian, I'm the only heir left, and I'm the only one that can give you an heir, so there is no way that you'd do anything to jeopardize my life-because that in turn would jeopardize the future of Crane Industries," Fox replied confidently.
"And what about your little wife, over there?" Alistair asked, pointing to Theresa. "Do you think I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize her life?" he asked. Before Fox could reply, Theresa cut in.
"You aren't going to do a damn thing to me Alistair, so don't bother with the empty threats," she said.
"And why not? Why wouldn't I just get rid of you now?" Alistair asked.
"For one thing, you and I both know that without me, you have no heir," she started.
"Fox could always remarry," Alistair cut in.
"But you know he wouldn't. If you've been watching us, like I'm sure you have, you know that Fox loves me too much to remarry."
"I could work around that after I got rid of you" Alistair said.
"Maybe you could, but you'd have to catch me first, and you know for a fact that I'll be damned if I let you get you claws on me," she said boldly. Alistair smiled at Theresa's response.
"You're a feisty one, Theresa. You might actually be able to survive in this family this time around," he said.
"Oh, I'll definitely survive; there's no way you're keeping me away from Fox," she said confidently.
"All right, let's see how well you do," he said before holding his hand out for Theresa. Theresa instantly shook his hand, not hesitating for a second. "Welcome to the family, Theresa. Good luck dealing with us," he said.
"And good luck dealing with me," Theresa replied with a smile. Alistair turned back Fox.
"You may have actually done something right, for once in your life," he said to Fox.
"Oh, go to hell," Fox replied aggravatingly, not wanting to hear another speech about what a failure he was.
"I probably will," Alistair replied. "Anyway, I've wasted enough time here, I have other business to attend to," he said as he headed toward the front door. "This was entertaining, I'm sure I'll be seeing you two soon," he said before walking out the door without a backwards glance. ***********
"All right, so Alistair came to visit you after you got married. The only thing that story shows me is that he threatened to kill you. Tell why you two continued to keep in touch with him," Luis said.
"Let me finish, Luis," Theresa said.
"Fine, hurry up," he replied.
"All right, so after that visit, we hadn't seen Alistair for about five or six months. Then one day."
***********
Theresa opened the front door to see Alistair standing there in his usual black suit.
"Alistair, what an unpleasant surprise," she said sarcastically as she let him in. Although she and Alistair hadn't seen each other since his last visit, they had talked occasionally whenever he called to speak with Fox and most of their conversations consisted of one sarcastic remark after another.
"Always nice to see you too, Theresa," Alistair replied with the same sense of sarcasm. "Where's Fox?" he asked, not wasting time with pleasantries.
"You know, generally, it's normal for someone to be kind and polite to someone when you visit them after five months."
"Gee, thanks, I'll be sure to add that to my list of manners-I'll put it right under please and thank-you," he replied with a fake smile.
"You're such a bastard, sometimes," she replied with a roll of her eyes.
"Why, thank-you, Theresa," Alistair replied with a smile. "Now where is my grandson?"
"Right here," Fox said as he entered the room and headed over to shake hands with Alistair. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I have a proposition for you," Alistair said as he took a seat on the couch. He waited for Fox and Theresa to sit down before continuing. "Now, as I'm sure you've heard, Julian and Eve recently married," he said bitterly.
"Eve Russell is a wonderful woman," Theresa said, quickly coming to Eve's defense.
"I'm sure she is, but the fact of the matter is she reminds Julian of everything he wants, and that, unfortunately, does not include running the Crane Empire," Alistair replied.
"And you telling us this because." Fox asked wondering what Alistair's point was.
"Because I'm going to need you to run the Crane Empire when I step down, since Julian refuses to," Alistair said.
"And when exactly do you plan on 'stepping down'" Theresa asked warily.
"Sometime within the next year," Alistair replied.
"Are you serious? You can't just come here and tell him that he has to drop everything and take over an entire company because you want to go into an early retirement," Theresa said incredulously.
"It's his birthright, he doesn't have a choice," Alistair argued.
"Yeah, but you could have at least let me know about this earlier, Grandfather. I can't just drop my life in Paris to run the company in Harmony," Fox said.
"So you're going to just ignore the chance to run the empire?" Alistair asked in disbelief.
"If it means that I have to make the decision now, then yes," Fox replied.
"Why?" Alistair asked, almost pleaded.
"Because unlike you, Fox doesn't live, breathe, and dream of power and money," Theresa said, answering for Fox.
"Must you persist in annoying me?" Alistair asked Theresa irritatingly.
"Of course, otherwise my day isn't complete," Theresa replied with smile. She loved it when Alistair was annoyed but couldn't do anything to stop it- it showed how powerless he could be at times.
"What if we made a compromise?" Alistair asked.
"I'm listening," Fox and Theresa said at the same time. Alistair rolled his eyes at Theresa before replying.
"What if I were to build a Crane Empire outlet somewhere around here? You could run it, learn everything you need to learn, and when you're ready and comfortable, you can run the branch in Harmony."
"Really?" Fox and Theresa asked at the same time again.
"Yes, it'd be perfect, actually. This way you'll be an expert at being a businessman by the time you go back to Harmony."
"That does sound good," Fox said.
"It's perfect, and you'll be able to run the company the way you want, not the way someone else wants you to," Theresa said, looking pointedly at Alistair. Alistair simply rolled his eyes.
"All right, I'll do it, but on one condition," Fox said.
"What?" Alistair asked.
"Theresa works right beside me as my partner and helps me run the company," Fox said.
"What!?" Alistair and Theresa asked, both equally shocked and surprised.
"Fox, are you crazy? There's no way that would work," Theresa said.
"Why not? You and I always work well together. Could you imagine us as leaders of the number one company? We'd be unstoppable, we'd bring in millions," Fox said, trying to encourage Theresa.
"We would be pretty hard to turn down," Theresa said as she pondered Fox's words. "Okay! Let's do it!" she said excitedly as reached over and hugged Fox.
"Wait, wait!" Alistair exclaimed. "There is no way I'm allowing her to run the Crane Empire," he said firmly.
"And why not?" Fox challenged. "You know she'd be good, you can't deny how determined and confident she can be, no one would get away with anything with her around," Fox insisted. Alistair simply kept his firm expression
"Come on Alistair," Theresa said with a small smile. "You know that Fox and I could bring millions, maybe billions, to the Crane Empire, you might as well say yes now instead of arguing and saying yes an hour later," she said as she tried to crack his stony expression.
"And what makes you think I'll say yes at all?" he asked.
"Because I always get what I want when I work hard enough-it's usually just a matter of time," Theresa replied with a smile. Alistair continued to stare at Theresa before finally cracking and allowing an exhausted expression to come across his face.
"You are unbelievably tiring, you know that right?" he asked Theresa as he rubbed his forehead.
"Yes, Fox tells me that all the time, but I take it as a compliment," Theresa replied with a wave of her hand. "Anyway, don't worry Alistair, you won't regret this," she said as she linked her arm in Fox's.
"That's right, Grandfather. We'll make sure of that," Fox said.
"For some reason, I don't doubt you will," he replied as he watched the two of them stand together in front of him. Fox was right; he and Theresa were not a force to be reckoned with.
"So, do we have a deal?" Fox asked.
"Yes, I believe we do," Alistair said as he shook hands with Fox and Theresa. "I'll get started on constructing the Crane Industry outlet and I'll keep in touch with both of you," he said as he headed for the door.
"Hey, Alistair!" Theresa said, stopping Alistair from leaving the room. Alistair turned around, expecting a sarcastic remark to fall from Theresa's lips. He was shocked by what did come out of her mouth.
"Thanks," she said with a smile.
"You're welcome," Alistair replied with a genuine smile of his own before leaving their penthouse. ***********
"Let me get this straight, for the past few years you and Fox have been running a branch of Crane Industries in Paris?" Julian asked.
"Yes, Father, that is correct," Fox replied.
"And why didn't your grandfather tell me about this?" he asked Fox.
"Probably because he knew you wouldn't be interested," Fox replied.
"I see, and now you and Theresa are here to take over the company?" he asked.
"Yes, Julian, that's true," Theresa replied.
"Over my dead body," Luis said. "There is no way you're running that company and getting sucked into that lifestyle," he said.
"You don't have much of a say in this Luis. I enjoy what I do and I'm not going to stop," Theresa said.
"Theresa, Luis is right, look at what running the company did to Alistair; he's so driven by power and money that he cares about nothing else," Pilar said.
"I won't turn out like that, Mama," Theresa insisted. "Besides, you have to be strong and cold sometimes in this business to get what you want," she said.
"I did not raise me daughter to have a career where it's acceptable to be emotionless," Pilar said.
"It's nothing like that, Pilar," Fox said, coming to Theresa's defense. "We've been doing this for four years and as you can see, Theresa is still the loving and caring person she was when she left Harmony."
"No she's not, she's different. My Theresa wouldn't threaten a receptionist with her job; my Theresa wouldn't join forces with Alistair Crane, a devil in every since of the word."
"And your Theresa would probably still be crying over the loss of her first love," Fox said. "Maybe she's changed a little, but she's changed for the better. She's stronger than she's ever been before."
"And I suppose that's all thanks to you?" Ethan asked coldly.
"Why do you ask, Ethan? Are you upset that Theresa finally had the courage to get over you?" Fox taunted.
"Ethan could care less what Theresa does," Gwen cut in.
"Why don't you let your husband answer Gwen," Fox said as he continued to stare at Ethan.
Before Ethan could answer, everyone heard the sound of cries fill the room. Fox and Theresa immediately rushed up the stairs and into Whitney's room. They reemerged a few minutes later with a fully awake Jessica and Justin in their arms. Everyone in the room watched as Fox fed Justin some baby food while Theresa sat on the couch and began to play with Jessica. No one could deny the closeness of their family. Eventually, Fox and Theresa noticed that all eyes were on them.
"Sorry," Theresa apologized.
"Don't worry about it," Eve said. "They're beautiful children," she said as she looked at them.
"Thank you," Fox said as Justin began to cry.
"They're getting fussy, we better get going," Theresa said as she rose from the chair with Jessica in her arms.
"Where are you staying?" Pilar asked.
"We're going to stay in a hotel until our house is finish," Fox replied.
"House?"
"Yeah, we're having our house built, it was supposed to be done in a few months, which is when we planned to move here. But with the shooting and everything, it just got pushed up," Fox replied.
"You can't live in a hotel for a few months-you can stay here," Eve suggested, not noticing the glint of hope that appeared in Ethan's eyes at her suggestion
"No, no, no," Theresa replied quickly, seeing Ethan's reaction. "We'll be fine in a hotel."
"Nonsense," Pilar said. "You four will stay with me. Theresa, you guys can just take your old room," she said.
"What do you think?" Theresa asked as she looked up at Fox.
"It's fine with me, if it's fine with you," Fox said as he tried to calm down a still crying Justin.
"All right, Mama, we'll stay with you," Theresa said.
"Okay, let's go," Pilar said as she began to gather her things.
"Theresa, this conversation isn't over," Antonio said.
"Not by a long shot," Luis added.
"Fine, we'll discuss this tomorrow. I'll see you both later," she said as she reached up and gave both of them, along with Miguel, a light kiss on the cheeks. She then went over and gave Whitney a quick hug before heading toward Fox and Pilar.
"Are you ready?" Fox asked.
"Yeah, let's get out of here," she replied.
"Goodnight, Theresa," Ethan called out, upset that he didn't get to spend any time with her. Theresa gave Ethan a small nod before muttering a quick 'goodbye' and leaving the Crane mansion with Fox, Pilar, and her children.
TBC.
Please, please leave feedback and tell me what you think!!! I really want to know if you guys liked this chapter and the concept of the flashbacks, if so, I may put various flashbacks of Fox an Theresa's life in Paris. So let me know!!!!