Diabolique

Rated R

Chapter 4: Tempetures Rising

Not wanting to stick around for the atomic fallout that was sure to happen after Theresa's exit, he made his way to the garage at the back of the Crane property and decided that it was time to play detective.

I will find out what I want to know, Resa.

Hopping into his month-old Bentley convertible, he stealthily followed the silver Mercedes as it made it's way down Raven Hill. Making sure to keep an eye on the car, he couldn't help but think back to seeing Theresa standing in the doorway.

He had so many dreams happen that way. There would times he would wake up in the middle of night thinking that he heard he calling out to him. Then there were other times he would pass a window or a doorway, and she would be standing there, her bright eyes glowing with life.

Just like they were tonight.

However, there was change in her. A change that scared him because it reminded him so much of the one person that he would never associate with her.

He didn't want to even want to entertain the thought that something happened to Theresa so cruel, so horrible, that it would transform her into the person that all of Harmony despised in one way or another.

There was no way that Theresa had somehow become the female version of Alistair Crane.

Unlocking the smooth wooden door, Theresa entered the condo that was now home to her and the only men she needed in her life.

Her sons.

With Little Ethan's hand clasped tightly in hers, she called out, "Lisette, I'm back."

Within moments, an attractive redhead came from the dim hallway, smiling. "Hey Theresa. How did things go?"

"Amazingly well. As a matter of fact, there is someone that I would like you to meet."

"Ethan Martin, this is Lisette, a close friend of Mommy's." "Lisette, this is my son," she smiled, happy that she could publicly claim the boy as hers once more.

Holding out her hand to the shy boy, Lisette smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

Reaching out, Ethan cautiously shook the other hand. "You too." Turning to his mom, he whispered "Mommy, was she my surprise? She's pretty."

Laughing, she shook her head. "Oh no, baby. Your surprise is in the other room." Looking at the smiling au pair, she asked, "Is Jacen still awake?"

"I've only actually put him in his play pen, so he should be."

"Thanks, Lisette. For everything."

Nodding, the redhead replied, "No problem, T. Now that you're back, I gonna take a quick stroll, but I'll have my cell phone. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will," and with that mother and son walked down the dim hallway that Lisette had just emerged from.

Coming to a stop at a cracked door, Theresa kneeled down and prayed her son would not hate her for what she was about to reveal. Taking a deep breath, she began, "Remember when you asked me when you could get a little brother or sister?"

Thinking of the stories his Tio Luis used to tell him about him playing jokes and scaring his mother, Little Ethan smiled and nodded.

Relieved that her son was open to this possibility, she said, "Well, there is someone that would like to meet their big brother."

Leading her son into the brightly lit room, she walked over to the playpen that held her younger son.

Upon seeing his mother, the toddler threw down the soft plush toy that he'd been playing with and raised his arms to the smiling woman leaning over him. Picking him up, Theresa walked over to Ethan, whose gaze was riveted on the small body bouncing in her arms. Kneeling down so that she was level with her older son, she held onto Jacen and watched as two brothers met each other for the first time.

"What's his name?"

"Jacen." Turning to the small blonde she pointed to the small boy across from her. "Jacen, this is Ethan, your big brother."

"Hi Etan!" the toddler waved, beaming at his brother.

Giggling, Ethan said, "He said my name funny."

"Well, he is still young, baby."

"Oh yeah." Holding out a finger for Jacen to grab onto, Ethan told the little boy, "Don't worry, Jace. I'll teach you how to say my name and look after you."

"Etan!"

Feeling wetness invade her eyes at her site of her sons bonding, Theresa knew that everything would work itself out. She would make sure of it. "Well, I think that it is a good idea for you and your brother to get ready for bed."

Still pumped with excitement, Ethan pouted. "But it's my birthday! Can't I stay up, please?"

"Well if you don't want to go to Boomer's tomorrow, then I guess you can," Theresa said, knowing that her son would get excited at going to the restaurant/arcade.

"BOOMERS! Really?" Ethan couldn't believe it. He was actually going to the cool place that all the kids talked about in school. He had wanted to go, but it seemed that everyone had been busy with something else.

Nodding her head, she laughed, "Yep, but only if you get ready for bed. You can't have fun if your too tired."

Figuring that his mother was right, he decided not to make a fuss.

"Okay."

"Good. Now, will you help me get Jacen ready for bed?"

Puffing out his chest in imitation of his Tio Luis, Ethan replied, "That is what big brothers do."

Not bad, Resa. Fox thought as he walked into the stylish building that he'd seen Theresa disappear into thirty minutes ago. Since pulling into a space a block away, Fox took the time to get ready for what he knew would be a knockdown drag out fight, if Theresa's new attitude is anything to go by. He would be damned if she just threw him out of her life just because of a slight miscalculation in judgment.

At least that's how he would like to think about what happened between him and Whitney.

Looking back, he now knew the reason why he became so fixated on her. Simply put, she was a distraction for something he knew that he would never have. Just as he was sure he served the same purpose for Theresa.

The one difference being that he had always loved Theresa, while she had always considered him a close friend. So he had latched onto Whitney and started the events which lead up to Theresa's disappearance and her phoenix-like return to Harmony.

Walking up to the lobby desk attendant, he flashed a disarming grin and asked, "Could you please tell me what floor Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald lives on?"

Blushing a bit, the blonde woman gushed apologetically, "I'm sorry sir, but we are not allowed to give you that information without the resident's consent."

Reaching in his wallet, he pulled out a fifty and his driver's license, knowing those two things would give him the information that he wanted.

"Could you see a way to bend the rules a bit?"

"Can you tuck me in, Mommy?"

"Sure, honey." Walking over to her son's bed that she'd purchased the day before, she pulled up his BeyBlade comforter and tucked him in tight, taking delight in the simple task.

As soon as he was settled in, Ethan looked up at his mother with imploring eyes. "You gonna be here tomorrow, right?"

"I'm not leaving you ever again. Ever!"

"Promise?"

"With all that I am." Brushing his honey gold bangs away from his small face, she gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I love you, Ethan."

Snuggling down into the bed, Little Ethan drowsily replied, "Love you, Mommy."

Theresa stood watch over her son until she was sure that he was sleep. Turning on the nightlight, she walked out the room, leaving the door cracked just in case her son needed anything during the night.

Walking to the master bedroom, she changed into some lounging pajamas, turned up the baby monitor, and settled down in her bed looking over the financial outlook for her newest line.

KNOCK KNOCK

I should have known they wouldn't wait until tomorrow. she thought, grabbing her robe and tying it tight.

Walking quickly to the front door she opened it with a smile expecting to see her mother, brother and sister on the other side.

"I was in the neighborhood and figured I would drop by to say hello."

With fury pumping in her veins, she didn't budge from the small opening, not wanting the man to see any further into her home.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Drop it, Theresa."

"What?"

"This new attitude. It really doesn't flatter you."

"Frankly, I don't give a damn what you think about me. I've already told you how things would between us and that does not include late night visits. Now go."

"I don't think so," Fox muttered, barging past her and continuing walking into the condo.

Closing the door, she turned and crossed her arms, already getting in her fighting stance. "Look, I've just put Little Ethan to bed, so I really don't want to argue with you," she said as she walked past Fox, hoping against hope that her other son wouldn't make his presence known as well.

"There won't be any arguing because that would require two people involved. What is going to happen is that your going to tell me what the hell happened to you and why you're pissed off at me.

Sitting down on the plush leather couch, she looked out the sliding glass doors leading to the balcony, not wanting Fox to see the pain she'd lived with for two years. "That shouldn't be too hard. After falling I was swept down shore a bit when someone found me. They took me to the hospital and I recovered. Then relying on some help from new friends, I made it so that once I came back to Harmony, I could come back for my son and make sure that he would never be taken away from me again. The reason that I'm pissed at you is because you took a page out of your brother's book and lead me on, knowing there wasn't a future for us."

Knowing that it was time to admit the secret he'd held from her, he asked calmly, "When did you find out?"

"The night I went up to the Inn to see if we could reconcile."

Feeling his heart sink even lower at that news, he whispered, "That was the reason that you came?"

Hearing the pain in his voice, she turned to look at him. "At the urging of my mother and ex best friend. Believe me, there were times that I wished that I would never have listened."

As she watched her words wound him even further, she continued, "To make a long story short, I followed you out to the cliffs and imagine my surprise when I heard you screaming at the top of your lungs how God was punishing you for taking [i]Whitney[/i] away from you. After hearing that, I stumbled and you know what happened after that."

Realizing the implications of what she was saying, he felt even worse for what his obsession with Whitney cost him. "I never meant-"

"That was obvious. Would you have ever told me?"

Seconds ticked past, before Fox gave her the only answer he knew.

"I don't know."

Growing angrier at his response, she snapped, "It was for my own good, right?"

"For mine. I knew that if I told you, you would want nothing to do with me." Seeing the brief flash surprise enter her eyes, he continued, "And you proved me right."

Determined not to be swayed, Theresa held her ground. "If you had trusted me enough, things wouldn't be the way they are now. I laid out everything from the beginning, Nicholas."

Feeling backed into a corner, Fox decided to strike back. "Well, what about when we broke up, Theresa?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Walking closer to the bristling brunette, he began, "You admitted that you betrayed me, but the only thing that you would say is that you did it for Little Ethan. Did you really mean for your son or was it for the man that had fucked you over numerous times?"

Narrowing her eyes at the sneering man, she fired back, "Go to hell!"

"I've been there ever since you fell off that damn cliff! Dammit Theresa! Can't you tell that it is taking everything in me not to grab you up, hold you close and kiss you senseless?"

"What do you want, a jello cup? You can keep your desires for that whore I considered a sister. I don't want them."

Blown away by her reply to his confession, he clenched his fists. "Why must you be so fucking COLD?!?"

"It's called survival, Nicholas."

Anger was replaced with sadness at her matter of fact response.

"That is no way to live, Theresa."

Waving away his concern, she looked him dead in the eye. "That's your opinion, and I told you before that I don't care for them. Now please leave."

Pushing his hands into his jeans pockets, he stood his ground. "Not until we clear things up between us."

With a bitter laugh, she replied, "And you think I'm stubborn? I know that everyone usually bows down to you Crane, but I'm not one and I never will be."

Walking over to the door, she opened it. "Now, I'm only going to ask tell you one more time. Leave."

Deciding that it was time to take a strategic retreat, he walked over to open door. Grasping her chin, he leaned in and looked into the brown eyes that still knotted his insides. "You can hide behind your 'Ice Queen' mask all you want. Just know that it can't hold up forever and I'll be the one to make it fall."

Wrenching her face from his tempting touch, she backed away and pointed to the open space beyond it.

"Get the hell out, and don't ever show up here again!"

With one last piercing look at the woman he loved, he walked through the door, hearing the door close firmly behind him a second later. As he heard the lock turn, Fox began walking to the elevator, with only one thought running through his mind.

The chase is on and Resa will be where should have always been...with me.

tbc....