CH 31- He's Awake!
During the entire car ride to the hospital, Fox couldn't help but feel like his life was about to drastically change for the worst. Although he was aware that he and Theresa had made a pact to be friends, ever since they had kissed under the mistletoe and in the kitchen he couldn't stop thinking about her. Though his head kept telling him to forget about his feelings for her, his heart repeatedly reminded him of the incredible love they once shared. It killed him to know that after tonight, things were officially going to be over between them. Now that Ethan had wakened out of his coma, it wouldn't be long before he learned that Theresa was pregnant with his children. In the back of his mind, Fox knew that once that happened, Theresa would finally move on with her life and forget about him. It was just a matter of time.
As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Dr Russell was waiting for them in the hallway.
"Eve is it true?" Pilar asked. "Did Ethan really wake out of his coma?"
"Yes everyone, it is true!" She confirmed, widely grinning. "Except for a little bit of grogginess, I'd say he is doing exceptionally well."
"What about the cancer?" Sam nervously inquired.
"That's the most amazing part of it all." Eve smiled. "It appears to have disappeared!"
"Disappeared?" Whitney looked at her mother confused. "But mom, didn't you say that the cancer was so bad Ethan didn't even have a chance of survival?"
"That's how it appeared honey, but now it's as if it never existed. I even did several tests to confirm it and the results keep coming up the same. The cancer is just gone!"
"Oh my gosh, that's amazing!" Sheridan exclaimed.
"Eve, thank you for saving my son!" Ivy cried.
"Oh, I didn't do anything." Dr. Russell smiled. "It was probably all the prayers and support from all of you that got Ethan through this."
"It's a Christmas miracle, that's what it is!" Theresa happily confirmed. "God's angels are definitely watching over us."
"Gracias Senor!" Pilar silently whispered.
"When can we see him?" Theresa excitedly asked, oblivious to Fox's hurt expression.
"Anytime you want. In fact, he's been asking for all of you." Eve smiled. "Just make sure to take things slow. He's still a little confused."
"Thanks again Eve." Sam added, as he followed everyone into Ethan's room.
"Ethan, honey how are you feeling?" Ivy rushed to his bedside.
"Good." He smiled weakly. "Nothing hurts at least."
"That's excellent son." Sam gently patted him on his shoulder.
"Do you remember what happened?" Whitney asked.
"Barely." He put a hand to his head. "Everything's kind of a blur."
"Well don't rush yourself Ethan. Dr Russell said to make sure to take things slow." Gwen reminded him.
"I'm just glad that everything turned out ok." He smiled. "Eve said that the cancer appears to be gone."
"Yeah, we heard. That's amazing buddy!" Luis grinned.
"We knew you wouldn't give up honey. We're so proud of you." Sheridan lightly kissed his forehead.
"Well I know that all of your prayers are what got me through this. I can't thank you enough." He graciously smiled. "It feels good to know that I have such wonderful friends and family that love me so much."
He let his eyes wander around the room until they finally landed on Theresa. An immediate smile appeared across her lips when their eyes met. He never realized how much he missed seeing her face. She was absolutely beautiful.
"Theresa—" He whispered admirably.
He was just about to ask her to come to him when his gaze fell to her stomach. Suddenly he noticed Fox standing closely behind her, as he squinted in confusion.
"No—" He managed to say, alternating glances between the two of them. "You guys are having a baby?"
"Ethan, what did you just say?" Sam looked down at him.
"Fox and Theresa," he repeated, looking at her swollen tummy. "They're having a baby!"
"Why would you think that Fox and Theresa are having a baby?" Paloma suddenly asked.
"Well, look at her." Ethan said, pointing at Theresa. "She's obviously pregnant."
"But why would you think it was by Fox?" Paloma looked up at him confused.
"Um..I think Ethan's just a little confused." Whitney nervously interrupted.
"Yeah," Gwen supported her. "Remember Paloma, he's been out for a while. He doesn't know what's happened in the past few months."
"I don't understand." Ethan looked around the room confused.
Finally Theresa walked over to his bedside and took his hand in hers.
"Ethan," She softly spoke. "While you were in the coma, I found out that I was pregnant. You're going to be a father!"
"Me?" He squinted. "But what about F—"
"No— it's you." She interrupted him. "I'm having YOUR babies."
"Babies?" He repeated dumfounded.
"That's right Ethan, Theresa's having twins." Sam placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder.
"I-I don't believe this!" He happily cried. "I'm going to be a father?"
"I think maybe we should leave these two alone for a while." Sheridan smiled.
Everyone agreed and quietly left the room for Theresa and Ethan to have some privacy.
Out in the hallway, everybody continued to talk about Ethan's amazing recovery. Fox just stood quietly against the wall, rubbing his tired eyes.
"Fox?" Paloma crept up beside him.
"Yeah?" He unemotionally looked down at her. "What's wrong babe?"
"I'm still really confused about what happened a few seconds ago." She suspiciously looked into his eyes. "Why did Ethan think that Theresa was pregnant by you?"
Fox frustratingly leaned his head against the wall.
"I don't know Paloma." He mumbled.
"But it just doesn't make sense!" She continued, as thought he didn't speak. "You and Theresa aren't even a couple!"
"Paloma, can we just drop this please!" He snapped at her. "Didn't you hear what Whitney said? He was probably just confused!"
Fox suddenly noticed her get extremely quiet, as a hurt expression flashed in her eyes.
"Baby, I'm sorry." He apologized, slowly pulling her close to him. "I didn't mean to yell at you. I think Ethan just said that because he knows that Theresa and I are best friends. He probably saw her tummy and automatically thought she was pregnant by me since he remembers us being so close. But like Dr. Russell said, he's still pretty groggy so I wouldn't worry about it."
"Ok," she nodded satisfied.
"So Dr Russell, is Ethan alright to go home?" Fox heard Gwen ask.
"Well I still want to keep him in the hospital for one more night, just to make sure he is alright." Eve told them. "But if his results remain the same in the morning, I'd say he's fine to go home."
If Ethan's staying over night, chances are Theresa will probably stay too. Fox thought to himself. Well then I guess that means I'll be staying the night as well.
"I think I'm going to stay with Ethan, just to make sure he's ok." Fox suddenly spoke up.
"Awww Fox, that's so sweet of you." Ivy smiled at him.
"Well if Fox is going to stay, then I guess we can all go home." Whitney said. "Theresa's probably going to want to stay too, but Fox make sure to call us in the morning to let us know what's happening."
"Sure thing Whit." He smiled. "I'll tell Theresa you guys said goodnight."
"I'll stay with you too." Paloma grinned up at him. "It'll be kind of romantic."
Fox just smiled and kissed the top of her forehead before going over to the nurse's station to get some blankets. As soon as everyone left, Theresa finally came out of the room and the three of them soon fell asleep on the waiting room couches. Fox didn't bother to talk to Theresa about their kiss earlier that night. He figured she dealt with enough for the day. Instead he just wanted to watch her sleep, knowing that it was probably going to be his last opportunity to be that close to her.
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"Look Daddy, I got a bubble!" Four-year old Hallie smiled up at Fox.
"You did? Oh my goodness!" He smiled, as he gently rubbed shampoo into her hair. "What about you buddy? How many bubbles did you find?"
"Hmm, I don't know. Why don't we count them honey." Theresa giggled, as she helped little Alexander count his bubbles.
"One...two..three..four...five!!!" He laughed excitedly.
"Wow! What are you two going to do with all those bubbles?" Fox smiled.
Without warning, Hallie scooped up a handful of watery bubbles and playfully spilled it all over Fox's shirt.
"Oh, Hallie that wasn't very nice!" Fox exclaimed, his clothes drenched in water.
"Honey, what do we say about keeping water inside the tub during bath time?" Theresa warningly looked at her daughter.
"Sowie daddy," Hallie sadly pouted.
"It's ok baby." Fox smiled, glancing over at a giggling Theresa. "Oh, you thought that was funny?"
"Fox...don't you dare!" Theresa laughed, knowing exactly what he was going to do.
"What's wrong sweetheart? It's just water!" Fox giggled, splashing sprinkles of water at her.
"Fox...stop!!" Theresa yelled, splashing him back.
Soon the whole bathroom was completely drenched as the four of them happily splashed around the entire afternoon.
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Fox opened his eyes slowly as the events of the dream still lingered in his thoughts. He looked down at Paloma still sleeping on his lap and let out a sigh.
"Why do I keep having dreams like this?" He whispered to himself. "It doesn't make sense for me to be dreaming about Theresa's babies as if they were mine."
Suddenly he noticed that he and Paloma were the only ones in the room.
"Where's Theresa?" He wondered, glancing over at her vacant chair.
Immediately growing worried, he carefully slid from underneath Paloma and went to go look for her. Just as he turned the corner, he thought he heard whispering coming from Ethan's room. As he slowly peered inside, he instantly felt his stomach tighten.
"Theresa, I still can't believe you're carrying our children." Ethan smiled at her. "This is probably the best Christmas gift ever."
"The best Christmas gift is having you here with us." Theresa lightly rubbed his arm. "I'm so glad that you're going to be here to see the twins."
"Me too." He grinned, pulling her close to him.
Fox watched in pain from the doorway, as Ethan gently kissed her lips.
"We're officially over Theresa." He quietly whispered, wiping a fallen tear from his eye.
"Fox what are you doing here?" Paloma suddenly appeared next to him. "I woke up and everyone was gone."
"Oh, I was just checking up on Theresa and Ethan." He impassively smiled down at her.
"They are so cute." She commented, peaking into the room from behind him. "Aren't you glad that Ethan finally woke up? Now they can be together with the babies. This has just been the most perfect Christmas, don't you think?"
"Yeah, perfect." Fox mumbled, closing his eyes to the harsh and painful truth of reality.