Chapter 43:
Come On Try To Take What's Mine
"Ethan?", Paloma asked, walking into the living room of the apartment that she had called home for the past 3 months.
"What?", he asked, walking up behind her.
"Fox, just called, Resa's in labor.", she told him. "So, I was going to go over to the hospital and be there for them and the rest of the family, want to come?"
"No, I'm sorry, but, I got to stay here. I finally got my law practice back up and running. God, I thought, I would never get Alistair and Julian off my back, they were determined to make sure that I never got a client. But, well things are starting to look up.", he replied.
"Because of me, face I'm your good luck charm.", she told him.
"Yeah, you and that beautiful baby girl in there.", he told her.
"Our baby girl.", she told him. "Ethan, you are her father in every since of the word and you are the only father she has ever know, when she looks at you, you can tell she knows you are her daddy."
"I have never felt as connect to a person in my life, like I do her, Paloma, I may not have created her but, I feel so much love for that little girl.", he told her. "You and her were just what this place needed, you with your funky little style and sassy attitude and her, so sweet, loving, and beautiful, she is almost as beautiful as her mother."
She smiled at him. "You make me feel welcome here and I have never felt that, with tia Maria, I felt like a burden, someone she felt sorry for but, with you…I get the feeling that you want me here."
"I do.", he replied. "Even though, it is hard sleeping on a hard couch night after nigh, I like having you here. You have gave me so much excitement, this place use to be so lonely, but no longer. You've turned this place into a home."
"Our home.", she smiled.
"Yes, our home, mine, yours and Tasha's.", he told her, she smiled at him.
"It's weird ain't it?", she asked. "I mean, I've never had a family and you were raised by Cranes, but, we ain't done that bad of a job, hell this place looks ok."
"Yeah…", he began.
"Well, I'm - Do you want me to take Natasha with me?", she asked.
"Nah, I'll be okay. Besides, I'm going to teach her all I know, you know she's going to grow up to be just like her father, a successful lawyer.", he told her.
She giggled. "You have it all planned out don't you? She ain't even said her first words yet you got her attending Harvard."
"Only the best for our kids.", he told her.
She laughed. "I got to go, Resa is going to be mad if I ain;t their to help her celebrate her daughter's wonderful birth.
"Okay.", he told her, he watched as she walked over to the table and took the keys and then headed for the door. "Loma…", she turned to face him. "Be careful.", she smiled at him.
"I will.", she replied. "See you later."
"Later.", he told her and the door closed behind her. He heard Natasha crying in the small nursery and went to check on her.
"Ah, come here.", he told her, he picked her up and rocked her lightly and to his surprise she stopped crying. "Daddy's got you spoiled rotten hmm, kiddo?", she laughed. "Sure laugh at me."
He continued to look at the little girl, he could see so much of Paloma in the little girl. He eyes and her smile. "You're just a beautiful as your mother. You know I'm so lucky to have both my girls, even though I'm not about to admit that to Loma, she'll rub it in my face that I actually like her."
The little girl smiled. "Well, daddy's got work to do, I'll be back later.", he laid the back in her crib, and walked back into the living room, to began research for his case, but, before he could get back to the couch the phone rang.
"Hell…", he began.
"Ethan, how's it been, you must enjoy having what is mine, my daughter. And, she is mine, and I will get her back. You and Paloma can do what you want, oh and congrats on your marriage, must be awesome having a young woman to satisfy your every need. Hell, she won't notice that you come up a few inches short…", Josh scuffed.
"You son of a bitch, you have no right to call here, you have no right to Natasha, she is mine and Paloma, and I thought you didn't want her, when Loma told you she was pregnant?", Ethan fumed.
"Well, I have changed my mind, all this time without her has made me…", Josh told him.
"How can you miss her? You don't even know her, you never have laid eyes on her.", Ethan told him.
"She is mine.", Josh told her. "And, I will not let you and that skanky whore who opens her legs to every man wearing pants, take her from me."
"You use the word my and mine, just way too much, Tasha isn't some puppy that you own or one of your cars that you have parked in your driveway, you have no deed or papers to her."
"Not yet, but, uh, just so you should know I plan to get custody of the little bambino and there is not a damn thing you can do about it.", with that Josh was gone.
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Audrey sighed as she watched Fox stare through the window to baby nursery window, where his new born baby girl lay.
"Fox.", Audrey approached him.
He turned to her, he was surprised to see her, but, from the looks of it she seemed not at all surprised to see him.
"Audrey.", Fox asked, turning to her. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit.", Audrey replied.
"Oh.", Fox replied.
"So, I take it you are expecting a child?", Audrey asked.
"Actually she's in there.", he told her.
"Which one?", she asked, and watched as he pointed to the small bassinet.
"She's beautiful.", she forced a smile to her lips. "Who's the mother?"
"Theresa.", he replied, not wanting to give her all that much detail.
"Oh, well I - I guess she is wonderful. You seem to be in love with her.", she replied.
"How do you…", he began, he was starting to become suspicious of her.
"It's written all over your face. You are apparently a man in love.", she told him. "And, I figured it was with that Theresa chick."
"Yeah, so how long have you been in town?", he asked.
"Not long.", she lied, she had been watching him and Theresa for months.
"So did you hear about Dylan?", he asked.
"Yeah and I am sorry for his actions, Dylan can be a little psycho sometimes, but, I'm sure he did it with the best of intentions, but, like always things got out of control.", she told him.
"He tried to kill my son.", he told her.
"I - He - I'm sorry for that and I had no right to say that. He is my brother and it's hard for me to admit it.", she told him. "But, from what I can gather he is generally sorry for his actions."
Fox nodded, he didn't believe a word the woman was saying.
"You know you and he were really good friends, are you sure Theresa worth it?", she asked. "I'm not trying to hate on your girl and all that but, there was a time when me and you and Dyl was inseparable."
"That was along time ago, things have changed.", he told her.
"You mean Theresa came into your life. It's nice to know how you really feel about me, you know how would she feel to know that you and I were each others first, Fox you can't deny that we share a bond.", she told him. "You was the first person that I trusted enough to give them my virginity."
"Audrey…", he began.
"Admit it, you still get aroused when I'm around you. That you still want me.", she pressed her body against his. "Tell me Foxworth."
"Ah, hmm.", Paloma cleared her throat. "Some people are just dirt."
"Loma.", Fox turned to her.
"Who's she? Your booty call while my sister was knocked up?", Paloma asked.
"No, this is an old friend of mine, Audrey.", Fox told her.
"Friend?", Paloma asked.
"Yeah, Fox and I went to school together kind of.", Audrey told her. "You see Dylan is my brother and…"
"God, Fox what in the hell is a matter with you, she is probably here to get revenge on you and Resa on behalf of her crazy brother. Well guess what heifer, he is Resa's man so keep your damn paws off him.", Paloma huffed.
"Who are you?", Audrey asked.
"You're worst nightmare so, if I was you I'd scram.", Paloma told her.
"See ya Foxworth.", Audrey purred.
"Let me put it this way when pigs fly, so in other wards you learn to fly and then you come see him, understand.", Paloma told her, and watched as the girl walked away, she noticed Fox had turned to leave. "Not so fast Foxworth."
"Paloma, it's not what you think.", Fox told her.
"Okay, I believe you. I really do, but, I have a feeling that she and you have some unresolved feels for each other and I am so afraid that my sister will suffer from that witch's wrath, cause, she obviously has it bad for you, why else would she throw herself all over you , in a public hospital? She knows that you have a little girl in the nursery and a son at home, because all the newspapers ate the story with Dylan up. So, why would she be here trying to get down your pants knowing that you have a family?", Paloma asked, she watched as he looked down at the ground. "Nick, you better tell me right this instance or I'll - Let's just say you're not going to like the outcome if you don't tell me, now cough it up, I need to know just what my sister is about to get into."
"Audrey was and old friend, you know when your young you mess around, you find a girl attractive so you ask her out and all that, well when I was 15 and Audrey was 14, we kind of. We had sex, it was both of our first times, Audrey got pregnant, but, her parents made her abort the child, I didn't know about it till much later, like a year or two later, she got drunk and well the alcohol got the best of her, she began to weep and she confessed the whole thing to me about, the baby, the abortion, everything.", Fox told her.
"Damn.", Paloma cursed. "I never dream this."
"Yeah.", Fox replied. "I - I tried to put it behind me and I did for awhile, but…Audrey is always going to be connected to me because of the baby, the baby that we created, even though it's not living."
"But, what about you and Theresa, you love her right? And, you have two beautiful children.", Paloma told him.
"Yeah, I love Resa but…Audrey and I - I care for Audrey and I know losing that baby, messed up her head. And, hearing about Ethan Martin and the baby, I'm sure it got her to thinking about the child we lost.", Fox told her.
"Audrey was so young, I mean, it was for the best. Fox, I know that it was apart of you guys but, I mean come on, you were kids and Audrey's parents were right to do that, they were looking out for her and you.", Paloma told him. "And, maybe you both need to seek consoling or something and get past it and get on with both your lives, don't mess up a good thing because, you feel sorry for Audrey."
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"What is it that you called me about?", Alistair Crane demanded.
"I need your help. I know all about your hatred for the Lopez- Fitzgerald's, right down to your wife's affair with Martin Fitzgerald and to their graves that are under the gazebo. So, I know that you must be very disguised with the union of Fox and Theresa, so…I was - I was wanting to kidnap the baby from the nursery and take it as my child.", Audrey told him.
"You were what?", Alistair asked.
"Kidnap their child in exchange for my dead. You see me and Fox conceived a child many many years ago and it was killed before it even got into the world by my mother….you see I will love this child as if it was ours. Fox will never know that I have the child. I just…I want apart of him with me at all times.", Audrey told him.
"Hmm…It's a done deal. I will have the little girl to you by midnight.", Alistair promised her. "But, you must leave town, Fox and Theresa must never lay eyes on the girl, cause they will putt two and two together and I can not afford it."
"Okay, no problem.", Audrey lied, she had her own plan and she was going to stick around, she was going to give Fox, a family, the family that they had dreamed of, but first she had to get little miss Theresa out of the way, but she had no clue how.
A/N: I wanted to have this up sooner, but, the servers been down, please enjoy and feedback is appreciated.
Spoilers for Chapter 44 (Once more I'm skipping a few months to Thanksgiving):
Theresa is distraught about spending the holiday's without her baby, which died.
Audrey and baby Siena come to the mansion for Thanksgiving
Paloma and Ethan get an unwanted guest at the Thanksgiving fest.