Chapter 2

The next morning, bright and early, Ethan left the house and went to the building where his practice was. As Ethan entered the lobby, he heard the secretary answering the phone. "Good morning, Winthrop and Ryan. This is Michelle, how may I help you?" Then she spotted Ethan entering the front doors. "Please hold." Michelle turned to Ethan when he stopped at her desk, just as he had every morning before. "Good morning, Mr. Winthrop."

"Morning, Michelle," Ethan greeted.

"He's waiting for you in your office," she said, cocking her head towards the door that led to his legal sanctuary.

"Thank you." Ethan headed down the hall, greeting everyone as he went. When he opened the door to his office, he found his partner, Matt, sitting in his chair, sleeping, with his feet on the desk. Not wanting to disturb him, Ethan closed the door silently and threw his jacket on the couch next to him. "So this is what you do when I'm not here…"

Matt twitched and turned, knocking his feet off of the desk. A snort escaped him and he finally opened his eyes. "What?…. Hmmm…. Oh, Ethan! Hey… I was.. just…uh…"

"Be careful, I might think you were snooping around in my office or something."

"Sorry, I was waiting for you to show up and I…," Matt trailed off, yawning.

"What's the matter? Falling asleep on the job now? And here I thought you were the hardest working attorney in New England."

"Well, I was, I mean… I am…" Matt said, rubbing his eyes.

"It's all right, man. What are you doing here so early anyway?"

"Well, I was doing some research on your computer. Mine is down or something. So I came in here last night and I guess I just fell asleep. What are you doing here so early?"

"Well, this whole thing with Gwen kept me up all night."

"Oh, sure."

"What?"

"You're trying to telling me that Gwen, your ex, kept you up all night and not your exquisitely delicious wife?"

Ethan shot a cocked eyebrow at Matt. "Look, let's leave how I spend my evenings with Theresa out of this."

"Ooh, so you did get some action last night…," Matt said, getting excited.

"Matt…"

"Hey, I'm just saying. If I had a wife that looked like yours, I'd be proud to tell everyone that I never get any sleep."

"Matt, can we focus on the task at hand please?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure…," he lied, letting a moment of silence pass to let Ethan think he was serious. "So…. did she keep you up all night?"

"Matt…"

"What? I'm just saying… You're one lucky man that has a body like Theresa's to go home to." Ethan said nothing to his comment. He was right though. "No, seriously. Man to man. If you could compare Theresa to any animal, which would it be?"

"Matt, why are we-"

"C'mon. Just pretend that I'm one of your buddies that you hang out with at the local bar."

"You are," Ethan said with a sound of annoyance.

"Right, so it should be easy for you." Ethan laughed. It still amazed him that Matt somehow had managed to graduate Yale law with honors. "So, would you say she's A: a pussy cat- they're soft and cute, and you have to be gentle with them, a puppy dog- they're cuddly and fun, and energetic, a tigress- they're strong and stubborn, and like to get whatever they want, a tomcat- they're wild and crazy, and seem to never run out of energy, or E: none of the above?" Ethan just stared at Matt and smiled. He got the hint and he smiled back. "She's a tomcat, isn't she?" Ethan didn't answer and smiled instead. "Whew! I knew it! You are one lucky man, my friend!"

"Okay, now that we know what my wife is like in bed, can we please get back to the case?"

"Yeah, sure. You know, tomcats are excellent creatures-"

"Matt-"

"She kept you up ALL night, didn't she? Huh, huh?"

"Matt-"

"Obviously you did something very noble in a past life. There's no telling what I wouldn't do to spend a night with-"

"Matt!"

"Hmm? What?" Matt seemed to have come out of a daze, a fantastic daze…

"Can we please get back to the case?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Matt said as he watched Ethan review some papers from his desk. "So, on a scale of 1 to 10... I'd say Theresa was about a…. 8,9,10? Gimme a ball park figure here."

"Matt, please. Why do you care so much?"

"Why do I care so much? Because I want to know, man!"

"Sorry," Ethan said, turning back to his work.

"Oh, come on! Please?" Matt begged.

Ethan sighed heavily. "Okay, if I tell you, you promise to shut up about my sex life?"

Matt made a solemn 'X' over his chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Ethan took a moment, thinking, not sure whether he should share this information or not. "Okay, on a scale of 1 to 10.…… I'd say Theresa was a…. 20."

"Damn! I knew it!"

"Okay, so can we please get back to work now?" Ethan asked, again focusing his attention on the papers in front of him. Still, there seemed to be something on Matt's mind.

"So, she's really that good?"

"Matt…"

"Okay, okay, sorry. Back to work, cap," Matt said, saluting his partner. "So, what are you gonna do? You can't seriously think that you can win against a Crane."

"Matt, Gwen did something that she needs to pay for. She almost killed my wife! The love of my life almost died because of her! And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let her walk away with that. There is no way that Gwen is gonna get to go free with what she did to Theresa. I won't allow it!"

"Easy there, killer. I know what she did. And I know how much you want to win because of it. But, don't you think that this is a little too personal for you? I mean, Theresa is your wife. It's gonna be hard seeing this one through fairly, don't you think?"

"Yes, it's personal, Matt. But, it is my duty as a husband to protect my wife and my family. And the only threat that there is to both is Gwen. I need to stop her before she tries to hurt Theresa again."

"You think she would?" Matt asked curiously.

"I'm gonna make sure she doesn't have the chance…" The look in Ethan's eyes was a far and distant assuredness that Matt had never seen before.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I can handle it if you-"

"Matt, this is something that I need to do. Gwen is-"

"Look, you're my partner. I'm just afraid of the levels you'll take this to."

"Matt, just, please trust me on this. I have to-"

Suddenly, Michelle, the secretary, interrupted them with a tap on the door.

"Excuse me, Mr. Winthrop," she began. "You're wife is on line one."

"Thank you, Michelle," he said with a nod before she excused herself and let the room quietly. Ethan went to his desk and picked up the phone. "Hello? Hi, Honey," Ethan greeted as he watched Matt leave the room, giving him some privacy. "What are you doing up so early? Well, I didn't want to wake you… No, Sheridan has him still. She said that she was going to take him and Marty to the park. Yeah, don't worry about it. Please, Theresa… Look, I'm taking care of it. Please… don't panic. It'll be fine. I'll talk to the judge and make sure everything is game. Okay? Look, please don't worry about this. Don't worry about Gwen. She's still in custody until after the hearing. Okay, try and get some rest. No, no, you don't need to. I have everything under control here. Just meet me at the courthouse at one. Okay. I'll see you then. Bye. Oh, Theresa? I love you. Don't worry. Yeah, I love you, too. Bye." Ethan hung up the phone, suddenly feeling the impact of the situation at hand here. "Matt!" Matt came charging into the room as soon as Ethan called for him.

"What's up?" Matt asked, and he noticed that Ethan was eyeing him rather worriedly

"Did you get a hold of Judge Malloy?"

"No, I just got his secretary."

"Jesus…" Ethan was nervous now. "Did you leave a message?"

"Yes. I asked her to tell him to call you back. She said that she would."

"Okay… okay. This is good," Ethan said, taking a seat on the couch. "This is good. Yeah. I can do this. It's no problem. It's just like any other case. I'll just treat Gwen like any other faceless criminal. That's it. I'll just walk in there, pretend like I've never seen her before and pretend that winning this case is a mere case of winning money. I don't have to worry about it."

"Nope. It's in the bag."

"Exactly. No problem. I can do this. And when the judge sentences Gwen to a lifetime in prison, I won't care. I'll look her straight in the eyes and say, 'You deserve it.'"

"Right. Don't worry about it," Matt assured him.

Ethan got up from the couch and walked to window behind his desk. Staring out into nothingness, Ethan was quiet. He was silent for a long time. Ethan swallowed hard and fought back welling tears. "You know… This is my fault," he said, turning back to his friend.

"You know that's not true," Matt said, taking a seat on the couch near the door.

"Isn't it? I just can't help blaming myself."

"Is this about the baby?" Ethan didn't answer. "Do you want to talk about it?" Ethan shook his head, trying to hide the rising emotion. Matt stood from the couch and walked towards Ethan. "Ethan, it wasn't your fault. You know that."

Ethan spun in pain. "I should have been there, Matt! She was mine too!" Tears now welled deep into Ethan's eyes.

"I know… I know… But there was nothing you could have done. Nothing…"

"I still feel responsible."

"But you shouldn't," Matt tried again to convince him. "It was Gwen's fault that she was put in jail. You were not the one that made her attack, not to mention almost kill, Theresa." Ethan was silent. "And it certainly was not your fault that Gwen got into a fight with an inmate. You had no way of knowing what would happen behind bars. That is what caused Gwen so much stress that led to her going into early labor. She was having a difficult pregnancy as it was. Then, the doctor had to choose either to save her or the baby. Doctors are trained to save the mothers unless their odds are slim," Matt said, laying a reassuring hand on Ethan's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Ethan."

"But I was the one that sent her to jail, Matt! I told Fox to call the cops. They took her to jail. So it is my fault."

"No, Ethan! Just face the fact, Gwen almost killed someone. She intended on killing her. She almost succeeded. Obviously, God saw it fit that Sarah shouldn't be born into a family where her mother would be locked up for the rest of her life and her father would be with the woman that her mother tried to kill."

"But-"

"No! Listen to me! You have a child now. A beautiful little boy. He may not be biologically yours, but he loves you. You have a gorgeous wife with a body that movie stars would kill to have," Matt said, returning to his topic of Theresa, making Ethan smile at the thought of his wife. "And besides, with the amount of bed action you and Theresa are getting these days, you could have another baby on the way real soon." Ethan was starting to feel better. "Look, you need to step back sometimes and really reevaluate your life. You need look at all the good things you have and appreciate it all. Would you trade everything you have now for what you've lost?"

Ethan eyed his partner and sighed. "You sound like Dr. Phil."

Matt laughed. "Well, I believe that everything happens for a reason. And maybe you can't see it now, but this will all work out for the best. Whatever your destiny is, you'll get there."

"Now you sound like Theresa."

Matt laughed again. "Why? She still talk about Fate all the time?"

"Oh, just every other word…" Ethan trailed off thinking about his wife.

Matt looked down at the pictures on Ethan's desk. There was a picture of Little Ethan, a picture of Theresa, a picture of Ethan and Theresa smiling at each other, a picture of Ethan and Theresa on their wedding day, and a picture of Pilar. What a beautiful family he has. Matt stared into Ethan's eyes and smiled. "Wow, you really love her, don't you?"

Ethan was brought out of his daze and smiled. "Yeah…. I always have…"

"You are one lucky man, you know that?" Ethan smiled again and nodded. "So, don't worry about it. Any judge will be able to see the truth and will seek justice for both you and your wife." Ethan nodded. He was silent. "You have nothing to worry about."

"Nope."

"It's a cinch."

"Yeah, I mean, I'm not the top attorney in the state for nothing," Ethan said, now feeling confident.

"Exactly…"

Ethan was silent and looked around his office. Then at his partner. He was silent still. Then: "Matt…," Ethan started slowly.

"Yeah?"

"What am I gonna do? She's counting on me. What if I fail her? What if I can't win? What if Rebecca finds some way to-"

Matt snapped his fingers in Ethan's face. "HEY!" Ethan stopped and looked up. "What are you talking about? You just said it, you are the top attorney in the state. There is no way that you can lose. You won't," Matt assured his friend with a smile. "This is an open and shut case. Any judge will be able to see that. I mean, just a couple months ago, Theresa was on her death bed because of Gwen. That can't be overlooked. So, don't worry about it. I have all of the paperwork ready to go. All we need to do is show up in court and dazzle the jury just like you always do."

Ethan nodded. "You're right. There's nothing to be worried about."

The hours seemed to have flown by and it was already a quarter to one. Ethan found himself at the Harmony Courthouse and sat nervously in a chair right in front of the large wooden doors leading inside of the courtroom where Gwen's fate would be decided.

He sat fidgeting, just as he always did when he was nervous. His hands had turned ice-cold in apprehension and he checked his watch every minute it seemed and still the hands were in the same place.

Ethan heard the sound of heels marching on the marble floor, yet he paid no attention to them. All he could do was think of the time that he was to spend in that courtroom. What would he say? What would he do? What was to happen if he didn't know what to say? What would Gwen's sentence be? Suddenly, Ethan was dragged from his thoughts.

There was a woman approaching him.

"Ethan?"

Ethan looked up at the woman, and as if in shock, he stared at her for a moment.

"Ethan… what's the matter?" Ethan stood, finally realizing it was Theresa. "Hey," he said hugging her.

"Honey, are you all right? You're not looking so good."

"Hmm… me? Oh, I'm fine. I'm just… you know, I'm just a little anxious to get this over with." Ethan sat back down on the bench and Theresa sat with him.

"So am I. I've waited so long to close this chapter of my life, Ethan. And today, finally, Gwen will be out of our lives…. forever. We can finally move on with our lives and not look back."

Ethan smiled at her, trying to believe her. I wouldn't be so sure about that. He thought to himself.

Ethan and Theresa stood from the bench and turned to see three people walking towards them. It was Gwen. Rebecca was beside her as was a man, he was probably Rebecca's catch for the day.

"Gwen…," Theresa whispered.

"That's right, Theresa. Scared?" Gwen asked, a dangerous spark in her eye.

The three of them stopped in front of Ethan and Theresa, and Rebecca seemed to look as smug as ever. "Well, if it isn't Ethan. My ex-son-in-law…. and his whore," she stated with beady eyes. "It's a pity Gwen didn't kill you, Theresa. Everyone's lives would have been so much better."

"Rebecca, that's enough," Ethan said angrily. "Leave your futile insults for the judge to hear. That way he can charge you for them." Rebecca smiled smugly.

"How've you been, Ethan?" Gwen asked him with a smile. Ethan didn't respond and just looked at her in anger as he pulled Theresa closer to him, watching Gwen's lip curl.

"So, Rebecca, how on Earth did you manage to get the trial moved to today?" Ethan asked, avoiding Gwen.

"Oh, not how I, how my attorney did."

"I doubt very much that any attorney would be able to do that kind of magic, Rebecca."

"Well, mine certainly can," she said smiling.

"Who is your attorney anyway?"

"Oh, Ethan, allow me to introduce," she said as she pointed to the man on her left. "This is-"

"Save it, Rebecca. I couldn't care less who your new sugar daddy is."

Rebecca eyes tightened in anger. Nonetheless, she wasn't going to let it deprive her of the pleasure of making this announcement. "Uh! He is not my sugar daddy, but if you're really looking for one, why don't you ask Theresa? I'm sure she'd hook you up."

"I said, that's enough, Rebecca!"

"As I was saying, before I was very rudely interrupted, this is," again she pointed to the man on her left, showcasing him with a smile, "Sydney Phelps." Ethan's heart almost stopped. Theresa looked on in confusion. "Ah, so you've heard of him. Good."

"No, I haven't." She looked up at her husband who clearly had. "Ethan… Who is he?"

"Oh, let me. Please," Rebecca begged. "Sydney Phelps, one of the most accomplished attorneys in the nation. Many a timed acclaimed lawyer for many celebrities and rich socialites like myself."

Sydney stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you. Please, call me Syd."

Ethan stood in shock. He didn't move to shake Syd's hand, which quickly curled away. "You… you… you hired him!"

"Yes, indeedy. Surely you didn't think that I would hire that choir-talking, rhyming fool, Woody Stumper!"

"But…but aren't you supposed to be working on the Michael Jackson case in L.A.?"

"Well, yes, but Becks here made me an offer I couldn't refuse," Syd said, putting his arm around Rebecca and smiled down at her.

"Oh, I just bet she did…" Rebecca didn't even catch the insult.

"So, you see, Ethan. No judge could overlook Syd's reputation and would never deny him a court date if he really insisted on it. Simple as that."

Gwen was smiling the entire time, never taking her eyes, that showed in disgust, from her ex-husband and his new wife. Quickly, she looked down at her watch. "Well, we really should be getting inside. It's almost time to start."

"Here come the fireworks. Theresa, you ready?" Rebecca asked smugly.

Gwen walked in the courtroom first, followed by Rebecca and Syd, who had their arms wrapped around each other. Ethan watched them go and all of a sudden, he felt short of breath. Just then, Matt walked in the door.

"Hey, guys. Sorry, I'm a little late. Traffic was murder. And then the taxi couldn't park because Rebecca's big ass limo was right outside. Where is the tramp anyways?" It was then that he saw their faces. "What's the matter? Ethan?"

Ethan looked down at Theresa. "Honey, why don't you go sit down. I'll be right in."

"No, I'm gonna go to the ladies room. I wouldn't want to be in their alone with those monsters. I'll be right back." Theresa kissed Ethan on the cheek and then walked to the restroom.

When Theresa was gone, Matt finally spoke. "So… what's up?"

"Rebecca hired someone we didn't expect."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she hired Sydney Phelps."

"Sydney Phelps! THE Sydney Phelps! Oh, man! Where is he? Maybe I can get his autograph."

"Matt! This is serious. I had no idea I was going up against someone like that. I mean, he defends celebrities. And they're usually guilty!" Ethan was silent and looked around, gathering his thoughts. "Well, it shouldn't be too bad. Like you said, this is an open and shut case. Not much has changed. I just need to go in there and do my stuff and we should be fine.

Matt looked up at him as if he were a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Um… actually…"

"Matt?" Matt said nothing. "What happened?"

"Sorry, buddy. I'm not sure how to tell you-"

"Tell me what?"

"I got a call on the way here. It turns out that Rebecca… somehow managed to…."

"Managed to what?" Ethan asked, somehow sensing the answer.

"Rebecca somehow managed to move Judge Malloy from the bench on this one."

"WHAT! HOW THE HELL DID SHE MANAGE THAT!"

"I don't know. Look, Ethan, this is-"

"No, Judge Malloy was my last hope. I knew that he would always stand by me. But-" Ethan stopped short when he saw Theresa approaching them.

"Ethan, what's the matter? I could hear you in the bathroom. What happened?"

Ethan didn't know how to tell her. He couldn't tell her. But somehow, someway, he managed to tell her that Rebecca… that Rebecca had already won…