Chapter 4

Ethan returned from around the corner, clasping his phone in his hand. "Honey, that was Sheridan. She said that she was going to take Little Ethan for the night. Marty wants him to sleep over ag-" Something was wrong. "What's the matter?"

Theresa held the letter in her hand and stared into nothingness.

"What is that?" Ethan looked down at the letter and took it from her hands. He read the words staring up at him.

DING. ROUND TWO HAS BEGUN. ARE YOU READY?

Ethan looked back up at his wife in fear. "Where did you get this?"

"Uh… a little boy… ran in here… gave it to me…"

"Did he say who it was from?"

"He didn't need to."

"What do you mean?"

"Gwen was standing in the corner when I read it."

"But-"

"It was her, Ethan."

"Are you sure? It could have been-"

"Ethan… She didn't kill me before and she's gonna try to do it again."

"You don't know that."

"But I do, Ethan!" Theresa was crying now.

"I know Gwen. I know she wouldn't just come after you."

"She did in L.A."

"That was because she saw us on TV and her hormones weren't helping any."

"It doesn't matter, Ethan. She tried to kill me and she knew what she was doing when she did it."

"I know-"

"Ethan, she still wants to kill me. She won't stop until she does."

"You can't think like that. Gwen's just bluffing. She wants to scare you."

"Do you really believe that? Because I sure as hell don't."

"Gwen has absolutely no reason to come after you."

Theresa turned to Ethan suddenly. "She doesn't need a reason, Ethan. She hates me. That's reason enough."

"But-"

"Ethan, she wants to kill me." Theresa stared into his eyes. "What am I gonna do…?"

She fell into his arms and broke down. Ethan stroked her hair and consoled her with soft whispers.

As Theresa cried into his shoulder, Ethan let the lump in his throat pass, holding back his tears. He didn't want her to know how truly worried he was. He knew that that letter was no bluff.

Rebecca entered the Crane mansion with Syd's arm looped through hers. "Well, that was fun. Did you see the look on that chalupa's face when she lost that pathetic little trial!"

"No… I was too busy looking at you," Syd declared.

"Oh…," she smiled. "And what exactly were you looking at?"

Syd's hands roamed across Rebecca as they stood in the front room. Gwen lurked in the corner near the staircase. She had a strange look upon her face.

Rebecca glanced in Gwen's direction and stopped Syd's motions. "Gwen? What's the matter, Gwennie? Aren't you happy? You beat that little bitch's ass!" Gwen said nothing and Rebecca looked back up to Syd. "Syd, darling, will you give us a moment?"

"But, Becs-" he protested like a child.

"Go wait in my room. I'll be right there."

Syd pouted all the way upstairs as if he were just sent to timeout.

Rebecca walked away and sat on the couch in the living room. She called Gwen over to join her. "Okay, Gwennie. What's the matter? I'm your mother. I always know when something is bothering you. So, spill. What is it?"

"Mother… How can you even ask me that! How can you not know what's bothering me!"

"Gwennie, I know you've had a very trying day. But don't worry. You'll come out on top. You always do. I will see to it that that tacocita never hurts you again. You will get your man back as well. He'll come around sooner or later. There's no way that he'll stay married to that little bitch. You'll see, he'll get sick of her and will come running back to you. You-"

"Mother! This isn't about Ethan! Sure, I'm pissed that the Theresa stole my husband, but mother, I want revenge. I want revenge on that bitch! She killed my baby! She took my husband! She put me behind bars for four months! She took my happiness! And what does she get! She gets to be happy. She gets to have Ethan at her side. She gets to have a child. Whereas for me, I can't have Ethan at my side. I can't have happiness. I can't have a child! How does it always happen that I get nothing and Theresa snakes away with everything that should be mine! Well, no more. Uh-uh. I want revenge. I want everything that she holds dear. I want her to see her life ripped from her as it was ripped from me."

For the first time in a long time, Rebecca saw a fire in Gwen's eyes. It almost scared her.

Almost.

"Okay, Gwen." Rebecca paused as her lips tilted upwards. "You want revenge on Theresa. And that bitch needs to pay." Rebecca got up and poured herself some coffee from the table. She again took a seat on the couch next to Gwen. She took a sip of coffee and Gwen noticed the far off look in Rebecca's eyes.

"Mother… What is it?"

Rebecca looked at Gwen and smiled. "I have an idea…"

That evening, Ethan and Theresa went home in a wandering silence.

Ethan turned his eyes from the road to look at Theresa. "Are you all right?" Theresa swallowed hard and finally nodded. It didn't convince Ethan. He could see the fear in her eyes. Ethan reached over and took her hand from her lap. Theresa's gaze moved from the window to her husband's warm face. "Theresa…" She turned to look at him. "Don't worry."

Within minutes they had arrived in their driveway.

Ethan turned off the car and they both sat in silence. Then:

"Theresa…? Do-do you remember our wedding day?" Theresa looked at him with her answer. "We made vows. I made a vow to honor and cherish you. To love you. 'Till death do us part." Tears glazed in Theresa's eyes as she nodded her head in accordance. "I vowed, then and there, to love you and protect you. I will protect you, Theresa. Until my dying breath, I will stand by your side and do whatever I can to protect you." Theresa began to cry softly. Ethan paused for a moment. "Theresa, do you remember what you once told me?" Theresa looked at him, not sure what he was speaking of. "You once told me that our love is incredible. It's magical... It's great… No one can ever come between it. You have to believe that, Theresa. You have to believe that our love will protect you and this family. I swear, I will do everything in my power to protect you and Little Ethan. But you have to believe, Theresa. You have to believe in the power of our love… Like you used to. Can you do that, Theresa?" Theresa didn't answer and looked down as her tears fell freely. "Theresa…" Ethan took her hand and made her look at him. Theresa nodded finally and fell into Ethan's arms and he held her close to him.

He felt it now. Something that threatened the way things were.

It scared him.

Ethan looked down at Theresa and wiped away her tears. "It'll be okay. I promise." Theresa nodded and they walked inside their home together.

Pilar opened the door for them with a welcoming smile.

"Hi, Pilar," Ethan greeted his mother-in-law.

"Hi, Mama."

"Oh, hi, Mija. How'd it go?" Theresa looked down, not wanting to discuss it. "What? What happened?"

"It, uh… It didn't go our way, Pilar," Ethan explained.

"What do you mean? I thought-"

"Rebecca hired some fancy lawyer from LA and changed the judge on me."

"But, but, how can-"

"Don't worry. I already promised Theresa that I'm going to appeal this for as long as it takes."

"But, Gwen, she did get something, didn't she?"

"About twenty hours of community service," Theresa said looking up.

"What! I don't believe this! How could ANY judge allow that? She almost killed you, Theresa! I don't-"

"I guess that's why they say Sydney Phelps is the best," Ethan explained. A silence passed over them all. Pilar didn't know what to say to her daughter; no words seemed capable to console her now.

"Are you okay, mija?"

"I'm fine, Mama. Really. I just… Just a little tired."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Theresa said with a nod. "I'll be fine."

Pilar didn't want to let it go but she could tell that Theresa had already had a trying day and it was best not to talk about it anymore. "Okay," she said after a long pause. "Little Ethan's upstairs. I put him to bed a little while ago, but I doubt if he's sleeping."

"Oh, it's okay. Maybe he just needs his mommy's touch."

"I guess I should be on my way then. It's late," Pilar said, leaning into to hug her daughter goodbye.

"You don't have to go, Pilar," Ethan tried. "There's an extra room. You are more than welcome to use it."

"Oh, well, thank you, Ethan. That is very kind of you, but I really should get home. Besides, I haven't lit my candle yet."

"Thank you for watching Little Ethan tonight, Mama. I really appreciate it."

"Of course. I love being with my grandson."

"I'll call you tomorrow, Mama."

"Okay," Pilar said as she hugged her daughter goodbye. "Get some sleep, huh? You look exhausted." Theresa offered an outline of a smile in accordance. "It'll be okay, huh? Ethan," she said, turning back to her son-in-law. "Take care of her."

"I will," Ethan promised.

Pilar laid her hand on Theresa's shoulder softly. "Okay, well, just try to get some sleep, okay?"

"I will," Theresa said.

"Ethan, make sure she gets some sleep."

"Don't worry. She's in good hands."

"I know. And I know you two and your… activities. Get some rest… both of you."

"Yeah."

"Goodnight," Pilar said again.

"Goodnight." Ethan and Theresa said in unison. Pilar walked out and Ethan closed the door behind her.

Something was definitely wrong, he could feel it deep inside.

After Pilar left, Theresa went upstairs and tucked her son into bed, giving him assurance that he could fall asleep now- his mommy was home.

Little Ethan had closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift. Theresa watched him doze off and saw the familiar childlike flush on his cheeks. How was it that everything in her life had led up to this moment, to the moment where she was in complete awe of life? The life that she had created and still loved with every fiber of her being.

Theresa leaned down and kissed him. "Goodnight, sweetheart. Sweet dreams," she whispered against his cheek. Theresa once more made sure that he was snuggled into his bed tightly before getting up and walking to the doorway. She lowered the light all the way and stood there, watching him.

"He's beautiful, isn't he?" A voice from behind her asked. Theresa turned to find her husband's loving eyes staring back at her.

"Yes, he is," she answered back.

"You know," he began, wrapping his arms around her. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. I would do anything to protect both you and our child."

"I know." She was silent then, pulled into her own thoughts. "I'm just so scared. What if Gwen's right? I mean, it is my fault and I deserve to pay."

"No," Ethan said firmly, taking her face in his hands. "Don't let her get to you. It wasn't your fault and you know it."

"But Gwen doesn't," she interjected. "She blames me for everything. And I'm just afraid that she'll take that to hurt people I love. If anything happens to you or to Little Ethan, I'll never forgive myself."

"Listen to me, Theresa. Nothing's going to happen." She couldn't believe him. She wanted to but something in her gut told her that her life was about to change forever and there was nothing she could do about it…

He held her close to his body and as usual, she felt her worries slowly melting away. Suddenly, their thoughts were interrupted when a faint ring sounded in Ethan's pocket. He reached in and pulled out his cell phone, checking the caller ID. It was Matt.

"Hello?" Ethan answered.

-- Hey, how's it going?

"All right."

-- How you doing? Theresa okay?

"We'll be fine. What's up?"

-- Listen, I just got a call from Joe Cunnane from Seattle.

"Yeah, what's he want now?"

-- Well, you remember that convention in Seattle next month?

"Yeah, what about it?"

-- Well, Joe just called me and it's been moved.

"Moved? To where?"

-- Where and when. It's in Minnesota on Thursday.

"Th- Thursday! That's the day after tomorrow!"

-- I know, I know. Just thought I'd give you a heads up.

"But, Matt, I can't. Not with everything that's going on now."

-- Look, look, I know. But, there's no way around it. You did promise Joe that you'd go.

"I know I did. But, can you go for me. I really don't want to leave Theresa like this."

-- I thought about that too, but it's not gonna work. You have to speak at this thing and you know how I am with speeches.

"I know, but please. I can't just leave now."

-- You have to speak about the firm. It's your firm. How am I supposed to do that?

"You're my partner, Matt."

-- I just became your partner in May. I didn't start it. I'm afraid you're gonna have to go.

"I just--"

-- Do you want me to cancel with Joe?

"No, no, no. You can't. I owe him. Uh… I don't-"

-- So, what do you want me to do?

Ethan was silent as he thought it over, staring into Theresa's deep eyes. "Okay. I guess I'll have to go."

-- You sure?

"Yeah."

-- Okay, I'll call him and get the rest of the details and let you know the info later.

"Okay."

Ethan shut his phone and looked back to his wife.

"What's the matter?" Theresa asked.

"It looks like I'm going to Minnesota."

"For what?"

"The annual Myer convention. It wasn't supposed to be for another month but they had to change it."

"Oh, when are you going?"

"The day after tomorrow," he said with a sigh.

"But that's--"

"I know, and I'm sorry. But the coordinator, I promised him I'd go. I won't be gone more than a day."

Theresa didn't know what to say. It felt almost uncanny that her husband, her protector, was leaving her in a time that she needed him the most. She would be all alone- open prey for Gwen to pounce on…