A/N- See, I'm keeping my promises. You guys review I will update daily. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 10
San Francisco, California
"Ivy, he's going to be ok. He has to be," Julian told his wife, awkwardly trying to pat her on the back.
"Don't patronize me Julian. I'm not one of your blond bimbos. Our son was beaten to a bloody pulp and left for dead and chances are he...he...he won't make it through the night," Ivy replied testily, breaking down in tears as the reality of the situation sank in.
"God we've been such terrible parents to him Julian and if he doesn't make it I'll never have the chance to tell him how much I love him," she cried.
"Fox is a lot stronger than he looks. He won't give up without a fight. We just have to have faith," Julian answered with a confident smile and Ivy wiped her tears with one hand.
"I pray you're right," she murmured. "Because I can't bare thinking of the alternative," she admitted laying her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.
Just then the doctor appeared and as they looked into his eyes, Julian and Ivy realized that Fox's condition was more critical than they'd thought.
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Fox slipped in and out of consciousness, his entire body consumed with so much pain he thought he was going to die. He heard voices whispering above him begging him to fight for his life but the one voice he longed to hear was curiously absent and finally tired of fighting he let the inky blackness envelop him.
"Daddy, Daddy, Cody won't give me a turn on the swing," Michelle cried, running over to her father and wrapping her arms around his legs.
Fox sighed and prayed for patience. Michelle and Cody had been fighting all morning and Fox was at his wits end trying to keep the peace.
"How do you do it Teresa?" he asked himself praying his wife returned from her business trip soon. The girls were literally driving him bonkers.
"Cody Nicole Crane..." Fox called out and Cody let out a huge sigh.
"Daddy I've only been on the swing for five minutes," Cody complained as she jumped off and made her way over to where her sister and father stood.
"Nuh uh. She's been on forever," Michelle insisted.
"I have not, fish brain," Cody replied.
"Daddy, Cody called me a bad name," Michelle tattled.
"Fish brain, fish brain, fish brain," Cody sang.
"Cody stop calling your sister names," Fox commanded mildly. "How bout you both change into your swim suits and we all take a dip in the pool?" he added when the girls continued sniping at each other.
"Can we play shark?" Michelle asked with a grin and Fox nodded.
"Can I be the shark?" an amused female voice called out and three startled faces turned to see Teresa lounging against the patio doors.
"Mommy, mommy," the girls shrieked hurling their sturdy bodies against Teresa's slender frame.
"We've missed you Mommy," Michelle cried and Cody shook her head enthusiastically.
"Daddy missed you too," Fox murmured wrapping one arm around Teresa and pressing a soft kiss on her mouth.
Teresa smiled up at him and mouthed the words "I love you," before turning her attention back to her girls.
"Last one in the house is a rotten egg," she called out sprinting into a run.
The girls followed closely behind her and their laughter brought a smile to Fox's face.
Life couldn't get any more perfect.
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A frustrated Teresa kicked off her high heels, flexed her toes, and padded over to her living room in her bare feet. Stretching out on her couch she tied her dark hair into a loose ponytail and willed herself to relax. Her entire body hummed with frustration and anger and she knew that when she found Fox she was going to give him a piece of her mind. No one stood her up...and most notably not the man who'd broken her heart into tiny little pieces. But for now...she needed to wind down.
Absently turning on the television, she flicked through the channels until she came to a local news station and her dark eyes widened in horror when the bulletin flashed a picture of Fox.
"Oh my God," Teresa cried when the grim face newsman reported that Fox had been badly beaten and left for dead in front of a residential building and Teresa realized with horror that Fox had been assaulted shortly after leaving her apartment the night before.
"Lord please let him be alright," she prayed snatching up her purse and running out the door. "Por favor Senor, don't let him die. I need him too much," she murmured.
The ride to the hospital was the longest of her life and she was crying openly when she made her way to the nurse's station.
"I'm here to see Fox Crane. I'm his fiancée," Teresa told the plump woman behind the desk.
"Last time I checked, I was Fox's fiancée," a sardonic voice murmured behind her and Teresa turned to see her ex best friend, Whitney Russell standing behind her.
