The Ex Factor

For anyone catching up, this story is an E/T/G story that was written back when Ethan and Theresa finally consummated their relationship for the first time since his marriage to Gwen by making love at Crane Industries. In this story, a mystery concerning Sarah's death forces Gwen and Theresa to work together for the first time, and the two of them learn some harsh truths as they fight to find out the truth about what happened to Gwen's daughter. Cat fights and backstabbing ensue, but if they can't make peace for at least a little while, both of them just may end up dead. Meanwhile, Ethan struggles with his feelings for Theresa vs. his marriage to Gwen, knowing he has the hardest decision of his life to make.

This story is long finished, but I'm archiving it here in case the fan sites close after Passions ends its run this summer. I doubt anyone's reading at this point, but if you are and you want faster updates, please let me know via review or email and I'll do a massive uploading spree. :)

I love reviews. If you're so moved, please leave me one. :)

At the Crane Mansion:

Luis hurried over to the group assembled on the front lawn of the Crane Mansion, shivering a little in cold night air. "Mama." he leaned over to kiss Pilar's cold cheek. "Jared, Ethan." He continued by way of greeting. "I've already checked the place out. No sign of either one of them. I also found out that the Crane jet left the airport hours ago." He grimaced. "It was headed for Prague."

"We should have known." Ethan shook his head, disgusted with himself. "That's where that call Gwen got came from. They must be trying to find the caller. Well, that's it. I'm catching the next flight out."

"Not without me, you aren't." Jared gave Ethan a hard look.

"Hold your horses, you two. I'm going to Prague. I'm Theresa's brother, and a police officer. It's my job to find them both and figure out just what the hell is going on here. I just hope I can track down exactly where they've gone."

"Would all of you stop bickering, please? I just want my daughter home safely." Pilar closed her eyes for a moment, and sent up a silent prayer that her headstrong daughter hadn't gotten herself into something she wouldn't be able to get out of.

"Wait a second. Luis, did anyone at the airport mention a baby on that flight? Jane is gone too. I can't believe Gwen would take her somewhere she thought might be dangerous." Ethan shook his head. What the hell could his wife possibly have been thinking?

"I'm sorry, Ethan, but no one mentioned Jane. I don't know where she is." Luis began to say, but suddenly, in the distance, a baby's cry could be heard. Everyone turned their heads. The noise was coming from Sheridan's cottage. "But I've got a pretty good idea now." Luis finished as they all turned purposely in that direction.

Sheridan turned pale as she saw the group that was bursting through her door. "Um, hello! Isn't it a little late for visitors?" She stammered nervously.

"Sheridan..." Luis's eyes rested on Jane, who was nestled in Sheridan's arms. "Do you have something to tell us?"

"Um, no...why would I have something to tell you?" Sheridan's eyes widened as she tried to keep her tone innocent.

"Come on, Sheridan. Where did Theresa and Gwen go?" Ethan fixed his eyes on Sheridan firmly.

"Why would I know?" Sheridan was even more nervous at this point.

"The fact that you're holding my missing daughter is a clue. Come on, Sheridan, dumb blonde isn't a good look on you. Just tell us exactly where they went."

"First of all..." Sheridan's jaw tightened as her temper rose. "I had no idea that Theresa went anywhere. As for Gwen, I'm not telling you a thing. Not after what you tried to do to her." She gave Ethan a cold look and then deliberately turned away.

Luis, Pilar, and Jared all gave Ethan bewildered looks. "What is she talking about, Ethan?"

Ethan looked at the floor, feeling very uncomfortable. "Gwen and I had some words. She had become obsessed with this insane idea that Sarah is alive. I told her I wanted her to see a psychiatrist."

"And?" Sheridan turned back, her eyes accusing.

"And I told her I would have her hospitalized if she didn't give up the search." Ethan felt a mantle of guilt settle on him. Why had he pushed her so far?

"You did WHAT?" Luis exploded. "Good God, it's no wonder she took off, then! How could you do such a thing?"

"Well, out of all people, I thought you'd understand that, Luis." Sheridan snapped, the words slipping out of her mouth before she could stop them. Appalled, she turned away. Why had she gone there?

"Sheridan.." Luis's voice became gentle. "Sheridan, turn around, please."

Reluctantly she did, tears welling in her blue eyes.

"Is that why you don't want to tell us, Sheridan? Because you think Ethan's going to treat Gwen the way I treated you when you knew Marty was alive and I didn't believe you?"

Sheridan nodded mutely, trying not to cry.

"Listen to me. I have regretted that every single day of my life. I won't make the same mistake again, and Ethan should learn from my bad example. I promise you, when we find Gwen and Theresa, I'm not going to stop them. In fact, I swear I will help them, Sheridan. We just need to make sure they are safe. I shouldn't have blown them off so quickly. Maybe there is something to this. Regardless, Gwen deserves to be taken seriously. Sheridan, please tell us what you know. Please!"

Sheridan sighed. "You mean that, Luis?" Her heart leapt at his nod and relief coursed through her. "I don't know much, I'm sorry. Gwen probably knew how easily I'd crack. All I know is that she went to Prague. As far as I know, Theresa wasn't involved. I don't know how that happened."

"Well, we already know they went to Prague. There's over a million people in that city. I was hoping we could narrow it down a bit. Look, you guys, I'm going to head back to the police station and run a check of both of their credit cards. With any luck, they've checked into a hotel and we can find them that way. Then I'm getting on the next flight to Prague."

"Me too." Ethan and Jared said simultaneously, then glared at each other.

"Fine. Actually, if you two could make the arrangements, that would save me a lot of trouble. Meet me at Harmony Airport in an hour." Luis turned to leave, and then turned back, looking at his ex with sorrowful eyes. "I meant what I said, Sheridan. I've learned my lesson about not trusting a mother's instincts. I'm going to make this up to Gwen..and to you." Turning, he hurried out of the cabin.

Ethan sighed. "God, this is all my fault. I still can't believe there's anything to this, but Luis is right. I should have taken Gwen seriously...and Theresa. I should have at least had it looked into. If anything happens to either one of them, I'll never forgive myself."

"Good." Jared snapped. "Because I will personally kill you myself if a hair on Theresa's head is harmed."

Prague: Hotel Moravia

"I can't believe we're sharing a suite. This is some kind of torture." Gwen hung up her final garment in the small closet provided.

"Believe me, I'm not thrilled about the prospect either." Theresa called from the other room. Her voice resumed its normal tone as Gwen walked into the common room to join her. "We're not going to be here long any way, though. We have a lot of searching to do."

There was a knock on the door, and Theresa hurried to open it. Fred stood there, smiling. "The security officers are waiting for you in the lobby, and I've engaged a driver to take you any where you want to go. I got the information from your friends in Harmony, so I will not be able to accompany you. I need to hunt down the local phone records and see what I can find out."

"Great, Fred, thank you." Theresa turned to Gwen. "Well, let's go."

"Go where?" Gwen looked mystified. "We don't have any other leads yet."

Theresa shrugged. "I figured we could pound the pavement and start distributing Sarah's flyer. I know it's a long shot, but it's better than doing nothing. Unless you want us to just hang out together all day. What do you say, Gwen? We could hit the spa, have our nails done, reminisce about old times..." Theresa's voice was filled with sweet sarcasm.

Gwen's mouth thinned into a narrow line. "Let's go." She snatched her purse and preceded Theresa out the door.

Theresa shook her head as she followed. "You just have no sense of humor, Gwen. Would it kill you to crack a smile every now and then?" she mumbled under her breath.

At the Harmony Police Station:

Sam scratched his chin. "Unbelievable. So Gwen and Theresa are playing detective in Prague, and you, Jared, and Ethan are going to track them down." He shook his head. "I should have known those two wouldn't just accept that what happened to Sarah's body was a coincidence. I'm almost wondering if they're right after all."

"Me too." Luis sighed as he looked at Sam. "Well, not really. I still think it's all a terrible mix up. But what I do know is we all blew Gwen and Theresa off like neither one of them knew what they were talking about. We might as well have poured gasoline onto the fire. I'm going to help them investigate, like I should have from the start. We could have prevented all of this."

Sam nodded. "OK, Luis. I'm going to go ahead and approve the time off. You call me the minute you hear anything, OK?"

As Sam and Luis talked, Fancy and Paloma remained frozen in the corner next to the fax machine, just like they had been ever since Luis had walked in the station ten minutes ago.

"OK, Fancy." Paloma whispered. "Luis is not even looking at us. Let's just walk slowly and casually to the door..then make a break for it and run like hell before he figures out what we just did."

"OK." Fancy whispered back. "Let's go..slowly...casually...like we're not sending classified information behind his back...innocent attitude..that's it..." The two of them stepped cautiously, each step seeming like a sonic boom echoing through the police station. Just five more steps..four..three...two..

"Hold it right there!" Luis's voice boomed through the station. "Fancy...Paloma...turn around!"

Groaning silently, Fancy and Paloma turned to face Luis, each trying on her best innocent expression.

"Is there a problem, Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald?" Fancy said sweetly.

"Well, I'm just a little confused. You see, something big is going down. I'm sure you just heard me talking to Sam about it. And you two are over there, in the corner, completely silent, like you couldn't care less. Now tell me why the two nosiest, most meddlesome troublemakers in all of Harmony suddenly don't want to be right in the middle of the action. Hmmm? And what's that behind your back, Fancy?"

"Um...our training schedule, sir." Fancy kicked herself as soon as she said it. What a dumb lie. She should have told him it was the latest issue of Bridal Weekly-that would send any man running for cover.

"Really." Luis clearly wasn't buying it. "Well, I'm afraid the cadet training is suspended for the moment, as I'm going to be out of town. So hand it over so I can update it."

"Um..I can do that for you. I'd be happy to, really. You know, as part of my training!" Fancy smiled brightly.

"That's it." Luis walked over to Fancy, physically turned her around, and pried the paper from her resisting fingers. "What the hell is this? Fancy, this is a copy of the phone records I traced for Gwen...and a fax cover sheet! Who did you send this to?"

"Busted." Paloma murmured under her breath. "Damn it, Luis, why do you have to be such a good cop?"

Luis looked over the paper and to their surprise, a broad grin broke out on his face. "You sent this to Theresa and Gwen. I swear, I could kiss you both!"

Never one to overlook an opportunity, Fancy stepped forward. "Well, I wouldn't want you to deny your impulses, Sir." She pursed her lips sweetly, but to her disappointment Luis gently brushed her aside.

"OK, you two. Spill. I need to know exactly where Theresa and Gwen are."

Paloma crossed her arms, and Fancy matched her stubborn expression.

"I don't think so, Luis. Theresa made us promise not to tell you anything, and I-" Paloma began.

"Paloma, you tell me right now, or I'm-I'm going to tell Mama that you won't help me find our sister, who could be in awful, awful trouble." Luis purposely put on his most dramatic voice. "It will break Mama's heart, Paloma. You should have seen her. She was so worried, and you know she's still recovering from the shooting. But I guess she has to know that her youngest daughter won't help us." Smiling diabolically, he reached for the phone.

"Luis, you are shameless!" Paloma snapped. Looking at her brother's stubborn expression, she sighed. "Fine. Fred, that man who's in charge of Theresa's security, asked us to fax the information to the Hotel Moravia in Prague."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"' Luis leapt forward and kissed his younger sister's cheek. "I owe you!" He turned to head towards the door, only to find his way blocked.

"So Luis..." Fancy gave him an arch look. "When do we leave?"

"Oh no, no, no." Luis shook his head. "You two are NOT coming. Ethan, Jared, and I are going to have our hands full dealing with Gwen and Theresa. We don't need you two vixens causing even more trouble."

"Luis!" Paloma and Fancy both started to object at once.

"I'm not going to argue with either of you. Look, the cadet training won't resume until I get back. Why don't you two just enjoy your time off? Consider it a vacation, OK? Look, I gotta go. Try and stay out of trouble." Without even a look back, Luis was off.

Incensed, Paloma turned to Fancy. "Can you believe that? He acts like we would just mess everything up-like we only cause trouble. Of all the pig headed...Fancy, why are you smiling?"

Fancy grinned. "Oh, I was just thinking how nice a vacation sounds."

Paloma's jaw dropped. "Are you crazy? Aren't you angry at the way Luis just blew you off?"
Fancy ignored her. "Yes..a vacation." She mused out loud. "And guess what is supposed to be just beautiful this time of year?"

Paloma grinned, catching on. "Let me think..Prague?"

Fancy grinned back. "Prague." She pulled her platinum credit card out of her pocket. "First class, all the way. Up for a little sightseeing, Paloma?"

Prague:

"Well, this has been an incredible waste of time." Gwen snapped as she and Theresa sipped their cappucinos at the outdoor cafe. The security guards surrounded them at the other tables, resembling a flock of stern looking penguins in their dark suits.

Theresa bit her tongue in aggravation but she had to admit to herself that Gwen was right. They might as well have stayed at the hotel and hit themselves over the head with a hammer-they would have made just as much progress. Surprisingly, they hadn't had much trouble communicating with the local people of Prague-most of them spoke fair to good English, which she had not been expecting. But still, the only responses they'd gotten when they showed Sarah's flyers were looks of complete confusion and wariness. In fact, most people seemed to think that Theresa and Gwen were a special brand of insane, and they needed to back away slowly.

"It's the guards." Gwen continued. "I mean, even if someone did know something, which is highly unlikely, having this battalion of Men in Black is completely intimidating. We're not going to get anywhere with them."

"Mrs. Crane!" Theresa looked up to see Fred getting out of a taxi. He hurried over to them, a smile on his face. Theresa and Gwen's eyes both fell to the large envelope he was holding in his hands.

"Mrs. Crane, your idea worked like a charm. We were able to re run the trace using the phone company here, and listen to this. When your brother did the trace, the call came back as originating from Prague because that was the closest major metropolitian area to where it actually came from, which is a small village outside of the city, called Jesenik." His face fell. "Unfortunately, I was still unable to pinpoint a specific location, but it narrows it down."

"Are you kidding? That's fantastic!" Theresa jumped out of her chair and threw her arms around Fred enthusiastically. "You are so getting a raise! This gives us something to go on, and trying to find more clues in a small village is a whole world away from being helpless in this huge city."

Fred blushed a bright red shade, but was unable to hide his delight at being able to please his new boss.

"This is wonderful!" Gwen was beaming as well as she stood up. "Theresa, if I didn't hate you with every fiber of my being I could almost hug you right now. Let's get out of here and get to Jesenik as fast as we can. But first we have to ditch the guards. If they are intimidating people here, imagine how it will be in a rural area."

Theresa sighed. "She's right, Fred. No one will talk to us with all these guards around. Why don't all of you take the day off? We'll call you if we need anything."

"No can do, boss." Fred's face was regretful. "I wouldn't be doing the job you pay me for if I didn't watch out for the both of you. I'll dismiss the rest of the guards for today, and with your permission change into more casual clothing. I'll look like just another tourist with you two, and I can still keep you safe."

"Of course, Fred. That's a good idea. Let's just hurry-I have a feeling whatever we're going to find, it's waiting for us in Jesenik." Theresa's face with lit up with excitement.

A little over an hour later, they were in the small car Fred had rented for them, as the limo would attract too much attention, leaving the bright lights of Prague behind.

"The village is straight ahead." Fred nodded out the window as he drove. Eagerly, Gwen and Theresa looked towards their destination.

Jesenik was a world away from the world renowned beauty of Prague. Small brick buildings in varying degrees of decay dotted the landscape. Here and there local villagers walked through cobblestone streets, dressed simply, giving the car curious glances as it passed them. Clearly, the people of Jesenik were not used to visitors.

"It looks so different...so desolate." Gwen murmured softly.

"It's beautiful too, though." Theresa pointed to the surrounding forest and the majestic mountain that Jesenik was nestled at the bottom of.

Fred looked through the rearview mirror at them. "It's getting a little late. Would you like me to try find accommodations for the night?"

"No!" Theresa and Gwen both spoke at once.

"No." Theresa said again. "We may need to stay in Jesenik for a while, but most of our things are still at the Hotel Moravia. Besides, we don't want to rest, Fred. We need to find the caller as soon as possible."

"Alright then." Fred indicated a ramshackle cafe that they were fast approaching. "This looks like the local watering hole. It's probably the best place to start."

As Theresa, Gwen, and Fred exited the vehicle and headed into the cafe, a hooded figure stood frozen across the street staring at them. Bright eyes swept over the three figures, lingering the longest on Gwen's blonde figure until she disappeared from view inside the dingy building.

"You came. I knew you would. And now, all the preparations I've been putting into motion for the past five years won't go to waste. I have much to do." Hurrying, the figure moved into the brisk wind and headed down the street, disappearing into the darkness.

To Be Continued

I'm curious to know if anyone is actually reading this...if you are, would you let me know? Thanks!