Details to
remember:
1) Theresa never had little Ethan, but she did marry Julian. They’re friends.
2) Whitney and
Disclaimer: I don’t own the
characters of Passions. They belong to NBC or anyone that is affiliated with
them.
Chapter 4 –
First Impression
Fox gave a
sigh as he got out of the limo and stood in front of the mansion. 'Well,
there's no place like home,' he thought sarcastically. The tall blonde man
looked around. "This place still looks exactly the same," he
muttered, taking in his surroundings. He looked at the mansion again.
"Well, time to stir things up!" he grinned, walking up the path that
led to the door of his 'home.'
Opening the
door, he was not surprised to find that everything in the living room was
exactly the same. "Not much has changed around here," he whispered
under his breath, he noticed that there was no one in sight. "Where is
everybody?"
'Maybe
everyone's asleep,' he thought with a disappointed sigh. 'After all,
it’s after midnight now. Guess I'll have to wait till tomorrow to surprise
everybody. Oh well, no big deal.'
The blonde man
gave another glance into the living room before heading up the stairs to his
old bedroom. Opening the door, he walked in. The room was completely dark. 'Well,
guess I'll get some shut eye,' he thought as he began to undress.
Climbing into
his bed, he failed to notice another figure already occupying it. Then, out of
nowhere, a blood-curling scream shattered the silence of the night.
xxx
Faintly,
Theresa had heard the door open. She tensed. Was there someone in her room?
Nah, her subconscious told her that Crane security would sound the alarm if
there were any intruders. Theresa relaxed; her dream was so good that she
didn't want to wake up.
Birds were
chirping, and the flowers were in full bloom. The park was beautiful and
peaceful as they took a walk through it.
Theresa
sighed as she looked around. "I'm so happy," she told her companion.
The man
beside squeezed her hand. "I'm really happy too Theresa."
Theresa
kept on smiling, "We're going to be together
forever aren't we?" she couldn't help but ask.
"Of
course," came the immediate reply. "We'll be
together forever. Nothing and no one can ever make me leave you."
It seemed
that Theresa's smile brightened. She released her hand from his and latched
herself on his arm. "Together forever."
Under the
covers, Theresa smiled. Slowly, she came out of her sleepy haze and she
realized that what she had heard earlier wasn't her imagination. There was
someone in her room! The figure slowly made his or her way to the bed and
proceeded to climb on. Panicking, Theresa did the only thing that came to her
mind.
She screamed.
xxx
It seemed
almost everyone had burst into the room after she had screamed. Theresa tried
her best not to panic as Ethan flew into the room, followed by Gwen, Ivy,
Julian, Rebecca, and her mother. As soon as she saw Pilar,
Theresa rushed toward her mother and together they stood with everyone else in
the room, watching Ethan attack her intruder. The mysterious man's back was
toward her, so Theresa couldn't see his face clearly. The man threw up his
arms, blocking Ethan's punches.
"WHOA!
WHOA! Ethan, you jackass, STOP!" the man yelled.
Hearing his
name, Ethan stopped his assault and looked at the man in front of him.
Recognition was shown on his face.
"What's
going on?" Pilar asked. "Are you alright,
Theresa?"
"Yes,
mama," Theresa replied breathlessly, her eyes not leaving the young blonde
whose back was still to her, "I'm just fine. Just had a
little scare, that's all."
"Fox,
what are you doing here?" Ivy maliciously asked.
However, she
was ignored, as the young man turned around. "Well, step-mommy I must say,
your pictures don't do you justice."
Theresa
couldn't stop herself from starring at his naked chest. It was very fined toned
and muscular. 'Damn he has one hot body,' she thought as her eyes
started traveling up. But as soon as she saw his face, she gasped. 'It's
him!' The man that had invaded her dreams every night. Suddenly, every
single dream she had ever had of this man came rushing back and it was too much
for Theresa to handle.
"Theresa?
Theresa, are you alright?" Pilar asked, placing
an arm on her daughter.
Theresa didn't
respond. She had fainted.
xxx
Seeing his new
stepmother faint at the sight of him, made Fox smirk. "Looks like I still
got it," he said confidently as Ethan glared at him.
Ivy once again
joined the conversation. "What are you doing here, Fox?"
"Well mommy
dear, considering my big brother is getting married tomorrow,
you'd think I'd be invited to the wedding," Fox responded sarcastically,
"Whatever happened to my invitation?"
Ethan sighed
and ran his hand through his hair. "Fox, I can recall you were invited to
the wedding."
"Well, I
guess I never got an invitation, now did I?" Fox burst out, "I had to
find out from a fucking newspaper!"
"Really
Fox, stop making such a big deal about this," Ivy cut in. "You're
here now. So, let's all go to bed."
"Uh mommy
dearest, you're forgetting one thing," Fox smirked, "my new step
mommy took my room. Does this mean I can sleep here with her?"
Ethan looked
absolutely livid. "Absolutely not! Fox, you will
stay away from Theresa, do you understand?"
'Looks like
big brother still has some feelings for step mommy,' Fox thought, 'oh I
can have some fun with this!' Anything that made Ethan angry was in his
good books.
"Who’s
going to make me?" Fox smirked, "You? I don't think Gwen would be too
happy to hear that." And indeed, the blonde haired woman was seething.
"Okay,
that's enough," Julian decided to step in, "It's been a long night,
everybody's tired, let's all go get some sleep. Fox, let me be the first one to
say welcome home. There are plenty of empty bedrooms here in the mansion; you
can sleep in one of those rooms."
"Awww..."
Fox whined, "I wanna get to know my step mommy!"
"Well,
with her unconscious at the moment, I don't think you'll be able to spend any
quality time together," Julian responded dryly. "You can get to know
her in the morning. Pilar, I'll have someone be sent
up to check on Theresa's condition."
Pilar nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Crane."
"Now
everybody get some shut eye, and we'll all discuss things in the morning,"
with those words, Julian left with Rebecca and Ivy following him.
"Come on
Ethan," Gwen started tugging at his arm. "Let's go back to bed."
Ethan glared
at Fox before following his fiancé out the door, "Fox, she's too good for
you. Stay away from her."
Fox just gave
another smirk and waved his brother away. The door slammed shut and he turned
to the other occupants in the room. "Hi Pilar,
how are you doing?"
"Fox,"
Pilar said softly, "I'm just fine. My, you've
grown into such a handsome young man."
"But of
course," Fox said arrogantly, and then his tone softened slightly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause a commotion.
Well – I mean I did, but not like this. I didn't know she was sleeping in this
room." He hands gestured to the still unconscious Theresa.
"It's
alright Fox," Pilar nodded. "I know you
mean no harm. Why don't you go settle in for the night, I'm sure you are very
tired from your journey."
"You know
Pilar, I think I'll go do that," reaching over
to give the older Spanish woman a hug, he stood up and began to head towards
the door, "I'll stop by and apologize to her tomorrow morning. Good night Pilar."
"Good
night Fox," Pilar replied, "Welcome
home."
xxx
"Hello
step mommy, I must say, your pictures don't do you justice."
Theresa
stood starring at the man in front of her. He was real this whole time? How
could this be possible?
And what
did he mean by step mommy? Was it possible he was Julian's son? Why did he call
her step mommy? She and Julian weren't married anymore; their marriage had been
annulled!
"Theresa...
Theresa..."
Slowly Theresa
came too. She opened her eyes and looked up into the concerned face of her
mother. "Mama?" she asked groggily, "What happened?"
"Oh thank
goodness you're alright, how are you feeling?"
Suddenly the
past events came rushing back to her. "Mama! That
man, who was he?"
Pilar looked confused. "Mija, that was Fox Crane. The son of Julian
and Ivy."
"Mama,"
Theresa whispered urgently, "I know this might sound crazy, but I've met
him before! I've been dreaming about him! He's the man from my dreams."
Pilar reached out to touch Theresa's forehead. It didn't seem like she
had a fever. "Theresita, I think maybe you
should get some sleep. All this excitement has gone to your head. Everything
will be clearer in the morning."
"I'm not
lying, mama!" Theresa insisted, "I've been dreaming about him. He's
the man from my dreams!"