(by Ivy) PART III: CALM BEFORE THE STORM
It was a dark evening in Harmony. It was full of dark clouds, hail and no electricity. Sheridan Crane looked out of her window at the gloomy sky. She was all alone. She knew she was curious about the weather reports, but without any electricity, she didn’t have a clue as to what would happen. “I’ve got to find out what’s going on” she told herself. Quickly, grabbing her keys, Sheridan was about to head out to the Crane mansion and check on what was going on with them. But just as she was putting on her jacket, there was a knock at her door. “Sheridan, it’s me! Open the door!!” a demanding voice called. Recognizing it, she opened the door. “Luis, what are you doing here?!” she asked, shocked. Luis stared at her for a few minutes before answering. “You have to get out of here. It’s dangerous” he replied. “What? What’s going on? I was just about to go and inquire about the power cut. There must be a black out all over Harmony. Luis, what happened?” “Sheridan, just trust me. People are being taken to the nearest shelter. The weather is only going to get worse. And it’s not wise to stay here all by yourself” he said. Sheridan sighed and looked up at him. “Ok” she said. She locked her door and followed Luis to his car. He remained silent as he drove on, almost too silent. “This is unlike you. You haven’t said a word” Sheridan commented with a faint smile. Luis kept his eyes on the road. “Just thinking” he said. “About what?” she asked, inquisitively. He looked preoccupied. It was obvious that he was worried. “Luis, what’s wrong?” “Sheridan, did you by any chance see my mother today?” “I’m afraid, not” “Oh” His concerned expression grew solemn. He couldn’t yell at her anymore. He didn’t have the strength to do so nor the heart. Something had gone wrong and Sheridan sensed it. No matter how hard Luis tried to hide his feelings, she could still see the terror in his eyes. Suddenly, he halted the car to an abrupt stop as soon as he spotted the strange car pile up, ahead. “Oh, no!” he exclaimed. “Now what happened, Luis?” “A car accident! You should know a lot about it!” he snapped. She pursed her lips in frustration. Luis then realized he’d upset her. He didn’t mean to, but he had. “Hey, I’m sorry. I can’t help worrying about my family. I just hope they’re safe” he said. She looked at him, sympathetically. She couldn’t understand him at all. He was a man who cared and did so much to protect his family but was very insensitive to someone else. Sheridan stared out at the car pile up. A woman had been hit by a car and traffic had slowed down as a result. “Well, I should go see who was hit by the car” Luis said. “Yeah, I’ll go with you” she replied. He parked his car on the side and the two of them walked towards Sam Bennett and the others. Sam looked very disturbed and anxious. “Hey...uh...Luis...” he said, haltingly. “Who was it, Sam? Is she going to be okay?” Luis asked, gently. Sam didn’t seem to want to answer, but slowly looked up and broke the news. “She was just passing by and dropped her things and when she tried to pick them up, the car hit her. The paramedics are examining her. But it really doesn’t look good” Sam said. “Well, come on, Sam, who was it? Do I know her?” Luis pursued. “Yeah, you know her. It’s.......Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald.....your mother” Sam replied with the pain in watching Luis’s reaction. Sheridan gasped. “Oh....my.....oh.....Pilar.....oh” Sheridan murmured. How could it be Pilar? The one woman who had been like a mother to her. Sheridan began to weep, but she quickly straightened, noticing that Luis was still staring at Sam in disbelief. “I’m sorry, Luis. The weather has been bad. And I....” Sam began. “No. I’ve gotta to get to Theresa and Miguel” Luis interrupted. “Here’s my cell phone. You can call them” Sheridan said, offering him the phone. “Oh, right!” he said, sarcastically. He took the phone and walked over to another corner and began dialing numbers. “Poor Luis” Sam muttered. “What?” Sheridan asked. “It’s just....he’s always been the hero to his family. I mean, Pilar and Luis were very close” Sam replied. Sheridan bent her head down, sadly. Luis came back and turned to Sam. “They’re headed for the hospital. I’m going to go” he said. Sheridan followed him and once again; he drove in silence. She kept quiet as well. When they got to the hospital, the stretcher was brought in with Pilar in it and she had been bleeding. The doctors took her to the emergency room. Luis sighed, deeply and sat down in the waiting room. Sheridan sat down next to him. No one said a word for a few minutes. Then Theresa and Miguel appeared. Both of them were crying. Sheridan felt horrible. She didn’t want to cry in front of Luis. After all, his brother and sister needed him. Miguel buried his face in his hands and Theresa sobbed on Luis’s shoulder. “It’s ok...it’ll be ok” his voice was faint. Soon, friends began to show up when they heard what happened. Charity, Jessica, Reese, Kay and Simone rushed to Miguel’s side and Whitney appeared to console Theresa. Hank and Sam Bennett walked in to inquire about Pilar’s condition.“Hey, buddy, you ok?” Hank asked Luis. He nodded, in reply. Dr. Eve Russell walked out of the emergency room looking very grave. “She’s being moved to the I.C.U and from this point onwards uh.....honestly........anything could happen, uh....she’s lost too much blood....we’re going to need a blood transfusion” she told them. “I’ll do it. I have the same blood type” Luis said. Eve led him into a room. He wanted to donate more blood, but she wouldn’t let him. He came back to the waiting room, feeling a little weak. “I’m going outside for a second....excuse me” Luis said. Sheridan followed him, closely. He sat down on a bench, nearby where nobody was around and gazed at the sky. “Hey, Luis” she whispered. “What do you want?” “It’s all right, Luis. You can stop pretending. You don’t have to play the hero, anymore” she answered, tenderly. “I’m very sorry, Sheridan. Really, I am. I’m sorry for everything. Everything that happened or that I’ve said to you. Listen, thank you for coming here with me” he said. “I’m sorry, too. Luis, I’m here for you, if you ever need me, that is” she replied. Luis couldn’t stop trembling as the tears began to trickle down his cheeks. “Hey, hey, hey, it’s all right” Sheridan said, softly. He began to cry. The saintly woman that had nurtured him from the start was hit by a car. His own mother. Why her? His face was etched with agony. Sheridan reached out to touch his face. “Oh, Luis” she said. She wrapped her arms around him and he leaned against her. He held onto her, tightly, unable to let go. She sought comfort in holding him and didn’t let go, for a while. Luis had always suppressed his feelings and keeping them locked away inside had to break free, someday. “Why---why---her?” “Shhh...it’s ok” she hushed. Luis gently pulled away from her and stood up. “We should go back, inside” he said, wiping his eyes. Sheridan nodded and walked in with him. His gaze was fixed intently on hers. She was the one who came to him in his time of need. She was not a snob. She was a compassionate, sweet and caring woman. It had taken Luis so long to realize what Sheridan was really like. She was feeling the same way. Sheridan rarely saw Luis cry. He had an extremely harsh life and out of the goodness of his heart, he sacrificed his dreams for his family. He really was a hero. They both kept their eyes on each other. “Pilar’s going to be just fine, thanks to Luis, but she’s going to take a while to fully recover. There’s been no serious physical damage and she can go home whenever she feels up to it. She’s sleeping right now, but you can see her” Eve announced. Everyone breathed sighs of relief. Luis walked outside with Sheridan after checking on Pilar. This time, they talked. They talked about whatever came to mind. Just the two of them. Luis gently stroked Sheridan’s hair. She touched his face and moved closer. “LUIS??” Theresa hollered. He backed away from Sheridan upon hearing Theresa’s voice. “I should go” Sheridan said. “I’ll see you, later” Luis replied. Theresa stared at him. “You have feelings for her. The reason you’ve been keeping your distance to her is because you like her, don’t you? There’s no use in denying it, Luis. I see right through you. You were afraid of what people would say. I mean, Luis liking a member of the Crane family! Come on, admit it. You’re falling hard for Sheridan Crane” Theresa said. Luis couldn’t argue with his sister, instead he changed the subject and took her back to the hospital.
In a few days, Pilar went home and was all right. Luis continued to think about Sheridan and Theresa kept hassling him about his feelings for her. He was still unable to argue with her and denying what she said didn’thelp, either.
