I would like to tell you a story. A magnificent love story. You might not believe it, and if it hadn't happened to me, I don't think I would have believed it myself. But it is true. It all started one night after one of our more illustrious fights. We yelled, she threw things, they hit me. If I was a betting man, what am I saying? I am a betting man! Anyway, I bet Sheridan even could hear us from her cottage. I had been my usual drunken ass, saying things to her that I didn't mean. Spouting words of hatred and regret, watching my words penetrate through her soul. She had countered my venomous words with hateful ones of her own. I had heard it all before, but for some reason they stung this night. I listened to her talk about our life together, our marriage, our sham of a relationship. She spoke of the love she had once felt for me, and of how stupid she had been for letting herself feel anything for me. Between the obscenities and glares she talked of our wedding night. The night that I killed her spirit, and her passion for life.

She was speaking of an incident with my father she had overheard. He was telling me over the speaker phone, which by the way, I have never understood. Why an intelligent, secretive man would use speaker phone when he knows anyone within earshot can hear him, is beyond me. Anyway, back to the incident. My father was talking to me about my marriage. The marriage he and Mr. Winthrop had set up. Ivy overheard us talking about how she was such a great trophy, and how she would be great for the company. She left the mansion that evening thinking that I didn't love her, that I only was with her to complete the business merger. She never knew the truth.

After about an hour of intense fighting, she left my room, slamming the door behind her. I sat down on the edge of my bed and rubbed my temples. Then, for the first time since my mother’s death, I cried. I cried for the life I could have had, for the marriage and family I could have been a part of. I could have had a great life, if only I had done one thing differently. If only I had stood up to my father. I let him run and ruin my life. I did whatever he asked of me, and for what? To be ridiculed and emotionally abused for the rest of my existence? To be manipulated into doing everything his cowardliness wouldn't allow him to do. I hated myself for what I had become. I had let power and money influence all of my decisions, and now I had nothing. A wife who hated me, and children who didn't want anything to do with me.

As I sat on the edge of my bed that night, tears streaming down my face, I wished for something that I knew could never happen. I wished that I was back in the study, on my wedding night. I wished that I could relive that one day over, and change everything.

Well here is the part that you're never going to believe...

My wish came true.

~*Chapter One*~

I couldn't believe it, but it was true. It was my wedding night and I was standing in the study, a brandy in my hand, my disheveled tuxedo shirt opened at the collar. I looked around; finding everything as it had been over twenty-five years ago. The pictures on the desk were of Sheridan and myself, there were no pictures of my family, the family I share with Ivy. I took a sip of my brandy, disgusted by the taste it left in my mouth. Setting the glass down on the desk, I decided that the first change I would make in my new life would be to quit drinking. My new life? Could this really be happening? Is this a dream? Then I heard it, the sound I have always dreaded hearing.

"Julian! What the hell is the matter with you? You haven't answered my question."

His voice boomed over the speakerphone like a freight train colliding with a jet. I took in a deep breath and pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and pointer finger.

"I'm sorry, father, what was the question again?"

I realized at this moment how much I hated this man. I almost chuckled to myself at the image of my father sitting in his study, all alone with only his money to keep him company. It made me sick when I become conscious of the fact that I was just like this man. It would end here and now.

"Honestly, Julian, sometimes I wonder if you are more of an idiot than I give you credit for. I asked you what you thought of your new trophy wife. When Mr. Winthrop and I put this little arrangement together, I had no idea how beautiful she was. She is exactly what this company needs, a pretty face to show off to the public. Not to mention ..."

I had heard enough. I felt sick to my stomach. How had I ever let him talk this way about her? How had I gone along with his plan? He had always told me there was no room for love, that if I wanted to move up in Crane Industries I would have to shut my heart. Sure, I could have unmeaningful sex with whomever I wanted, but love was out of the question. It gets in the way of levelheaded business he would say. So I listened to him. I turned away from the one good thing in my life, Ivy. I could feel my blood begin to boil. This man had ruined everything I had ever cared about, and now I had a chance to change things.

"ENOUGH! Father, that is quite enough!"

I surprised myself with the strength of my voice. I was no longer afraid of him. I already knew what my life would be like if I listened to him, so now I was unafraid to find out what it would be like if I didn't listen to him. It couldn't be any worse.

"You are talking about my beautiful and sweet wife like she is a piece of meat. Yeah, maybe you set this marriage up, but the instant I saw her I knew I couldn't live without her. Father, she is the woman I love, and if you ever, EVER speak of her in the manner in which you have just spoken, I swear I will make your life a living hell."

Silence. My heart was racing. I had just stood up to my father, to the man of whom I had been afraid of my whole life. It felt good. What am I saying? It felt amazing. Still more silence. I don't think I can remember a time when he was speechless. I decided that this conversation was over and I did something else I had always wanted to do.

"Father, this conversation is over." I hung up the phone. I hung up on my father as he had done to me countless of times. As great as I was feeling, nothing could prepare my heart for what I saw next.

There she was, standing in the doorway. Her soft golden hair cascading around her shoulders. She looked amazing, still in her silk wedding dress, her tiny waist accentuated by the fitted material. Her gorgeous blue eyes sparkled behind a pool of tears, which had not yet fallen. But there was something else in her eyes. Something that took my breath away. Something I don't ever remember seeing in her eyes when she looked at me...Love.

Chapter Two

As she walked towards me the tears began falling slowly down her flawless cheeks. She was stunning. I can remember feeling a love that I never knew existed. I can't believe I almost lived my life without this feeling. I wanted to take her in my arms and never let her go.

"Julian, I ..." She looked down at her white satin heels and began again. "No one has ever stood up for me like that before. I am ashamed to admit this, but I didn't know if you even loved me. For some reason my head kept telling me that you married me only out of obligation to our fathers, to benefit Crane Industries. When I heard your father's words I feared you would agree with him. I was pleasantly surprised when you ... well you know ... told him off." She had a smile on her face that melted my heart. How could I have ever been so completely and totally ignorant? Why did I spend most of my life hurting this amazing creature? I drew in a deep breath and asked a question I had always wanted the answer to.

"Ivy ... do you ... do you love me?" I waited with anxiously as I studied her eyes, hoping to see the answer in them. Her eyes were warm and inviting, again something I never had the privilege of witnessing before.

"Yes, Julian. I love you. More than I ever thought possible." I walked towards her slowly and when I was right in front of her I leaned in a little closer. I was almost apprehensive about kissing her, considering our past, but I did it anyways. I took her delicate chin in my hand and tilted her face up towards mine. Looking deep into her piercing blue eyes I lowered my mouth to hers. When I felt the softness on her lips beneath mine my stomach did a flip-flop. I heard a small sigh as she deepened the kiss, parting my lips with her tongue. As we stood there in the study and kissed, time seemed to stand still. I hadn't felt anything like it in my life, and I had been with a lot of women. Never had it felt so magical to just kiss. This must be what it feels like to kiss the woman you love.

Chapter Three

I still couldn't believe this was happening. I mean it was like a movie. It just isn't possible to travel back in time. But there I was, kissing Ivy. The woman who had told me countless number of times how disgusting I was to her, how repulsed she was by me. I couldn't stop kissing her, holding her, touching her, she made me come alive. The shrill ringing of the telephone rudely interrupted the undeniably perfect moment. We broke apart, both breathless, and grinning.

"It's probably your father." She looked at the phone and then back at me.

"Yeah, I know. C'mon, let's get out of here." I grabbed her hand and led her out of the stuffy room. She looked up at me with admiration. "How would you like to go get some ice cream?" The look on her face was priceless, as if I had asked her to cut off an arm.

"You mean to tell me, you don't mind hanging out with the locals? I am seeing a new side of you tonight, and I have to say, I really like it." She was right. I had never spent any time with the locals before. It was strange, as if my body had been taken over by someone else, someone nice. But it was I, Julian. I was a different man. God had given me a second chance and I wasn't going to blow it. "What about your father?" She asked looking back towards the study.

"To hell with him."

That night was the best night of my life. It was the beginning of my new world, a world of love, and happiness. After we changed clothes, and enjoyed some ice cream, we took a long walk on the beach. It was crazy, here I was on our wedding night, and I wasn't obsessing about getting her into bed. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't wait to share that intimacy with her, but I knew the time would come and it would be perfect. Anyway, we walked along the beach for over two hours. We just held hands and talked, stopping every once in a while to kiss. You can imagine my shock when she started telling me about Sam, and the relationship they shared before we met. She had kept her previous relationship with Sam a secret from me for over twenty-five years, and now on our first night together she was telling me everything. She told me of the love they shared and how her heart had broken when he left. She told me about her father, and of his disapproval of Ivy being with a local.

But what surprised me most was what she said next. I think these were her exact words.

"I'm so lucky to have found you, Julian. I never thought I would love another man like I loved Sam, and now I know that's not true."

I wish I could have seen the expression on my face, I'm sure it was one of disbelief and adoration. How could I have gotten so lucky. I know I never did anything to deserve such a great reward. Whatever the reason, I think I thanked God more on that one night than I had in my entire life. I didn't want the evening to end, and after another twenty minutes of talking on the beach we headed back to the mansion.

I want to let you know that now my story gets a little steamy. Not much, but a little. I just need to let you know how incredible my wedding night was, and to do that I need to give you some details. Well, first off we get back to the mansion and go up to my room. Well actually, it used to be my room, but now it is our room. Anyway, once we got up there my stomach was in knots. I was so nervous! I know what you might be thinking, Julian nervous about making love, but I was. I wanted everything to be perfect for my beautiful new wife. I wasn't even concerned about my own needs. I know, I know, again you are shocked, but it's all true.

We were just standing there looking at each other. Ivy emitted a nervous laugh and then turned around to take in her surroundings. She walked around the room looking at the various pieces of artwork and pictures. I just watched her in awe of her beauty and grace. When she turned around and looked at me, I saw her bite her bottom lip. Just that simple gesture made my heart jump into my stomach. I walked up and stood in front of her. I lifted her chin up with the pads of my fingers and placed a soft kiss on her sweet lips. She took in a deep breath and wrapped her arms around my neck. Our lips parted and our tongues met, slowly and tenderly circling one another. She broke the kiss, and with a sexy smile she walked over to her luggage. She made me turn around as she pulled something out of her expensive suitcase. She then went into our connected bathroom and shut the door. I quickly stripped myself of my clothing and was on my way over to the bed, clad only in my boxers, when I passed by the dresser mirror. When I came face to face with myself, I chuckled. I was young again. I had to admit I really looked good in my youth. I was tan, with a big chest, and strong arms. I was flexing in the mirror like an idiot when I heard Ivy giggle. I spun around, completely embarrassed, and I almost lost my footing when I saw her. Her soft blonde hair was down and it looked like one of those commercials where you could see the sunlight streaming through her golden waves. She was wearing a little white nightie that had a deep plunging neckline, and her tan legs, peering out the bottom seemed to go on for a mile. She looked stunning. When she turned around and walked towards the bed I sighed loudly. The little white nightie was completely backless, with the soft satin material covering only her rear. She turned around and gave me an alluring glance as she patted the bed beside her. That was all the prompting I needed as I hurried to meet her.

We fell together on the bed and started kissing like our lives depended on it. I gently pushed the tiny straps of satin off of her shoulders. She sat up on her knees and let the material slide down her body, getting caught momentarily at her heaving breasts. She now sat before me in only a pair of while lace panties. In our entire previous marriage I can count the number of times I had seen her naked. I had stored a picture in my brain of her, and it paled in comparison to the real thing. She was simply perfect. Her skin was so soft and flawless; her breasts, perky and full. We met at the middle of the bed; she pressed her body against mine, and the feel of her skin on mine was almost too much. We continued to caress and kiss every inch of each other's bodies, and when the moment came and we united as man and wife, it was heavenly. It was the best feeling I had ever felt in my entire life. We were one. As we held onto each other, I had a security like I had only felt before my mother had died. I knew I had found happiness, and I wasn't going to do anything to screw it up this time. We fell asleep together for the first time in our lives, and it was delightful.

The next morning when I woke up, I couldn't wait to spend the day with my sweet bride. I yawned and reached over for her, but she was gone. I looked around the room, but there was no sign of her, or her belongings. No! How could life be so cruel. Had I dreamt the whole thing?

Chapter Four

I looked up towards the heavens and shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Wwwhhhyyy?"

Two seconds later Ivy came sprinting into the bedroom with a horrified expression on her face.

"Julian, what's wrong?" I jumped out of bed and ran to her. I enveloped her tiny frame within my arms. I picked her up and twirled her around, as she giggled. I buried my face into her neck taking in the scent of her sweet perfume.

"Nothing precious, everything is perfect. I just had a bad dream." I set her back down on the floor, never taking my eyes off of her for one minute. "I have everything I have ever dreamt of right here in this room." I looked around the room, and again noticed that her suitcases were gone. "Where are all of your things?" I looked deep into her eyes, almost afraid of her answer. Ivy and I had never shared a bedroom, and I feared that she had already moved her stuff into a separate room.

"I put them away while you were sleeping." She opened a couple of drawers in my dresser to show me her belongings. "I hope that is all right with you. I am afraid we will need to get a couple more dressers though, and I might need to use another closet for all of my clothes. These are about full, and I have a ton more I still need to bring ..." I just smiled as I watched her move through our room, telling me about her ideas. My mind began to wander a bit, as I watched her nightgown flow around her at every move she made. This is my life now, and I finally believed it. "... And I can't believe you are still asleep at 9:45. I always thought you were an early riser." She paused and looked in my direction. "Julian why are you looking at me with that goofy grin?"

"I just can't believe you're heart belongs to me. And Ivy, you can have as many dressers as your heart desires. I fact you can have anything your heart desires." I smiled at her as she approached me and gave me a wicked grin.

"Anything?"

"And then some."

That started our second session of love making in our fantastic new life.

"I'm sorry you feel that way father. I have made a decision and I am sticking with it. Why do I have to be manipulative and spiteful to be a good businessman? Don't you think it makes more sense to befriend the people who work for us? As I see it you have two options. You can keep me as a major figure in Crane Industries, using my ideas and work ethic. Or, you can make the biggest mistake of your life and fire me. In which case I will take the small fortune mother left for me, which I rightly claimed on my twenty-first birthday, and start my own company."

I was in the study talking to my father. Ivy was sitting beside me holding my hand. She was all the support I needed. I knew I was making the right decision. The pride in her eyes was all the incentive I needed. His booming voice came over the speaker again.

"Julian, you are a damn fool. Do you really think you can start your own company? You are to stupid to accomplish anything on your own. You know you need me to succeed. You couldn't even ..."

I cut him off before he had a chance to finish belittling me "Father, not only do I have the ability to succeed on my own, I have the ability to ruin you. The things you have done, and said. The many crimes you've committed, the many times you have perjured yourself, well it's would be enough to keep you behind bars forever."

"Is that a threat, Julian?"

"Call it what you will. All I am saying is I'm not someone to be messed with. From the tone you are taking with me I can only assume you don't want me working for the company anymore. If that is the case, fine. I accept that. However, I will not tolerate you bothering my family or me. Is that understood?"

"How dare you take that patronizing tone with me! You're damn right you won't be working for the family anymore, in fact you are no longer considered family at all. I want you, your wife and your belongings out of that house immediately. Is that clear."

"Crystal. And father, I will make a name for myself. You just wait."

That night Ivy and I collected all of our things and moved into her parent's house until we could get a place of our own. Thank God I had my mother's inheritance. With it we would be able to buy a house, start our own company, buy a couple of cars and still be very comfortable.

When we went to bed that night my heart was filled with a peace like I had never known. Even after being disinherited and thrown out of the mansion I had grown up in, I felt secure. There were a ton of questions running around in my brain, but I put them all aside and cuddled up against the warmth of Ivy's body. I was asleep in a matter of minutes.

Chapter Five

The next few months seemed to fly by, as so much was happening in our busy lives. We had purchased a quaint little house on Lily Street. I know, just the name of the street is sweet. Let me clarify. By quaint I mean a six bedroom, three and a half bathroom home that had just been built. Ivy's favorite thing about the house was the remote control lights and fans. I have to admit they did come in handy.

Besides buying a new home, we also started up our new company. And I say our new company because Ivy and I were partner, equals. We shared every aspect of the business together, and I must say, the woman is a damn good businessman. We named our company The Ivian Financial Group. Ivy counseled families and businesses having financial difficulties. She taught them how to make small adjustments to save money, how to reduce their debt, and how to stick to their budget. She was amazing. She would even follow up on every client to see how they were doing; everyone loved her. I took the knowledge I had gained from working at Crane Industries and basically, I made people money. I taught my clients about the stock market, about mutual funds, IRA's, and which investments would be best for their personal finances. I had clients ranging from low-income families to multi-million dollar companies. Our little company was growing rapidly.

I had to admit it was a different world for me. I was so used to manipulating and deceiving people while I worked for my father. I was used to being hated by those who worked for me, and also by those whom the company had hurt. Now, people were giving me gifts, and telling me how much they appreciated me, and all I did for them. Me, they appreciated me, Julian Crane. I was amazed at the effects of praise. All I wanted to do was help them more, spend time with them, befriend them. It was wonderful.

Not only was our business successful, so was our marriage. Now, I'm not saying we didn't have our difficulties. We could fight with the best of them. I might have gone back in time, but we were still the same two people. Both stubborn and opinionated. But we learned a lot about each other in a short amount of time.

For instance I learned, after being clobbered over the head with a wet mop, that Ivy didn't like to be asked if it was that time of month. She learned that it didn't make me too happy to sit down on the bed to tie my shoes, and stand up with wet pants, because she had left a wet towel on the bed. I learned she didn't like me to use her scrap booking scissors to cut twine. She learned it frustrated me when she didn't keep the cell phone on at all times in case I lock my keys in the car at a remote location. Like I said, we learned a lot about each other. I also learned that this is what it is like to have a normal loving relationship. Yeah we fight, just like everyone else, but instead of fighting about who is most disgusted by the other, like I remember of our past, we fought about whether or not Law and Order was on at eight or nine o-clock. And the best part! We always made up, and never went to bed angry. I had never been so happy in my entire life

One of the most joyous days came about six weeks after we were married. I will tell you about the day exactly as it had happened. I returned home from work that evening, Ivy was already home because she had left the office feeling sick. Anyway, I walked in the door, and handed her some flowers I had picked up for her. (Another thing I learned about Ivy is that she loved flowers, especially when she wasn't feeling well.)

She smiled graciously at me and reached out for the long stemmed pink roses. She motioned for me to sit down on the couch while she went into the kitchen. When she came out of the kitchen she was carrying a bowl. She sat down next to me, and with a huge smile, she handed me the small children's size bowl. My confusion grew when I looked into the bowl and recognized the contents. In the small bowl was a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a pickle resting on the top. I looked up at Ivy's glowing face, as the picture became more clear.

"Are you? Are we?" She just nodded her head yes. I set the bowl down on the couch and grabbed her. I hugged her tightly and planted tiny kisses all over her face and head. "I can't believe this. How far along are you?"

"Six weeks. Which means, this is a wedding night baby." As I digested what she was saying, something in the back of my mind was nagging at me. It all of a sudden hit me. Who is this baby? Are we going to have the same children? As I'm sure you remember, it came out that Ethan was Sam's son. Or was he? We never did a paternity test. Could she be carrying Ethan right now? Our Ethan? Or have I changed history even more than I thought. What if we don't have the same children? What if this baby is a girl?

We found out seven months later.

Chapter Six

We had gone to the Lamaze classes, all of the prenatal appointments, and read all the books together. We even had a plan, the bags packed and the route to the hospital mapped out. We were ready. I had never been involved in any of the births of my children, so this was a first for me, and very exciting.

Our Lamaze instructor had taught us what we needed to know. I had four jobs in the whole birthing process. My first job was to encourage Ivy. Remind her of how much I love her, and how great of a job she was doing. Job two was to massage her back, and or, any other body part that might need attention. The third job, and maybe the most important, was to help her through the contractions by going through the breathing methods were had learned. And finally, my last job was to keep her comfortable with pillows, ice chips, music, pain medication, whatever she needed. As I said before, we were ready. Or so I thought.

"Julian, Julian!" I'm not sure how long she had been calling my name, before decided that backhanding me in the chest was a much more effective way to rouse me from dreamland.

"I'm awake, I'm awake! What? What's wrong? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, but I think this baby wants out."

"Are you sure?" I asked her rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Well, since I haven't wet the bed since I was three, I am going to assume that this big wet spot I am sitting in is amniotic fluid." She climbed out of bed, and I saw the spot she was referring to.

"I bet you lost like eight pounds with that expulsion." She glared at me, cuing me into the fact that she wasn't amused. She started removing the bedding from the soaked mattress. "Ivy, what are you doing? You are about to have a baby. Now is not the time for spring-cleaning. Leave it there. We will just buy a new mattress and bedding." She looked over and smiled at me as if I had just offered her a country of her own. She picked up the sheet and threw it back onto the bed, just as her first contraction hit.

"Oh son of a ..." I will sensor this for younger listeners, but let me just say, she was in a lot of pain. We threw on some clothes, grabbed the bag, the keys and the cell phone and shot out the door.

By the time we reached the hospital her contractions were about every five minutes. I had called Dr. Russell in route, and she met us at the door, a wheel chair in front of her. Ivy sat down in the chair and we quickly made it up to the labor and delivery floor. They hooked her up to a machine that read the baby's heart beat and also monitored her contractions. I put my hand on her belly as I spoke to our unborn child, telling him or her how excited I was to meet them. When I felt her abdomen grow hard, I knew a contraction was coming. I watched the monitor and rubbed her arm soothingly.

"You're doing great honey. I'm so proud of you." She smiled feebly at me and let out a deep breath. That was the last smile I saw until after out child was born. Remember the four jobs I told you about? Well let's just say they weren't going as well as I had hoped.

After about two hours of intense labor, lots of foul language, and about two miles worth of walking around, Dr. Russell checked Ivy's progression.

"Well you are now three centimeters dilated and about 75 percent effaced." Ivy's face fell.

"You mean to tell me that after two hours of hell, I am only one more centimeter dilated than when I came in?" I knew that look all too well. She had had enough.

"Sweetheart, you're doing great. You can do this." I massaged her shoulders encouragingly. Well, I thought it was encouragingly anyway. Apparently though, she didn't feel the same way. She pulled me to her by the collar, and looked me strait in the eyes when she spoke.

"You know what? I know you are trying to help, but the massages are really annoying me, you keep spitting on me when you get in my face telling me how to breath, if I see one more cup of ice chips I'm going to hurl, and if you tell me one more time how great I'm doing, I think I will punch you in the face. I'm not doing great; I'm doing crappy! So unless you can climb inside my body and do this for me, or unless you have something intelligent to say, DON'T TALK! And will someone turn that damn music off!"

So, as you can see, in one breath Ivy reduced my jobs to one. For the rest of the birth, my one job was just to be there for her.

"How about you take a Jacuzzi bath? Didn't they say those helped a little?" Ivy's face brightened at the idea.

"Now that is intelligent." She told me. I smiled, proud to have done something right. We slipped her out of her clothes and turned on the water. She relaxed a bit as the jets of water soothed her aching muscles. But it was short lived. Her contractions were coming about every three minutes now, and she was having a really hard time. It was so awful to watch her in so much pain and know there was nothing I could do to make it go away. Ivy had decided that she wanted to deliver this baby without any drugs, but after about six contractions she was starting to rethink her decision.

"Julian, go get the doctor. I think I want drugs." I hopped up and started to open the door when she stopped me.

"Wait, wait. I'm okay now, I don't need them." I took my seat on the edge of the tub at about the same time another contraction came.

"Yeah, okay. Go get Dr. Russell." I started the same process when she stopped me again.

"Wait stop. I'm okay. I think I can do it." I made a second intelligent decision when I told her that I was getting the doctor.

"Ivy, you don't have to do this. You have gone through more pain than I can ever imagine, and you don't have to. They said that it wouldn't hurt the baby, so why don't I just go get the doctor.

"But I wanted to be tough; I wanted to do this naturally." Her face grimaced as another contraction hit.

"Ivy, you are tough. I would have had drugs as soon as I walked into the building. Watching you go through this today, you have amazed me. You are seriously my hero. I could never do what you are doing. I am simply in awe of your strength." I said a few more things that I think went unheard because the next contraction was a big one.

"Okay, go get the doctor." I started for the door and paused, expecting her to stop me. Instead this is what I heard.

"Well, what the hell are you waiting for, an invitation from the baby?" I chuckled to myself as I went out the door. I asked the nurse to sit with Ivy as I went to find Eve.

By the time Eve returned with the anesthesiologist Ivy was tired and irritable. We had gotten out of the tub, put her gown back on were now attached to the monitor again. She had only had about two hours worth of sleep before her water broke, and she was exhausted.

Jeff, the anesthesiologist, gave her a drug called Stadol, to relax her. The problem was that it relaxed her, but did nothing for the pain. So now she was in a lot of pain, and could barely keep her eyes open. So Jeff decided to give her an epidural as well. I knew, once I saw the long needle, that I would probably pass out if I watched, so while he was administering the drug, I started pulling out the "daddy bed". Which was a small chair that opened up into a tiny bed. Eve told us that once the drug took effect that it would be a good idea to take a nap.

Ivy was at four centimeters when they checked her before giving her the epidural, and about ten minutes later, after telling Jeff the anesthesiologist that she loved him and would marry him if she wasn't taken, she told Dr. Russell that she felt a lot of pressure. Dr. Russell decided to check her again, and found her completely dilated and effaced.

"Wow, Ivy. You are ready to push." When I heard this I looked at Ivy, who looked at Dr. Russell and then at me.

"Really?" She asked, shocked."

"Really. Now the pushing process usually takes about an hour for first time deliveries, so while I go get ready, Michelle (she was our wonderful nurse) will get you started. Eve left to get her scrubs on and Michelle took over telling Ivy what she needed to do. I held her hand and kissed her forehead. She looked at me and gave me a nervous grin. The medication was working full force so she barely could feel her contractions. On her next contraction Ivy pushed with all her might.

"Great job Ivy, now breathe it out. We'll do it again on the next one." True to her word, she told Ivy to push again on the next contraction. At this moment Eve came back into the room and looked at Ivy. She then noticed that the baby's head was almost crowning. No one had bothered to check how things were going down on that end.

"Stop pushing! That baby's going to land on the floor if you push again." Eve quickly finished putting her gloves on and readied herself at the foot of the bed. Ivy only pushed three more times and our baby was born. Dr. Russell held the precious child up and announced ...

"It's a boy." I felt my heart burst. A boy, it's a boy. They brought him up and put him on Ivy's chest. The tiny baby let out a holler like I had never heard, as they wiped him off. He calmed down after a minute and took in his world around him. I reached down and stroked his little hand, and as I did, his tiny fingers wrapped around my pinky, and he looked up at me. I looked into his little face and I knew. I was completely shocked by what Ivy said next.

"Let's name him Ethan."

Chapter Seven

With those four little words, Ivy managed to remind me of the life we had in the past…in another time. The life I changed with one little wish to undo one moment in my entire life. I had managed to get everything I wanted by changing that moment in time: my wife, my freedom and now my son. Ethan was most definitely my son, not the bastard child of some love affair from our wedding night. Ethan was a Crane through and through and forever would be. All our children would be *our* children and born of love. And this time, Ethan would be raised a Crane that appreciated everything he had and would really know Sheridan as an Aunt…

But then it hit me. I wasn’t the same man that I once was. I didn’t live in the mansion on Raven Hill and my sister didn’t have Pilar and Ivy to lean on. I wasn’t the one ruining the tiny blond anymore. She was alone, trapped in the building without someone to save her from the soulless demon we had as a father. By changing one event in my past, one moment that destroyed my life, I changed the lives of many others, condemning my own sister to take my place. Pilar was working for Ivy at our home and owned a house with her husband, Martin, who was still at Crane Industries and on his way up the ladder. Pilar and Martin were able to have their third child, Theresa, much sooner than planned and she wasn’t some twelve years younger than Luis. In fact, she was now eighteen months. But Sheridan, my dear sister, was alone in the mansion with nothing but her nanny and Father, who would make her cold and calculating. She was being ruined and forced into the life that I had given up.

And Martin, what was going to happen to him? Would that night still take him from his family some years from now? Would father still let my darling little sister believe that she had killed a man in the living room of the mansion like he did before? Would Luis be an enemy of the Cranes that would fall for her and have to suffer learning that his father-in-law had been behind his missing parent? I didn’t want to think about their future, but how could I not? Changing my own future may have very well changed theirs.

Now I am not digressing from my life, mind you, because Sheridan had been part of my life before. A small part, but part all the same. I did make that deathbed promise to my mother to always protect my sister and I failed her before, helping my father destroy her spirit and her life. I refused to let my mother witness another failure and decided there and then that Sheridan would have to be removed from the mansion. Sheridan had been alone in that house for nearly a year now and losing her big brother, as well as her mother, would forever scar her poor four-year-old mind.

“Julian, don’t you like the name Ethan?” Ivy’s sweet voice broke into my thoughts and I remembered my own blond angel and darling son.

“Ethan is a fine name, darling, a fine name. I think he looks like an Ethan, don’t you?” I teased my wife. She looked so beautiful laying there holding our son. I couldn’t believe that I was a father. Did I feel like this last time? Had I cared that I was a father when we had Ethan? No, I can honestly say I didn’t. Father closed me off to all feeling and I hadn’t enjoyed knowing my son. I felt tears come to my eyes and gently roll down my cheeks and quickly wiped them away. I had never been so happy in my entire life.

“I’m not sure what an Ethan looks like,” Ivy giggled and looked into my eyes. “I love you, Julian Crane.”

“I love you too, Ivy,” I leaned in and kissed her forehead gently, thanking God for giving me another change with her. Now I asked him for one more wish, to help me bring my sister to live with us and to make Ivy see that this was for the best.

“Would you like to hold him before I bring him to the nursery?” Eve asked me and I looked at the squirming bundle in my wife’s arms.

“No, let him get some rest…let them both. I have a call to make.”

Eve nodded and left with my son. MY SON! I still wasn’t quite over that and the thought made me smile. “Darling, will you be all right while I make a phone call? I need to check on someone.”

“Sheridan?”

“How did you…”

“I’ve been married to you nearly a year, Julian Crane, I know when you’re thinking about someone else,” Ivy yawned. “And it makes sense that you would be worrying about the little dear. After all, your mother did ask you to watch over her.”

This woman absolutely amazed me and I was never happier to have her as my wife. Well, that’s not true. The last nine months had given me a lot of pleasure and the simple facts that Ivy was my wife and Ethan was my son made me giddy. Think of it: the old stuff shirt Julian Crane was giddy and I haven’t even had a drink. What was the world coming to?

“Ivy, you are amazing.”

“Thank you…now go check on Sheridan. I’m exhausted.”

“I’ll return before you know it,” I kissed her forehead again and left the room, seeking out the nearest payphone. I would have to find a way into the mansion and bring my sister from that dreadful place. I was going to give her a second chance as well: a chance to become the woman my mother would have been!

Chapter Eight

Would you believe that five months of sleepless nights later would be the first time Ivy and I had a chance to be alone? I don’t know what took us so long; we had plenty of offers from people willing to watch Ethan for a night while we “caught up.” But Ivy and I decided that we really wanted to be part of Ethan’s life and not allow one single nanny or sitter raise him. That was the mistake our parents had made. Sending us away made them lose touch with who we were inside. No one cared to know us and we wanted to know our son.

But it wasn’t easy. One sleepless night is enough to ruin you; five months worth is bordering insanity and it did some major damage to my life. The first problem was with our business. With Ivy away on maternity leave for a time, everything was in my somewhat capable hands. Sure, I was part of the team that formed the business; yet I still hadn’t realized just how much my darling wife did for the company. Yes, I certainly had ignored that!

Second was my love life. Pregnancy, dears, is not what it is cracked up to be. Ivy had been bed ridden for the last month of her pregnancy, wanting nothing more than to rest her swollen ankles and eat her fill of mint chocolate chip ice cream with colored sprinkles and pickles! Of course, being the attentive husband that I was, I retrieved these…delightful…treats myself. I think it was my attempt to romance her, but no offense to my female listeners, that isn’t possible. One cannot, and I stress this, please a woman that believes she looks like a beached whale! It is *impossible* to disagree and defend your belief. She’ll shoot you down and that’s what Ivy did to me. I remember that very clearly…I believe her words were “You’re a slimy bastard Julian Crane and I want you to get out of my room! How dare you tell me I look like Miss Piggy!”

All right, I confess calling her Miss Piggy, even jokingly, was a really stupid idea on my part and I will remember that for our next child. She forgave me by the way, allowing me back into the bedroom but forcing me to sleep on the floor. Imagine that! Julian Crane sleeping on the floor. Will wonders never cease?

My final failure was in finding Sheridan. Father, who seems to know everything, has relocated my dear little sister temporarily. The poor darling is supposedly enrolled in a two week camp somewhere in New York state. I have some private investigators attempting to find her even now, but she keeps being moved. She must be so frightened! She never did like changes!

Sighing, I leaned back in my office chair and stared at the phone. Ivy and Ethan were due to arrive any minute and I was dying to see my son again. But more than anything I missed my sister. Ivy and I had discussed it and, while she loved Sheridan, she was a little reluctant to take my sister in. After all, it would anger Alistair, give us a second child to raise and put added strain on all aspects of our lives, especially finances. But how could I allow my sister to suffer?

“Darling!” Ivy’s voice broke through my hazy thoughts and I noticed her carrying my son to me. “Look who is up!”

“Ethan my boy,” I smiled, reaching for my son and holding him close. This was one feeling I would forever enjoy. I had missed this with the children the first time around and now that I had my chance to live life over I was going to make sure I did everything with my children that I hadn’t before. I even had Martin Fitzgerald and his family over for dinner so that he and his sons could teach me football and baseball!!

Ivy leaned in and placed a kiss on my cheek, giving me a loving grin. “Ethan missed you today, but not as much as I had been.”

“I missed you too.”

“Oliver called.”

“And?” I asked excitedly. Oliver was on of the PIs looking for Sheridan.

“Sheridan will be returning to Harmony next weekend…”

That was wonderful news! Despite our disagreement over Sheridan, Ivy wanted my sister to be raised in a home of love. Now all we needed was a plan. Checking the calendar, I realized that it was Sheridan’s birthday. Where was father all those…ITALY!

“Ivy, get Martin on the phone, we’re going after Sheridan this weekend!”

But she didn’t move.

“Ivy?”

“No,” she shook her head. “As much as I love your sister, I will no allow you to do something illegal! So chose now, Julian, our family or your sister…”

And that, dear friends, is when I had to make one of the hardest decisions in my life.

Chapter Nine

My life now hinged on another moment that I could never return to. I had learned the hard way that life without love meant nothing, but could I condemn my sister to that same miserable fate that I had suffered? On the other hand, could I possible chose my sister and cast aside what I had wanted my entire life? When I was rich…when I was a Crane, life without Ivy was hard, but bearable. I had my share of romps in the sack, a maid or two looking to advance their position in the house. Women wanted me; Ivy’s sorority sisters were more than willing to pick up her slack. In fact, I was on the verge of winning Mrs. Rebecca Hotchkiss as my most recent fling…but then I was allowed to atone for my mistakes.

Now I knew that one indecision, one mistake, could change the pathway of an entire lifetime. Had mother never had Sheridan, she wouldn’t have died. Had mother’s sister not drowned, I would most like be born into another family. One event alters a course…just look at Martin Fitzgerald! His decision to undermine my father and then come to the mansion would lead to a lifetime of hurt for his family…and my sister.

Damn decisions! How was I supposed to throw away my marriage, something I had worked hard for this time, for Sheridan? On the other hand, how could I ever live with myself if I let Sheridan and my mother down?

“What if I don’t go in, Ivy…what if there is nothing tracing Sheridan’s escape from the mansion to me?”

“What?” Ivy paused.

“What if Sheridan didn’t have to be stolen from the mansion? Ivy, think about it. Father has her alone in that mansion this weekend…”

“Julian, you’re playing with fire!”

“I’m protecting my family…”

“NO! *I* am your family too, Julian Crane and going after Sheridan will not protect me and Ethan!”

She had a point. Damn I hate being wrong, but what could I do? Sheridan couldn’t stay in that house. “She’s a baby…”

“So is your son!”

I sighed. “Ivy, when my mother died I promised to care for Sheridan. I promised I wouldn’t let anyone ever hurt her and by leaving her with my father, I’m breaking that promise.”

“You made promises to me on our wedding day, Julian. I thought you took those seriously!”

“I do! I always will!”

“Then you will do this for me, Julian, you will leave Sheridan at the mansion.”

I looked at my son and wanted to cry. How could I leave my sister there? How could I end my marriage? How could I make this choice? “All right, Ivy. I won’t make any plans to remove Sheridan from the mansion…”

“Julian,” she knew me so well!

“I…I won’t interfere in her life, are you happy?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I know this is hard…”

“You have no idea…”

“But Sheridan will turn out just fine,” Ivy hugged me, but she had a twinkle in her eyes that made me realize she was up to something. “Mind watching Ethan while I run a few errands?”

“You want to entrust me with the lad? What have you done to my wife?” I teased.

She grinned. “Oh nothing, but can I trust you not to corrupt our child?”

“Of course,” I grinned. “Brandy fits in a bottle, doesn’t it?”

“Ha ha, Julian!” She lifted her purse from my desk. “I’ll be back later, Julian. Try not to turn our five month old into the player of Elm Street, would you?”

I laughed. “Love you, Ivy.”

She smiled sincerely. “I love you too darling,” and she bent to kiss me gently before leaving the room.

One question burned on my mind, however. Just what was my darling wife up to and how much would it cost me?

Chapter Ten

I am going to digress here for the sake of entertainment. I’m sure that you enjoyed my drunken antics of my past life…let’s see I vaguely remember dressing as a matador, a school teacher…I guess I could go on and on with stories of sexual escapades that were, well, odd. It would be futile to waste time on it, however, especially when the stories are definitely…stomach churning!

In an effort to spare you, I will entertain you with my sarcastic wit and vivacious charm…or, I could simply tell you how I spent my day with Ethan. Let me tell you one thing, taking care of a five month old isn’t a piece of cake. It takes…well an attention span much longer than mine and the patience of a saint. Enough with the snickering, I know I’m no saint. I’m trying though!

In any case, I was determined to prove to Ivy that I was capable of handling our tot alone, which of course was my mistake. Men are severely lacking when it comes to being parental icons. It’s not that we *can’t* be fathers, we’re very good at certain aspects, it’s just that we cannot fill in for mothers. There’s something about the rearing process that men lose before puberty. Maybe we don’t play enough house or something…

Where was I going with this? Oh yes, I was going to tell you how I handled a squirming, drooling, whining five-month-old son that Ivy so kindly left me with for six hours, thirty-five minutes and forty-two seconds, not that I was counting or anything. In fact I barely looked at my watch…ok, fine, I admit that I looked at my watch. A LOT!

Keep in mind, this is my first experience with being a father AND caring for the child as a real father should. Before this I never had to change a diaper and a bottle was just what my brandy was kept in. Of course, I knew OF these things, but the concept of parenting was completely foreign to me and, that day with Ethan, I hadn’t a clue what I was doing. I was determined, though, and I swore to myself that only as a last resort would I call someone else.

So, for the first hour with my son, I happily watched him drool over some sort of gooey ring that Ivy had told me was good for teething babies. What the baby was doing slobbering on the plastic of the ring is beyond me. I still haven’t a clue WHY he needed the teething ring, I probably never will understand the theory that this squishy fluid like substance could possibly sooth the aching gums…my mother used rum…

Hmm perhaps that’s where the drinking fetish came in…

I’m completely off track now. Where was I? Oh yes, the first hour of my day with Ethan. So as you know, Ivy left the office with that smirk on her face and those stunning blue eyes twinkling with some secret, which of course kept my mind wandering while Ethan began to learn that his arms were still mobile even in the car seat on my desk. Of course, my mind drifted as I watched him drool and slobber and, of course, that gave a very active infant the chance to discover my ink bottle and calligraphy pen.

Lately, I find myself thanking God for the things He had given me: my family, my friends and my health. That day I thanked him for the invention of bottle lids. The ink, fortunately, was covered, but the still inky pen leaked all over Ethan’s tiny hands and almost his mouth. What is it with babies that they have an incessant need to TASTE everything? To my credit, I did manage to wrestle the items from his grasp and clean him up with those soapy cloth things in those white plastic cases. I think Ivy called them baby wipes…whatever.

Of course, not long after Ethan decided that he had to soil those blasted diapers and of course they had cloth ones with pins back then. Not like it mattered. By time we had our last daughter they had disposable diapers and I still didn’t know how to use them. So of course, here I am, Julian Crane, standing in the middle of my office with my infant laying on my mahogany desk trying my damndest to figure out how to remove the nauseating cloth from my son’s body.

By the grace of God, I managed to change the diaper, find the pail it belonged in and then return to my son who was now happily sucking on his pacifier. It’s amazing how a piece of plastic keeps a child so entertained and, somehow, manages to put them to sleep as well…and that’s how we spent the next few hours: napping.

He woke, unfortunately, twenty minutes before Ivy arrived, again in dire need of a new diaper and, much to my dismay, a feeding. Let me tell you, when you are male and confused as all hell as to what you should be doing, having your son attempt to attach himself to your body for food is very embarrassing. Of course, I didn’t know HOW to make a bottle and my wife had left that minor detail out. So I had but one choice…

Ice Cream!

Well it was MILK right? Somehow in my mind, the ice cream seemed like a viable answer. I guess I was wrong…to this day I laugh when I think about Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald visiting us and stopping me before I could feed my son a spoon of chocolate fudge ice cream. She was a Godsend, that woman, and I wished I would have realized how useful she was. She immediately swept Ethan from my hands, kept his tears at a minimum and made his bottle before I could even say hello. Thank God she was on her way to see Ivy! She stayed around long enough to teach me the art of burping, followed by the clothing change and the wonderful cleaning up of regurgitated formula. These kids should come with warning labels. “Caution, do not hold directly over Armani suits…Spitting up of formula more than likely!” Honestly! It was my good suit!

But by time Ivy was home, little Ethan was sleeping peacefully in his swing and I was on the couch, collapsed from the sheer exhaustion of the last six hours. No wonder Ivy was never in the mood anymore! I heard the front door open and barely had the energy to turn and see my darling wife enter. Except the first one to enter wasn’t Ivy; it was Martin Fitzgerald and his son Luis.

“Martin,” I nodded, glancing quickly at my wife. Ironically, when she first entered the house I didn’t notice she was carrying something. This time, I did. The tiny bundle was shivering constantly, shaking so hard that even Ivy shook in reply. The only thing visible was the fluffy deep purple blanket…a blanket I knew all too well. After all, this blanket had belonged to my mother and her mother before her. That meant only one thing…

“Sheridan?”

Ivy nodded. “She was on the beach with her blanket and nothing else…”

“You found her?”

“No, Luis did,” Martin motioned to his son. “He said that he had a feeling someone was scared and alone at the beach. We found her behind a rock!”

My eyes opened wide. There really was a connection between my sister and this young man. Perhaps that frightened my father more than their finding out about Martin. After all, such a connection could prove to complicate things.

Ivy smiled. “I had my own plans of bringing Sheridan to us, but Luis beat me to it. Besides, she needed someone to save her and I figured I wouldn’t let you do it, but I could,” she teased. “Besides, I didn’t break a single law. We found her just like this on the beach.”

I was shocked, but thankful, as I went to my wife and kissed her cheek, moving the blanket so I could see my sister. The tiny, pale body of my darling sister rested against Ivy’s chest, her blond hair in knots. She was fast asleep, her shivering incessant even in the warm house. She looked cold and hungry, but I hadn’t the heart to wake her.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Ivy smiled at me. “But if you ever feed our son chocolate fudge ice cream again, I’ll kill you.”

I laughed. God how I loved this woman! How could I even think that I didn’t? She was simply amazing and over the next few years I would see sides of my wife that I had never seen before.

Chapter Eleven

You would think that now that I had my sister in my safe keeping that everything would have been much easier to handle. After all, what problems could I have now? My father would complain, but we all know he wouldn’t really care; Sheridan was nothing but a liability! Unfortunately, I hadn’t expected for things to take the turn they had.

We called Pilar, asking her to bring the children and join us at the house. Ivy insisted on ordering pizza, and no I didn’t complain. I actually like pizza, thank you very much! Anyway, she said she would be around as soon as she could get Antonio and Theresa into their station wagon. I don’t know *why* my wife wanted them to stay around for pizza. I thought we could bring them out to dinner another night, but she insisted. Who am I to argue with my beautiful blond bride?

Of course, Sheridan needed to be changed in the mean time. Her clothing had been ruined somehow, torn quite badly and nearly shredded. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any clothing for a girl, neither did Ivy, and Martin offered to go pick up some things while we waited. So off he went, leaving little Luis with us and suddenly we went from one child to three.

Now of course I could have gone for the clothing myself, but far be it from me to deny the man a chance to escape. After the afternoon I had with Ethan, there was no wonder he wanted to go find something for Sheridan to wear. What I hadn’t expected was the well-behaved six-year-old Luis would be so damn protective of my four-year-old sister. Now I know I’m supposed to be telling you about my life with Ivy, but even she was amazed by their connection. My sister was curled up on the couch, her big blue eyes wide open and filled with fear and panic. She clutched the purple blanket close, shuddering when I came near. Sheridan was humming, sometimes mumbling the words to a lullaby our mother used to sing to us. I couldn’t believe that my baby sister remembered the song. It had been so long since mother had sung to us.

“Baby mine…no cry,” I heard her whisper and I felt the tears begin to fall. Here I was, a full grown man that had once been so closed off to everything, crying over the simple words my sister whispered. She was in so much pain and I didn’t know how to help her.

But Luis obviously did. Nearing the couch slowly, the six-year-old sat by her head, smoothing the unruly blond hair down and whispering, “You’re safe now, mi amor, safe.”

Mi amor…hadn’t I heard Luis use those same words before? Hadn’t he whispered them to her when Sheridan was “dead,” lying in that coffin with eyes closed from eternal sleep? Could Luis have known back then that Sheridan would be his forever? Was that possible?

I’m sorry. I really do want to get on with this tale, but somehow that one action changed my entire life. I pulled Ivy to me, sobbing into her shoulder. I don’t know why I cried. Maybe it was for my deceased mother, a woman who was nothing but good and had managed to marry a man that was nothing but pure evil. Perhaps it was because my baby sister was now clinging to Luis as if he were her life…or maybe it was because I felt responsible. For some reason I cried, hard and long, my wife trying her best to bring me comfort without realizing that her simply holding me was all the comfort I needed.

By the time I finished crying, Pilar and Martin had returned, but no word on the pizza. Ok, so I’m a little obsessed about that. Had it arrived sooner, we might never have realized why Sheridan was so frightened of Martin and me. When Martin returned with the clothing, Pilar and Ivy insisted on bringing my baby sister upstairs and changing her clothing. It was rather cute. Little Luis placed an arm around her, walking her upstairs with the women following. He stood guard outside her door while the ladies assisted her in dressing; Sheridan was slow in learning the concept of buttons.

In the meantime, I decided to get to know what older children were like while acquainting myself with Martin. I hadn’t been good friends with him prior to my “second chance” and I certainly wanted to get to know him now. We were discussing sports, something I know very little about, and he was explaining the concept of football to me. Amazing how a group of grown men could find tackling each other for a pig skin entertaining! Martin was in the midst of a riveting tale about touchdown dances when an ear splitting scream was released from upstairs. We immediately rushed there to find Ivy and Pilar fawning over my sister.

“Ivy, what in blazes is wrong with you?!”

She was sobbing, her body shaking as she cradled my sister close. Pilar was praying silently and neither cared to answer my question.

“Pilar? Someone want to fill us in?” I groaned, flopping onto Sheridan’s new bed.

“He hits her!” Ivy growled, motioning to the deep purpled bruises on my sister’s legs. “He hits her!”

Chapter Twelve

After that discovery, the mood became somber. We immediately phoned the police, reporting the abuse my father had bestowed upon my baby sister and then watching as they took photo after photo of my screaming sister. After crying herself to sleep in Luis’ little arms, we decided that we would dine together another night and sent Pilar and Martin home with their own pie before tucking my poor sister into bed.

Of course, I wasn’t very hungry after discovering that my bastard of a father had been beating my little sister. I couldn’t remember him doing this before, but then again last time he had my spirit to break and my intelligence to insult. He didn’t need to physically seek out a baby. He only ruined her years later when he shot and killed Martin Fitzgerald and then let my sister believe she had done it. I can still remember how he locked her in the coffin with the body until she screamed a promise to never tell a soul what she had done…

Not that she had done it anyway.

So Ivy decided to give me some TLC to soothe my aching heart, which was something I needed. After tucking my sister and son into bed, I decided to take a shower and calm my nerves. It seems Ivy had a different idea. I opened the bedroom door, my mind cluttered with thoughts about protecting my family, including Sheridan, from the devil I called father for so many years, when I noticed the dim flicks of candlelight leading to the bathroom. Intrigued, I followed the trail of candles into the bathroom where Ivy sat on the side of the tub in a tiny pair of underwear and her bra.

Now Ivy was a beauty before I married her, but even after her pregnancy with some of the weight still on her tiny waist, I found her to be my own personal goddess. Her blond hair flowed to the center of her back in soft waves, her blue eyes were always filled with love and her soft skin was a creamy white. Being a mother had made her female curves even fuller and she looked good in everything she wore: from jeans to designer gowns.

“Hello, darling,” she grinned, checking the temperature of the bubble filled tub before standing and making her way over to me.

“Ivy?” I looked into her beautiful eyes and she grinned.

“Let me take care of you this time, Julian. You’re always doing for me…let me do something for you.”

How could I deny such an unselfish wish? She unbuttoned my shirt, slowly and teasingly, her smile contagious. I found myself chuckling as she tilted her head to examine my chest.

“I think it needs some kisses, what do you think?” she asked, leaning in and placing a butterfly kiss over my heart. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

I simply nodded as she continued her kissing treatment, laughing when she used the tips of her fingers to tickle me. “I love you, Ivy.”

“Not as much as I love you,” she kissed my lips and I lost myself to her charm…right her charm.

She finished removing my clothing before removing hers and then motioned to the giant tub. “The water is just right for a soothing bath where I will be your personal bather,” she winked. “Then I was thinking of some other things to relax you before bed.”

I groaned. Lord only knew what this woman had planned at the time because I was surprised with everything. She nearly pushed me into the tub when I hesitated, so I decided to follow her orders and get in. True to her word, she used a soft sponge to clean my entire body and then massaged my scalp as she washed my hair. Her hands were so gentle and I knew she was doing this for my pleasure…for that I loved her more than ever. She was so giving, so kind, that it was hard to remember what my troubles were for that night.

Following the tub, she helped me dry off and led me to the bedroom…towels were optional. There, she told me to lay face down on the bed, which I did, and then she giggles when she saw my pale backside.

“Julian, we seriously need to get that butt to a beach,” she teased, sitting on the bed and massaging my aching muscles with fragranced oil.

“Thank you, darling, I’ve always wanted my wife to tell me my behind needed a tanning,” I winked and she pressed harder making me yelp.

“I don’t play sex games, Julian…”

“No one was asking, Ivy,” I rolled my eyes. Damn was she touchy sometimes…but those hands. Oh hell it was amazing, simply amazing. She massaged my back for a long time, using her small hands to knead out the tension in my muscles. I felt completely relaxed when she finished and I knew that I wanted one more thing…the love of my wife.

Obviously, she had that planned too for as I rolled over onto my back, Ivy leaned down and placed a very deep passionate kiss on my lips…

I know, I know. You don’t want to hear this, but Ivy and I caressed each other and made love long into the night as the candles burned themselves out around us. Ethan, nor Sheridan, cried not once to interrupt our sweet love making and I feel asleep with Ivy’s head laying on my chest and the sweetest word in the world hanging in the air:

“You are my everything, Julian. I have nothing without you…when you hurt, so do I. I love you, darling, now and forever…”

Epilogue

December, 2015

I don’t know where I’m going with this story anymore. I mean, Ivy and I faced our trials and tribulations. We had a lot to deal with when Sheridan moved in. An abused child needs so much attention that Ivy and I found ourselves begging Pilar to take her for full weekends. Of course she did, telling us how wonderfully she did around the other children, especially Luis.

Sheridan also loved Ethan, though she wasn’t fond of him when he was squealing at the top of his lungs. Amazingly enough, my father never bothered us to bring her back and things were going so well that when Ethan turned two (making my dear sister nearly six) we had a second child, a girl. Now ironically, in the past this second child was a son we named Jordan, but this time we had a little girl. I was ecstatic, but Ivy seemed disappointed.

“I have a girl with Sheridan!” she whined. “And she’s such a pain! Can you imagine one like me?” she asked, looking at the tiny bundle that day in the hospital. She would later name her Nicholette and ironically she would grow up to be the same that she was in the other life. Even more ironic: she married Noah Bennett too.

I had laughed; she smacked me. The moment was over. But now we had three children and I knew we were quickly approaching the date that Martin would be murdered and he was STILL working for Crane Industries. If my father killed Martin this time, he would have no one to blame, thus falling prey to the law. Sheridan would be with us. However, Luis’ life would still be ruined. Little Antonio would disappear and Luis would end up pushing Sheridan off so that he could become a cop…

And then what would happen to my sister?

Finally, Ivy came up with a bright idea and we managed to steal Martin from my father, offering him twice the pay. Our business was flourishing now and we certainly had the money to pay him. So, that saved us from another ruined life.

The years continued and we grew closer. Ivy and I had three more children, a set of twins (Jordan and Sarah) and another girl (Marissa). The children spent every moment dealing with us and I must say I grew quite attached to them. So attached that I cried at their weddings.

“Uncle Julian!! What happened with Luis and Sheridan and Martin?” a little brunette boy interrupted my story, glancing over to look at my sister and her husband. This would be there oldest son, Luis Jr.

“Yea Grandpa and how did my daddy marry my mommy?” a sweet little girl asked, giggling happily. That would be Fate. Oh yes, you know whose child SHE is.

“Well,” I explained. “Sheridan and Luis went to school together and became the best of friends. They were married as teenagers and my father had never been angrier in his life.”

“And my parents!” Fate giggled again.

“They met through Sheridan and Luis and instantly fell in love, Ethan never had a chance to escape Theresa.” I laughed, thinking of my poor son falling head over heels in love with the eldest Lopez-Fitzgerald daughter.

I looked around at the room full of people, my Ivy in the corner holds our newest grandchild, Destiny, a bright smile on her beautiful face. We had a total of seventeen grandchildren now as well as four nieces and nephews with two more on the way. Sheridan was quite pregnant in fact as she sat listening to the tale, Luis’ hand rubbing gentle circles on her stomach. He was a lawyer now and did a lot of business with Crane Industries. The irony, my father died shortly after Sheridan’s wedding, leaving it all to her. She broke the company up and gave me part of the money for taking care of her all those years ago. My father is probably suffering in hell.

I realized something looking at the room full of faces, all my children and grandchildren huddled in the room as they listening attentively to my tale: no one believed me! No one believed that I had been allowed to go back in time and change the biggest mistake in my life, therefore changing everyone else’s lives as well.

Ivy noticed the time and said that it was getting late. It was Christmas Eve and, as tradition, the family would come over to the mansion, which had been remodeled, and spend the night in the many rooms. In the morning we would all rise at six am, well usually because that’s when the younger ones were up, and begin our Christmas routine. Breakfast first, then the morning opening presents before mass. We used to go to midnight mass, but the children fell asleep and Ivy thought we would wait until they were older. Oh, and let’s not forget how the presents found their way beneath the tree…

Just call me Santa Claus! Oh yes, I dressed in that stupid red suit and shoved them beneath the tree. I told Sheridan she should do it this year, she had the figure for it, and that earned me a smack from both her and Ivy.

Back to the scene at hand...

The children were getting up, listening as their parents requested that they head upstairs to bed. Of course, they were going very reluctantly, each stopping to give me and Ivy a hug and kiss before they ran upstairs with promises that Santa would arrive soon.

Finally, the room cleared and it was just me and my wife.

“So, Julian, you think you were allowed to go back in time and atone for your mistakes,” she laughed, slipping her arms around me. “You’re even more insane in old age that I imagined.”

I grinned. “Ivy, darling, you don’t know the half of it,” I pecked her lips softly. “What do you say, Mrs. Claus, should we go put our costumes on now?”

“Not yet, the children are still awake…” she smiled. “Julian?”

“Yes, Ivy?”

“Thank you…”

“For what?” I asked, confused.

“For giving us a second chance…” she pecked my cheek and headed to leave the library. “Thank you for defending me all those years ago,” she added, disappearing.

And there I stood, realizing just what I would have given up had I never changed every mistake in my life. Ivy Winthrop-Crane was the best thing God had given me and I thanked Him every day of my life for all the second chances I had received because I couldn’t imagine my life any other way.

With a smile, I headed over to the door and shut the lights to the library off. It was time to play Santa again and I was going to enjoy it…

Just like I enjoyed every other moment in my life…

Because life is full of choices, full of mistakes, but somehow, I was allowed to fix mine…

And I wouldn’t ever change a thing!

Thank God for second chances and remember, every choice you make will affect the life you have later. Choose wisely and always follow your heart! You’ll never regret it.

Disclaimer:
This story in is in no way meant to infringe upon the rights belonging to , NBC, or any entity thereof. All rights to Passions and any related content, including characters used, belong to "Outpost Farms Production Inc", James E. Reilly, and NBC.
This story is the property of the author. Copyright 2001. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without the written permission of the author.
Second Chances- Copyright © 2001 - All Rights Reserved.