Chapter 1:
“I know what that is! I can’t believe my luck!”
“Lu…Lu…Luis….I can explain!” Theresa uttered, all bug-eyed and shaking.
“Theresa! You don’t have to explain sis. That’s my ticket to finding the truth about papa.” Luis said adamantly. “Now tell me Theresa, is that really Ethan’s security card for Crane Industries?”
“Well….well…Yes Luis, but why do you ask?” asked Theresa.
“I’ll explain later sis!” Luis grabbed the card from Beth and ran over to Sheridan. “Come on Sheridan! Let’s make a move on it!” He grabbed a confused Sheridan out of the Book Café.
“Later Ethan!” Sheridan yelled over her shoulder trying to make sense of what’s going on.
**IN LUIS’ CAR**
“Luis, where are you taking me?”
“Sheridan, we are in luck! I found a way for us to sneak in the Crane Family Archive.” Luis held up Ethan’s card for Sheridan to see.
“Luis, that’s Ethan’s security card for Crane Industries…how’d you….I thought….”
“Never mind that Sheridan….all that matters is we’re following a hot trail and nothing can stop us now!”
**LATER AT CRANE INDUSTRIES**
“We’re here!” Luis said with a big smile that spread a mile over his face.
“Luis, you look so happy. What if we find something in there that’s not so good of a news?”
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long Sheridan. Now I feel that I’m finally getting close to finding the truth about my father’s disappearance and God help me, I’ll make Julian and Alistair pay!!!” Luis’ blood was boiling with anger towards the Cranes again. ‘Thank God Sheridan is nothing like any of them!’ Luis thought to himself watching an innocent Sheridan step into the elevator.
*DING * “Here goes nothing…” Sheridan said.
“Sheridan, this might be the beginning of the end! If I can prove that your stupid father and idiot brother had something to do with my fathers’ disappearance…I’ll gag them and skin them both with my bare hands!”
“Luis……..” Sheridan got all teary eyed. Even though Alistair and Julian weren’t the greatest family, she still loved them because they were her family….her only family.
“I’m sorry baby! It’s just….”
“No I’m sorry Luis…”
“You shouldn’t be sorry Sheridan. You have nothing to be sorry for” Luis said caressing Sheridan’s cheek brushing off a stray tear. “I love you….I will always love you, despite your last name….”
“Ohh….I love you too Luis!”
“Now are you sure you wanna go through with this?”
“Yes I’m sure Luis. You’ve been waiting for this opportunity for so long. I just hope you’ll finally find the truth you’ve been searching for.”
“Okay…” Luis gave Sheridan a sweet, tender compassionate kiss as they stepped out of the elevator.
They both stood there…in front of the Crane Archives vault. Only a wall separated them from the truth.
“Okay Luis….what now?” Sheridan asked nervously.
“This Sheridan!” Luis held up Ethan’s card and swiped it.
[ACCESS GRANTED] [ETHAN CRANE]
The door gently slid open and Luis and Sheridan walked in…both oblivious to the fact that at that very moment, Alistair and Julian were plotting to rid them both.
**AT THE CRANE MANSION**
“Hmmm……..hhmmm…..my little ring-a-ding-a-ling Crepe Evita. Ahhhhh……”
*RING * Julian slammed Eve Russell’s picture on his desk and pressed the talk button on the speaker phone. “WHAT!!!!”
“Julian you idiot! How many times have you barked at me today?!? Stop your fantasizing and get to work! We have to keep Sheridan and Luis out of that Crane Archives!”
“Look father…I really see no point in worrying. Do you really think Luis and Sheridan can ever get close to the family archives? The only people who has access to it is you, me, and ……….ETHAN!!!”
“Dammit! I’ve been so caught up with all this hullabaloo, I haven’t even thought of that! I have to deactivate Ethan’s Access to the Crane Archives now that he’s Sam Bennett’s bastard! I’ll talk to you later Julian! Goodbye!”
**BACK AT THE CRANE INDUSTRIES**
Luis opened a drawer which contained Katherine Crane’s diaries when….
“Luis, I’m getting thirsty. I’ll go get us something to drink while we search for my mother’s diaries. Can you give me the card?”
Luis handed Sheridan Ethan’s card. Sheridan swiped the card hoping to get some fresh air for a while.
[ACCESS DENIED]
“Luis….come please hurry!” Sheridan yelled getting frantic.
“What is it?”
“The card….swipe….access denied…I mean…oh Luis!!!”
“Wa..wa…wait Sheridan. Calm down.” Luis tried to soothe and calm down a babbling Sheridan. He swiped the card again.
[ACCESS DENIED]
“What the hell? Dammit! Those bastards!” Luis said banging his fists on the wall.
“Why won’t the card work Luis? I mean…we just used it a while ago and it was fine!”
“Yeah well your bastard of a brother and father must have deactivated Ethan’s access card to ensure we won’t have any access to the archives! Damn!”
“Oh my god. HELP! SOMEBODY HELP US!” Sheridan was getting hysterical, frantically banging on the door.
“That’s no use Sheridan”
“What do you mean Luis?”
“This room is sound proof. And it looks like there’s no air ventilation either! Looks like Julian and Alistair has planned the structure of this vault by making it airtight so the papers won’t get damaged by aging.”
“Oh Luis….it’s bringing back bad memories. It’s like being stuck in that coffin all over again!”
Luis’ heart broke watching Sheridan suffer having to relive that incident with the coffin. He wanted to make sure she was safe and okay.
“I’ll never let anything happen to you. Never!”
Luis and Sheridan started banging on the door hoping someone could at least hear their faint cries. After a while, they were both panting and out of breath.
“I can’t do this anymore!” Sheridan collapsed on her knees crying.
“Look Sheridan, everything is going to be alright. You got that?”
“Luis…it’s too painful. It’s like being locked up buried in that coffin all over again! Oh God….” Sheridan was starting to hyperventilate now.
“Look Sheridan…..we have to stay calm and make sure we don’t waste the little amount of oxygen we have left.”
With that, they both laid down on the floor all curled up, hoping and praying that they’ll get out of there soon.
‘Oh god why? Sheridan has been through so much. Please god…please take care of her. Don’t let anything happen to her please…’ Luis laid there thinking to himself with Sheridan buried on his chest trying to lull herself to sleep.
“I love you Luis”
“I love you too Sheridan….and don’t you ever forget that.” With that last statement, Luis made a decision that would change Sheridan’s life forever. He loved her too much. He can’t let anything happen to her. Luis started taking small breaths, making sure he doesn’t take up too much of the oxygen left to make sure Sheridan will survive. ‘Just wait Sheridan…you will get out of here alive. I’ll make sure of that’ That was the hardest sacrifice Luis ever had to make.
Hours had passed and there were still no sign of anyone ever finding them. It was probably around midnight when the elevator door opened.
“Father, I hope you’re right about this. Removing mother’s diaries from the family archives.” Julian stated in no one in particular.
**MEANWHILE**
“Luis…are you okay?” Sheridan shook Luis’ body desperately trying to wake him up. Luis looked lifeless on the floor. “Luis? Luis wake up!”
Luis however was in another realm. His mind took him back to when he was just a little kid, his father Martin teaching him how to play ball, dinner with his entire family with Antonio, Miguel, Theresa, Papa and Mama who was pregnant with Paloma. His fantasy took him all through his adolescent years to high school. Luis was with Beth.
It was prom night and they both sneaked away from the festivities and went to Lovers Lane to get away from everyone. He loved Beth so much. “We’ll be together forever Beth. I love you” Luis whispered to Beth’s ears as they made love under the stars.
“Luis wake up! Please wake up!” Sheridan was gasping for air trying desperately to wake up Luis.
Meanwhile Julian made his way down the hall and swiped his access card, the door slid open and…..
“Oh Julian! Am I happy to see you!” Sheridan ran to Julian gasping for air.
“Sheridan? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Julian please call an ambulance….Luis is unconscious! Please….you have to save him!”
Even though Julian was as ruthless as Alistair, he did have some goodness in him. Enough to make him pull out his cell phone from his pocket and requested for an ambulance ASAP.
“Luis don’t leave me please….I love you!”
Julian stood there in disgust. The sight of so-called-love made him gag. But half of his being was actually aching for Sheridan.
**AT THE HOSPITAL**
Sheridan paced the hospital waiting room anxiously waiting for any news regarding Luis’ condition. Just then Theresa and Ethan rushed to the waiting room finding Sheridan pacing…almost digging a hole on the floor.
“Sheridan! Thank god you’re alright! We got here as soon as we could. Any news on Luis yet?”
Sheridan collapsed into Ethan’s open arms and just cried. Cried until all the tears had drained out of her.
“Oh Ethan. I’m so scared! I can’t loose Luis now! I just can’t!”
“He’ll be alright Sheridan…I’m sure of it!” Theresa said trying to comfort Sheridan.
A few minutes later, the whole population of Harmony was there except Charity who was still lost in the depths of hell. Pilar, Miguel, Kay, Simone, Jessica, Whitney, Chad, T.C., Beth, Sam and Grace were present. Ivy was the last one who showed up.
“Oh poor Sheridan…it’s going to be alright sweetheart!” Ivy said sympathetically while hugging Sheridan.
Eve came out of the Emergency room looking calm and collected. As she reached the bunch anxiously waiting to hear Luis’ prognosis, she gave a faint smile which made some of them let out a sigh of relief.
“Luis is fine. He’s just resting right now. He’s breathing on his own and he should be A okay….” said Eve when Sheridan interrupted her.
“Eve….how can I ever repay you. Thank you!”
“Sheridan, let me finish. Due to the lack of oxygen to Luis’ brain for a fairly long period of time, it has caused some of the brain cells to die and it may have affected some parts of his brain.
The damage is not extensive but Luis might suffer from memory lapses. That is, he may have memories of everything else but he’s not capable of organizing his thoughts because of the memory lapses. It may have wiped out some of his past memories so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Eve, as long as he’s alright that’s all that matters!” said Sheridan.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 2:
Everyday since the incident, Sheridan had spent every day at the hospital by Luis’ bedside. Although every time she came to visit, he was always asleep. And there were a few occasions when she had to wait hours in order to enter Luis’ room. The nurses would restrict visitations or trespassing in Luis’s room. Little did she know that Alistair and Julian had send someone in there to brain wash Luis into thinking he was still in fact deeply in love with Beth. He always had and he always will. They arranged Beth to come and visit him too while he was awake.
The day Luis was to be released from the hospital, Sheridan was super excited. It’s going to be the first time she’ll see Luis awake after a week in the hospital. She planned a romantic dinner for both of them when Luis was to come home to her cottage.
Everyone was there waiting for Luis in the waiting room Ivy, Theresa, Ethan, Pilar, Julian, Beth, Sheridan, Chad and Whitney. The Bennett’s had gone home after seeing Ivy present and Miguel was at the Bennett house with Charity. Somehow, hell spit Charity out because she was too annoying and sickeningly sweet. She braided the demons hairs and gave them pedicures….
Luis stepped out of the room and his eyes connected with hers. His eyes glowed with love and he ran towards her with open arms. “Come here baby, I love you!” Sheridan also ran towards Luis with open arms but Luis just ran past her and into Beth’s arms and lips. Luis gave Beth a passionate kiss and Sheridan just stood there stunned.
“Hey mama! Theresa! Hey everyone!” He gave his mother and sister a hug but they were still shocked at what they’ve just witnessed. Could it be all a joke? Luis is a joker!
“Luis…..” Sheridan uttered and he turned around.
“Oh are you a nurse? Look can you please get me a wheelchair! I think I’m still too weak to walk to the car!” With that, he handed Sheridan his bag and turned to give Beth another passionate kiss.
“Uhh….you must be kidding me…..wha……” Sheridan’s eyes started to well up and she dropped Luis’ bag and ran out of the hospital.
“Ha! What’s wrong with her? You know, the nurses here are so rude! You ask them a favor and they just run off!!!” Luis said jokingly.
“Come on sweetheart…we have a lot of catching up to do (*wink wink*)” Luis said as he dragged Beth out of the hospital.
The memory lapses Eve was talking about has wiped out any memories Luis had of Sheridan. A month had passed after Luis got out of the hospital and everyone tried their best to comfort Sheridan. She lost all hope and she didn’t want anything to do with anyone or anything. She denied her hurt feelings and let out that she was over Luis. Ethan and Pilar came occasionally to her cottage to see her. She does go out but the scenes of Luis and Beth all happy and in love broke her heart. She felt like she could no longer live without his love.
The past two weeks has been awful. Sheridan can’t seem to bring herself out of bed and when she does….it’s to go have a meeting with her toilet bowl puking her guts out. Ethan entered her bedroom and saw her kneeling over the toilet bowl trying to hold her insides from being flushed.
“Sheridan! Are you alright? You know, you should really go see a doctor. You’ve been throwing up uncontrollably for the past 2 weeks now!” Ethan said rubbing Sheridan’s back.
“Ethan I’m fine. It’s probably just a little food poisoning or something.”
“No you’re not! And I insist on bringing you to the doctor. Now come and get changed. I’ll call Dr. Russell to schedule for an appointment.”
**LATER AT THE HOSPITAL**
Ethan and Sheridan sat there waiting for Eve to come back with the blood and urine tests results.
“Thank you Ethan, for looking out for me. You’re…”
“Look Sheridan. I love you. I mean, other than mother, you’re the woman I love the most in the world!”
(NOTE: Theresa has fallen in love with Colby…a new Harmony resident…and has dumped Ethan for him. Colby is a very hot guy! He looks like that guy Colby from Survivor The Australian Outback)
“I love you too Ethan. I always had and I always will” Sheridan’s eyes stated to well up again when Eve walked into the room.
“Well Sheridan. I have the results. Are you sure you can handle it?”
“Whatever it is Eve, I’m sure I can handle it. Besides, I think I’ve used up all my bad luck!” Sheridan said with a faint angelic smile.
“Sheridan honey….you’re pregnant!” Eve said unsure if she should smile for feel sorry for her. She knew without a doubt that Sheridan was carrying Luis’ baby.
“What?” Ethan and Sheridan asked in unison.
“You heard me right! Sheridan you’re going to have a baby in roughly about 8 months! I’ll leave you two alone for a while.” Eve said giving them both the privacy they needed to digest the news and sort things out.
“Oh Ethan, I don’t know if I should be happy or if I should be devastated!” Sheridan cried on Ethan’s shoulders as he held her for dear life.
“I’ve always wanted to have a child but how could I raise a child whose father doesn’t even recognized it’s mother. How could I explain to him or her that he/she was conceived out of love? How can I do this Ethan? I don’t want my child to grow up without a father! Oh Ethan please help me!”
Ethan tried to comfort Sheridan but the tension and wild emotions all mixed up led Sheridan to Ethan’s lips and they exchanged a fiery yet gentle passionate kiss.
[OMG!!! YIKES!!!]
Sheridan broke the kiss, still in shock. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the news she just heard or because of the fact that she just passionately kissed a man she considered as her nephew her whole life. Unsure of what to do next…she asked Ethan the inevitable question.
“Ethan, would you do me a big favor? Can you be my child’s father?”
**MEANWHILE**
“Luis, aren’t you jumping into this too fast?” Beth asked in surprise.
“What are you talking about? Beth, we have been together since we were little kids! And I love you!”
“But…I thought…Sheri…Yes Luis! Yes I’ll marry you!”
Beth had never been totally over Luis since their break-up a few years ago. She was just thankful that Sheridan Crane has been wiped out from his memory. Eliminated forever!
To Be Continued…
Chapter 3:
The next weekend, Sheridan and Ethan decided to elope to Las Vegas. Sheridan was quiet content that she was over Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald and finally starting to build a whole new life with Ethan Winthrop. Oh who was she kidding! Deep inside she couldn’t deny her feelings for Luis. She will always love him even though he might not love her anymore. If only she hadn’t talked Luis into finding her mother’s diary…none of this would have happened.
**7 MONTHS LATER**
“Ethan! You’re home!” Sheridan got up the couch with all the strength she had. Her burgeoning belly was the size of a giant watermelon, but she was still fit. She exercised each day with a personal trainer to keep her from gaining weight throughout her pregnancy.
“You know Sheridan….you should really start practicing on calling me daddy or honey for when the baby finally comes. I wouldn’t want our child calling me Ethan!”
They both giggled. “Oh okay darling!” Sheridan said jokingly.
“So are you sure you’re up to attending Luis and Beth’s wedding?”
“I’m sure Ethan. I mean I’m over Luis! Ha! I’m just happy if he is.”
“Okie dokie…then lets get you dressed Madame” Ethan said with a smile.
Sheridan tried to hide the hurt, to deny her feelings for Luis, but it was killing her inside. The fact that she was going to be attending the wedding of the man she loved with all her heart and soul to another woman was like a knife through her heart…killing her slowly but surely.
Luis was still oblivious to the fact that Sheridan was carrying their love child. The baby they conceived out of love.
The wedding went on without a hitch and Sheridan stood there like an idiot watching Luis and Beth exchange vows. When the moment came when the pastor asked “If there is anyone whom doesn’t agree to this marriage, let them speak now or forever hold their peace” Sheridan felt like screaming at the top of her lungs. The pain of watching them was enough to give her a miscarriage. But she stood there calm and collected.
Sheridan just wasn’t good enough at hiding her true feelings because everyone present at the church could see the agony in her eyes and their hearts reached out to her. Everything has changed in Harmony since that faithful night. Luis’ accident had a rippled effect on everyone else’s lives. Throughout the vicinity of Harmony….everyone’s lives weren’t the same anymore.
**AT THE RECEPTION**
Sheridan sat there staring at Luis with ‘Imagine’ playing.
“Sheridan, sweetheart are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh Ethan…yes honey I’m fine….”
“Oh come on Sheridan! You hardly touched your food!”
“Really I’m fine Ethan!!!!” Sheridan snapped at Ethan.
“Okay precious….whatever you say….hey, you wanna go dance?”
“No thank you. I’m exhausted…” Sheridan said with a lifeless tone.
“Excuse me everyone….I’d like to pop a cork and make a toast to my buddy here and his beautiful wife….” Sam came over the microphone holding a bottle of Pinot Grigio.
*POP * He popped the cork and all the magic and love just escaped from the bottle. All the memories flooded back and unleashed different kinds of indescribable emotions. Everyone in the vicinity felt it and the feeling was overwhelming. It was as if everything was in slow motion.
*POP * Sheridan bent over clutching her stomach as the excruciating pain ringed throughout her body. It was a contraction indeed but she still had a whole month to go before the baby is due.
*POP * There was a dead ring on Luis’ ears and it stirred lost memories and wild emotions in his brain. All his past was unleashed from it’s dungeons of darkness…..he saw her bent over in pain…..
“SHERIDAN!!!”
THE END
Well you all know what happens….blah blah blah….Luis and Sheridan live happily ever after with their baby…..you guys can make up the ending.