"My fault?" Ethan said in amazement.  "How is this my fault?"
 
"You just had to go after custody and flex your almighty Crane muscles.  Now she's gone and who knows if she's going to come back.  I hope you can live with yourself." Luis said before he strode out of the room.
 
"He's right." Ethan murmured after a moment.
 
"What?" Sheridan said.
 
"He's right."
 
"You didn't do this.  Julian did."
 
"I didn't stop him." Ethan said as he sat down on the couch.  "And now I might never see the boys or Theresa again."
 
Sheridan watched her nephew and she couldn't decide which he looked more heart sick at.  Never seeing his boys again or never seeing Theresa again.
 
The thing is she didn't think Ethan knew either.
 
<hr>
 
"Mama where are we going?" Joshua asked his mother.
 
"I don't know yet." Theresa said as she looked at the board of outgoing flights.  She could go back to Chicago.  No that wouldn't work.  Spain?  She smiled.  She'd love to see Mama.
 
"Daddy!" a child's voice caught Theresa's attention and she turned her head to see a little boy running into a man's arms.  There was complete joy on both their faces.
 
Oh God.  She needed to sit down. Now.  Blindly grabbing the boys' hands she made her way to a cushioned seat.
 
"Mama?"
 
Theresa looked up to see Eli staring at her.  The boys' eyes were brown like hers but they had something of Ethan in them.  It was his never failing hope and love for the people he cherished.  She'd seen that look in his eyes directed at her before and then before at the hospital she'd seen it when he looked at the boys.
 
She couldn't do this again.  Not to him.  Not to their boys.  Not to Ethan.
 
"C'mon guys." She said standing up.
 
"Where are we going Mama?" Joshua asked again.
 
"Home.  We're going home." Theresa said but added silently. To your daddy.
 
<hr>
 
"Ethan could you stop that please?" Sheridan asked.
 
"I'm sorry Sheridan but I need to do something."
 
"Why not go home then?" Luis asked as he reentered the room.
 
"Luis, don't start." Sheridan said.
 
"No Sheridan.  I wanna hear him blame this all on me again.  How his sister leaving again with our sons is my fault." Ethan said as he stopped pacing and stared across the room at Luis.  "I don't control your sister's thoughts and impulses Luis."
 
"No but you trigger them and you enjoy that power don't you Ethan?"
 
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
 
"Figure it out." Luis bit off.
 
"You think I enjoy making your sister afraid?  You think I like making her miserable?"
 
"Why wouldn't I?  It's all you've ever done."
 
"That's not true and you damn well know it." Ethan was getting steamed. Luis had no idea the happiness he and Theresa had shared.  None at all.
 
"The only time I ever saw her happy was the day she left Harmony."
 
"Gee Luis did you ever think it was because she was glad to get away from you and your 'I told you so's'?" Ethan said.  "You liked playing the all-knowing big brother, didn't you?  All you ever did was tell Theresa how bad I was for her.  No wonder we didn't make it."
 
"You and Theresa not making it had nothing to do with me.  It had to do with the fact that you screwed your ex-girlfriend and Theresa found out about it.  To this day I wish she had told me.  I would have loved to deck you for betraying my sister."
 
"Really?  The feeling's mutual."
 
"I never betrayed your sister."
 
"I just meant I would love to deck you."
 
"Take your best shot pretty boy."
 
"Ok that's it." Sheridan said as she stood up.  "Both of you back off right now."
 
"Stay out of this Sheridan." Ethan said.
 
"Bring it on Crane." Luis said.
 
The last bit of resolve in Ethan snapped and he swung at Luis.  Swung and missed.  He barely had time to think before Luis's fist hit him square in the eye.  As he fell back he heard a shriek of surprise.  But it wasn't Sheridan.  It was Theresa. That was his last conscious thought for a while.
 
<hr>
 
There was something cold on his face.
 
That was Ethan's first conscious thought as he slowly woke up.  It was cold and, he noticed as he opened his eyes, it was obscuring his vision.
 
"Good you're awake.  How do you feel?"
 
"Resa?" he croaked.
 
"Yeah it's me Ethan."
 
"What are you doing here?"
 
"I live here."
 
"You were supposed to have left."
 
"I couldn't do it." Theresa admitted softly as she knelt down next the couch.  "Not again."
 
Ethan watched her and couldn't help but think how beautiful she still was.  She looked so sad though.  So lost.  And Ethan wished he could make it better.  He wanted to fix it.  He wanted to fix them.  To put them back the way they used to be.
 
"Where do we go from here?" He asked softly.
 
"We try and work it out.  For the boys."
 
"For the boys." Ethan echoed.  And for us, he added silently.
 

fan fiction