Sheridan put away the last of the basketballs and prepared to leave. She had spent all morning rearranging the stock rooms at the youth center thanks to Luis and she was so tired. She was on her way out when the door open and in walked the last person she wanted to see---Luis.
"What are you doing here?" She asked none to pleased.
"What am I doing here I got a call that somebody was in the youth center do you have any idea what time it is?" Asked Luis gruffly. It was bad enough when Sheridan was crashing into him and making problems for him while he was on duty now she was cutting into his off time.
"Well I'm so sorry Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald if I cut into your beauty sleep I was just here finishing the storage closets. I mean you do remember that you assigned this job to me?" Said Sheridan getting a little annoyed herself.
"Yeah I remember. How come you just didn't do some and finish it up later on this afternoon?" he asked.
"So you could rake me over the coals for not doing a good job as soon as I walked in, forget it," she said grabbing her jacket and heading out the closet. "I know how you think."
"Really," said Luis following her out.
"Yes really," she said putting on her coat and rubbing her shoulder.
"You ok?" asked Luis a bit concerned.
"What do you care?" she asked defensively. She and Luis didn't exactly get along. He was always on her back, always riding her about being a Crane. Why would he care how she was doing?
"Look I was just asking a simple question no need to get hostile on me. Besides I know you're a spoiled little rich girl and this is probably the only real work you've ever done so I was concerned," said Luis putting his arm on her shoulder.
"Well thank you so much for the concern officer, but I'm just fine." said Sheridan trying not to notice how good it felt to have Luis's arm on her shoulder. He was rubbing it now in a circular motion and Sheridan couldn't help but be affected by his strong hands.
Luis moved behind Sheridan and continued his massage. He watched the affects that his hands was having on the young Crane and found that he was being effected as well. The knowledge made him uncomfortable and he instantly stopped what he was doing.
"Why did you stop?" asked Sheridan a little confused.
"Look I'm not one of your servants ok, I'm not at your beck and call if you want a flubbed massage why don't you get one of your many minions to do it?" Asked Luis going back on the defensive.
Sheridan noticed his change of tone and just shock her head in anger. "Look nobody asked you to give me a massage. It was your idea."
"Look I was just trying to be helpful," said Luis "I won't let it happen again," he said storming off.
"See to that,"  Sheridan shouted back at him trying not to dwell on how good it was to feel Luis's arms around her.
 

Theresa looked nervously at the Russell's door and thought about turning around and going home. She knew that Whitney was still mad at her and as much as she wanted to give her her space to work through her feelings Whitney was her best friend and she couldn't stand the thought of her being mad with her.
"Hey," said Noah walking up with a bag and kissing Theresa on the cheek.
"Hey yourself," smiled Theresa. "Thanks  for coming."
"Well you seemed so desperate how can I say no," smiled Noah remembering how Theresa had begged him to help her make things right with Whitney. "Besides I haven't seen Whit in nearly a year. It'll be great to see her."
"Yeah and maybe she'll be so happy to see you that she'll forget all about being mad at me," said Theresa optimistically.
"Maybe," said Noah leaning over to Theresa so that their faces were practically touching. "And if not there is always these." He said holding up the bag.
"These are what I refer to as props," said Noah smiling.
"Props?" Asked Theresa a little confused.
"Yeah see at school everybody apologizes with props, you know some sort of gift. In this bag are a variety of bagels guaranteed to melt the hardest of hearts," said Noah holding up the bag proudly.
"From your lips," said Theresa ringing the door bell.

Whitney groggily made her way to the kitchen when she heard the door bell ring. Her mom and dad had already gone to work and her sister Simone had spent yet another at her friend's Kay house.  She had gotten very little sleep that night between thinking at Theresa and dreaming about the life that she'd never have with Frank. She felt really bad about the things that she said to Theresa, but damn it Theresa had really messed things up for her, still she knew Theresa almost as well as she knew herself and she knew that her best friend would never do anything to intentionally hurt her. "Besides," she thought. "It wasn't entirely Theresa's fault that things had gotten as far as they did. She was with Theresa every step of the way so she had to take some of the responsibility for Theresa's plan blowing up in all of their faces.
Whitney walked over to the door and smiled as soon as she opened it.
"Noah!!," she exclaimed wrapping her arms around her friend. "It's so great to see you."
"Thanks Whit," said Noah returning her firm hug, "You're a site for sore eyes yourself."
Whitney moved out of the embrace and her smile faded a little when she saw Theresa.
"Hi Whitney." said Theresa smiling and grabbing the bag out of Noah's hand. "We've come baring bagels." Theresa had never been do nervous in her life. What if this didn't work? What if Whitney would hate her forever?
"Is there an egg bagel in that bag?" asked Whitney not taking her eyes off of Theresa."
"I think so," said Theresa looking in the bag.
"Good," smiled Whitney. "Why don't the two of you and my egg bagel get inside. It's not summer ya know."
Theresa smiled at Whitney and gladly followed Noah into Whitney's house.
"Don't take this personally but you look like hell Whit," said Noah taking off his jacket and dumping it on the couch.
"Thanks Noah, by the way," she said picking up his coat and throwing it back at him." This is not your   house so please don't leave your stuff around."
"Thanks mom," said Noah grabbing his jacket.
Noah looked around and noticed how nervous Theresa and Whitney seemed around each other. And decided to give them a little privacy.
"Hey," said Noah smiling. "I could use some java anybody else want some?"
"No thanks," said Whitney and Theresa at the same time.
"Well I'll just go get some you girls just stay here and talk, work things out become best friends again ok," said Noah heading toward the kitchen.
"Well that was subtle," said Whitney watching Noah go and sitting on the couch. She beckoned Theresa to join her and Theresa sat down next to her best friend not sure what she could say to make things better between them, so she settled on the truth.
"Whitney," said Theresa nervously " I am so sorry that I messed things up for you. You are my best friend, the closest person to me and I would never hurt you for anything in the entire world."
"I know," replied Whitney smiling. "I'm sorry too for what I said."
"No Whitney," said Theresa shaking her head "you had every right to be mad at me. I was selfish, and reckless and I could have dragged you and your family into a big mess."
"Well that is true," said Whitney.
"Whitney," said Theresa near tears.
"Oh come on Theresa," said Whitney hitting her best friend playfully on the legs and smiling "You were wrong."
"I know," smiled Theresa returning the playful tap. "That's why I'm apologizing."
"Well I appreciate that," smiled Whitney.
"You know I knew that you liked Frank. I should have been more sensitive to your predicament, even though I think he's a creep..."
"Theresa," said Whitney laughing at how her best friend never changes.
"Well I'm sorry I can't help the way that I feel." Smiled Theresa.
"I know, that's what got us into this mess in the first place," laughed Whitney. Whitney noticed how sad her friend became at her last remarked and moved closer and put her arm around her.
"You lost him huh?" Asked Whitney sadly.
"Yeah," said Theresa trying not to cry. "I guess I deserved to lose him."
"Theresa I know I said some pretty mean things to you, but nobody deserves what you're going through. I know how you feel about Ethan. How much he means to you. I know how much pain you must be in. I mean you didn't mean for things to get as mixed up as they did. Things just snowballed out of control," said Whitney placing her hand on Theresa's hand.
"I know I would never hurt Ethan the way I did on purpose. I would rather die first," said Theresa no longer able to hold back her tears.
"I know," said Whitney grabbing a tissue from the table and handing it to Theresa. "Have you tried to talk to Ethan."
"It wouldn't do any good Whitney. Ethan Crane has written me out of his life for good."
"I'm sorry Theresa," said Whitney pulling Theresa into a hug. "I am so sorry."
Noah looked at the two girls that had been like sisters to him with curiosity, he hadn't meant to overhear the conversation, but the mention of Ethan Crane's name did pique his interest. He didn't know much about Ethan Crane except for the fact that his father hated the Cranes and so did Luis from what Noah could remember. Had Theresa gotten herself involved with a Crane? He wondered. He watched Theresa compose herself and decided that this was the right time to make his entrance.
"Hey girls the coffee is brewing and the bagels are warm," said Noah putting his arms around the girls when they got up from the coach.
"Good I'm starving," said Whitney leading her friends into the kitchen.
"Wow," smiled Noah as they headed toward the kitchen. "The Three Musketeers together gain."
"Just like old times," smiled Theresa.
"Just like old times," smiled Noah happy once again to be back around the people who he loved and who loved him.

Chad Harris walked past the Harmony coffee shop and immediately noticed the help wanted sign at the door. He looked at the few dollars that he had in his wallet and then looked back at the sign. A job would just tie him down to this town and at this particular moment he wasn't sure that that was what he wanted. He looked around him, at all the people who seemed perfectly content in living in this small town and wondered for the millionth time what he was doing here. He didn't belong here. He belonged in LA or New York making records not in Harmony trying to track down some relatives that didn't care enough to stick around. Besides he wasn't quite sure of what to make of the people in  this town. Running into the stuck up girl at that youth center sure didn't help matters much. Still if he did manage to get a job it would only be temporary. Enough money to eat and get a place to stay. "Besides," he said rubbing his arms "He could use a jacket it was starting to get cold.
 

Julian Crane took another sip of his coffee and turned the page of his newspaper. He was having a real tedious morning worst yet he had the feeling that something was going on around the mansion that he didn't know about. Something that had to do with Ethan. Ethan had been walking around here for weeks like the weight of the world was on his shoulders and a few days ago when he walked into the living room he could have sworn that Ethan had been crying. The very notion of his son --his Crane heir crying made Julian sick to his stomach. Worse yet when he had asked the boy what was wrong he had given him a terse answer and walked away. Julian threw his paper down on the table in disgust. It was completely unacceptable to him that he didn't know everything that was going on with his family. His father Alastair Crane had made it his business to know every little detail about the lives of every member of the Crane family. As the first born son and one day leader of the family he was expected to be the gatekeeper of the family and sometimes he felt like he was failing miserably.

Ivy Crane walked into the living room humming. She had been having a really lousy couple of weeks. Every night she dreamed of things that were long left in her past and every night she hoped that her subconscious would let her long dead dreams rest in peace. To  make matters worse she couldn't help but pick up on the tension between Ethan and Gwen. Ivy had worked a long time on that match. Molding Gwen into the kind of women that was right for her Ethan. She had put to many years into this union to see it all fall apart. Words could not describe how happy she was when her maid Alicia told her that Gwen had spent the night with Ethan. It did her heart good to know that her precious boy would be settling down with someone she hand picked for the job of his wife.

Julian watched his wife sit down on the chair beside him a little amused.
"Well, good morning darling," said Julian taking another sip of his coffee you're in an awfully good mood this morning have I forgotten some out of town trip I am suppose to be taking today."
"Don't I wish," smiled Ivy. "No this good mood of mine has nothing to do with you Julian."
"Well then," said Julian picking up his paper. "It must be about your number one son. You know Ivy I find this obsession that you have with Ethan to be a little disturbing."
Ivy looked at her husband and smiled. "I'm not obsessed with Ethan I merely want our son to have a better life then I do."
"Oh God," said Julian flipping through his paper. "Not another tirade about how unhappy you are. You know Ivy," he said putting down his paper and pointing outside the living room." There's the door please feel free to use anytime you want."
"What and leave all this," said Ivy getting up and sitting next to Julian. "I wouldn't dream of ever leaving your side darling."
Julian moved closer to Ivy and their faces were practically touching. The feel of her breathe on his face brought back a flood of passionate memories for Julian. Memories of a time in their marriage that was long gone.
"You know darling, if you would just loosen up a little I could remind you just what it was like to be at my side, to be my wife in every way imaginable," said Julian stroking her hair.
"Oh please," said Ivy in disgust getting up and moving back to her chair. "I just ate."
Julian laughed at his wife's biting remark. As disappointed as he was by them he had come to expect her cold reactions to his attempts at seduction. It was a game that they played, that they had been playing for years, the sick thing was that deep down inside they both liked it, the chase, the rejection, the torment to much to stop. It really was all that was basically left of their so-called marriage.
"Well tell me darling," said Julian composing himself. "If you didn't wake up in an amorous mood why are you so happy."
"Well if you must know I'm in a good mood because Alicia told me that Gwen spent the night with Ethan," Ivy said trying to control herself. Being that close to Julian still effected her more then she cared to admit but she'd never give him the satisfaction of showing him that there was still a spark of attraction between them."
"Ooh I knew it. Ethan again," said Julian.
"Yes Ethan I want my son to be happy Julian. You should want that too. After all he'll be head of the family one day its important to us all that he be stable."
"Of course," said Julian sarcastically.
"I sensed some tension between him and Gwen. I'm glad that they worked out their problems," said Ivy the relief in her voice evident.
"Well I don't know what you were so concerned about Ethan would have patched up any trouble he was having with Gwen he knows how much we all want this merger." Said Julian taking another sip of coffee.
"It's not a merger its a marriage," said Ivy getting up in anger.
"Calm down Ivy," said Julian a little shocked. "You're taking Ethan's love life a little too personally."
"That's because I know how much our son loves Gwen and I want him to have a marriage based on love unlike our marriage," said Ivy bitterly.
"Men in power have no need for love matches darling," smirked Julian.
"Well Ethan does he has loved Gwen forever," said Ivy confidently.
"Well that's because he never had a chance to meet anybody else," said Julian looking at Ivy accusingly.
"And what is that suppose to mean?" asked Ivy defensively,
"Oh come on Ivy you and that old battle lax Margaret have been planning Gwen and Ethan's marriage since they were wee little tots. I mean you practically through the two together at every occasion you could come up with. I'd be surprised if the two of them didn't fall in love well at least think that they did."
"What's that suppose to mean?" asked Ivy.
"It means that if a man is on a deserted island and only sees bananas he is going to think that bananas are his favorite food, but once he gets off the island and sees that there is an entire array of fruits and vegetables to choose from well then he realizes that bananas may not be the best thing out there," laughed Julian.
"That's ridiculous Ethan would never as much as look at another girl." said Ivy.
"Are you blind women? Ethan has been making goggily eyes at your little personal secretary for months now," smiled Julian.
"Theresa," said Ivy letting out a little laugh. "That's ridiculous."
"Well she is a little plain for my taste, but you know what they say looks isn't everything," laughed Julian.
Ivy suddenly had a flash to all the times that she caught Ethan and Theresa together. She hadn't thought anything of it at the time she just thought that Ethan was being polite as usual but those moments were charged with something. She knew that Theresa looked  homely in her work clothes, but at the same time she remembered how beautiful Theresa looked without it.
"The only thing that Theresa is to Ethan is the housekeeper's daughter." said Ivy not entirely convinced herself.
"Whatever you say darling," said Julian enjoying his wife's flustered look, "whatever you say."

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