Disclaimer: I do not own the characters I write about. They belong to JER and NBC’s Passions.

Chapter One

"What do you mean I can’t take it back?" Sheridan asked with a confused look on her face.  She had figured she could take it back.  She just wanted to teach Luis a lesson, she didn’t want him to actually go to jail.

"I mean, there is no way to turn back the hands of time.  You signed the complaint and now Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald is going to jail" Detective Alverez informed her.

"Can’t you just tear up the complaint?"

"It doesn’t work that way Miss Crane" Sheridan was getting increasingly angry.  Luis just stood back and watched.  He was helpless in this situation and unfortunately so was Sheridan.

"Well why not?  If you don’t want to tear it up we can burn it.  Paper is flammable you know?"  She was using everything she could think of to get Luis out of trouble.  This is so far from where she wanted him to be.  She wanted to be back in Harmony with his strong arms wrapped around her.

"Yes I’m aware of that fact" Tina said bitterly.  "But once it is in the computer there is nothing we can do"

Sheridan couldn’t take it anymore why wasn’t the detective listening to her. She didn’t mean it.  She didn’t want to get Luis put in jail.  Finally her frustration and anger peaked and she threw her arms in the direction of the computer monitor.  She used such forced the screen flew to the ground with a huge crash.  She completely crushed the machine.

"There now it is off the computer!" Sheridan almost yelled at the detective. "Now WE can go home?"  

Luis was completely shocked.  He couldn’t believe Sheridan let her temper get the best of her in the police station.  Usually she could control herself when she had to, but not this time.  He didn’t know what had gotten into her.  He just stared at her in disbelief.

"Actually you two are going to be together but you aren’t going anywhere" Sheridan stared at Tina blankly.  "I’m sure the judge would like to see you about destroying police property.  Won’t you join me and Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald in the holding cell?"

"You can’t be serious" Sheridan fumed.

"Try me" Tina said dryly.  She led both Sheridan and Luis through the door and into where the holding cells were.  "Now since I know how much you two love to be near each other I was going to put you in the same cell, but seeing as you will probably kill each other I’ll put you in cells next to each other.  The judge will be ready to see you both shortly.  Enjoy your time together"  She smiled and shut their cells.  They sat back to back against the cell bars on their cots.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Luis asked without looking at her.

"Trying to save you for once" Sheridan said coldly.

"And look what a good job you did.  Now we’re both in jail.  Please leave the saving to me next time.  At least now I know Roger and Pierre would be able to kill you"

"And what do you care anyway?  Your life wouldn’t skip a beat if I died"

"Do you really think I am that heartless?"

"I don’t know what to think of you anymore"  They still refused to turn around and look at each other.

"Do you mind telling me what that is supposed to mean?  Why are you so angry with me?"

"I don’t have to tell you anything!"

"You’re right you don’t, but I am just going to keep asking until I get an answer and since you can’t run away this time it might get kind of annoying for you"

"Just being near you annoys me"

"What did I do?" Luis wasn’t going to give up this time he was determined to find out why she was so angry with him.

"So how long do you think we will be in here?" Sheridan tried to change the subject.

"What did I do?"

"Would you just answer my question?"

"Not until you answer mine"

"Fine you really want to know?"

"Would I be asking if I didn’t?"

"Okay, okay"

"Finally" Luis threw his arms into the air and turned to face her.  She also turned to him and he was thrown back by all the pain he saw in her eyes.  He didn’t see anger as he expected.

"So what do you want to know?" she said in almost a whisper.  Just thinking about what saw she still made her want to break down and cry.  "Do you want me to tell you why when I look at you now what you see reflected in my eyes is disgust and sadness?"

"That would be a good start" he managed to say as her words still stung in his chest.

"It’s because I found out who you really are.  I got to see a part of you I never thought could possibly exist.  But maybe you were right maybe I would believe anything, or maybe just was just ignoring what was really there"

"I was right?  You are not naïve.  Why would you think I would you were gullible?"

"Luis, please just stop playing innocent"  She would normally say this with anger, but this time she was sick of fighting.  It was more of a plea.

"Sheridan, I promise you I have no idea what you are talking about" Luis too was now pleading with her.

"Look.  Just stop!  I know how you really feel about me"

"You do?  And how do I feel about you?  Could you tell me please, because I have myself confused right now?"

"What don’t know whether to use me for my money or to get back at my family?" the anger suddenly resurged.

"What would make you think I would ever use you?"

"You!" she was nearly screaming now, and stood up to face him.

"Me?!?"  He stood up too in frustration.

"Yes YOU.  Who else?  I would have never believed it if it came from anyone else!"

"WHAT?  When?"

"What does it matter?  I know the real you now, and that’s all I need to know" she turned away from him and folded her arms in anger.

"Sheridan look at me!"  He couldn’t stand when she tried to hide from him. But she couldn’t turn around.  She couldn’t let him see the tears that were rolling down her cheek.  

"NO!" she tried to say forcefully but her voice cracked and he could tell she was crying.

"Please don’t cry, I can’t stand to see you like this"

"Why feel guilty?" she wiped the tears from her face.

"That’s not exactly what I’m feeling"

"What then?" she whirled around and the fierceness had returned to her eyes.

"It can’t be concern.  That would be out of character"

"What do you think I did?  TELL ME!"

"I don’t think, I know!"

"Well tell me what you know.  I would like to know!" They were both still yelling and would have kept it up but Detective Alverez interrupted them.

"Well I can see you two haven’t made any progress.  But I have good news for you.  The judge is ready to see you now.  And since you two love to be in the same room together, I worked it out so he can see you at the same time"

"Great" they said simultaneously.

Tina led Sheridan and Luis through some sets of doors and to the judge’s chamber.  They walked on separate sides of the detective.  They were both angry at each other for different reasons.  Luis was angry because she really thought he used her and she didn’t trust him enough to believe he would never do that.  Sheridan was furious that he was still playing innocent and denying everything.  Tina knocked on the door and had to nearly shove them in the room.  The judge was a younger man for a judge.  He couldn’t have been over forty and his hair wasn’t nearing the gray stage.  

"So I hear you two are having a little spat?"  The judge said playfully.  He was obviously in good mood.  "I am Judge Windward.  I will be deciding your fates.  So who would like to start?"

"HE…SHE… HAD…IS… NO…STUBBORN… RIGHT…PIGHEADED!" they both shouted.

"Okay enough.  I can see how this is going to work.  Why don’t you two sit down" he motioned to the chairs across from his desk.  "Now when I want you to talk I will point to you.  Is that understood?"  He pointed to Luis.

"Yes I understand" and then he pointed to Sheridan.

"Me too"

"Good.  Now we can start.  What is this about Luis kidnapping you?" The judge pointed to Sheridan.

"He chloroformed me and took me against my will onto a plane and took me back to the states"

"Is this true?" he moved his finger from Sheridan to Luis.

"Yes, but I did it to protect her"

"That is such a lie you did it to control me!" Sheridan gasped.

"Now, Miss Crane you did not have the right to speak.  Please try and wait your turn"

"I’m sorry" Sheridan said earnestly.

"She likes to shoot her mouth off.  You’ll have to keep your eye on her"

"And you too.  It wasn’t your turn either.  Let me settle something right now.  And before I ask the question I have to remind you that even though you aren’t under oath, it wouldn’t be wise to lie to a judge.  You are both in enough trouble as it is.  So with that said are you in love with each other?" he then extended his finger to Luis.

Judge Windward waited for Luis’s answer but none was coming.  Luis shifted uncomfortably in his chair, trying to think of what to say.  He couldn’t lie to a judge but that meant admitting his feelings to himself and to her.  He didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing how he really felt, especially since all she has been doing is screaming at him lately.  The judge stared at Luis and finally realized he wasn’t going to answer.

"Hmm, something must be wrong with this finger" he took his hand back and again pointed it at Luis.  This time he over exaggerated the pointing, but still nothing came out of Luis’s mouth.  "I can see this is going to be difficult.  Ok let’s go about this another way.  Why did you fly to Paris Officer?"

"Aren’t you going to ask her the same question first?"

"I’ll get to her don’t you worry.  But first I would like to start with you. Now Miss Crane I trust you can be quiet while I question the officer" She didn’t answer.  She just nodded her head and turned to stare out the window. "Now answer the question please Officer"

"I flew to Paris because I thought Sheridan’s life was in danger"

"And how did you come up with that conclusion?"

"I received a fax from Interpol"

"This fax?" Judge Windward handed a piece of paper to Luis.

"Yeah that’s it"

"Why didn’t you just call Interpol and have them handle it?"

"Because I didn’t know Sheridan’s Jean Luc’s last name.  I had no proof that she could be in trouble"

"But still you flew to Paris?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because my gut instinct told me she was in terrible danger"

"You’re cop instinct?"

"Not exactly" again Luis shifted in his chair.  He knew where the judge was going and he didn’t like it.

"Then what exactly?"

"It was something inside of me that told me that if I didn’t go to Paris Sheridan would die.  And I couldn’t shake the feeling no matter how hard I tried"

"And you have these feelings about everyone?"  This question perked Sheridan’s attention.  She turned from her blank stare out the window and looked in Luis’s direction.  She was surprised to find his eyes already focused in her direction. They gazed deeply into each other’s eyes for a long moment before Luis said a word.

"No, just her"  Sheridan was shocked.  She wondered why he hadn’t told her that in Paris.  She wanted to question him, but knew if she spoke out of turn again she would just end up getting herself in more trouble.

"Okay that’s enough for now Officer.  Now we can question Miss Crane for awhile.  Let’s see how about we start with why you wouldn’t go home with Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald?"

"Because I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself"  Luis rolled his eyes and held in his comments but his look didn’t go unnoticed by Sheridan and she shot him and evil glare.

"I am not doubting you capabilities Miss Crane, but weren’t you a little bit scared?"

"Yes, but who wouldn’t be under the circumstances"

"In the report I have it says that sixty percent of witnesses under police protection end up dead.  This didn’t make you want to get out of Paris and away from danger?"

"Yes"

"So why didn’t you go back to Harmony when Luis asked you to"

"Because he didn’t ask me he told me"

"So you would rather die then do what he tells you to do?"

"No one controls my life but me" she said bitterly.

"That is all you think he was doing?  Trying to control your life?  You don’t think he cares about you?"

"No I don’t" She said sadly.

"And does that make you angry?" he was trying to push her to admit her feelings.

"A little" she had gotten quiet and less forceful with her words.  She knew the judge was going to back in a corner just like he did to Luis.

"Why?"  Sheridan turned away from Luis.  She couldn’t let him see her face when she answered this question.  It was bad enough that he would be able to hear her, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her sadness.

"Because I wanted him to care about me"

"Okay that is all I need to know.  Although neither of you are going back to jail, you are both going to be punished for your actions.  I have the perfect punishment for the two of you.  Seeing as when you two aren’t working together is when you get trouble you will be spending a lot of time with each other for the next week or so"

Judge Windward waited to see their reactions.  They looked at each other with total disgust on their faces.  They didn’t want to be near each other, they were too confused about the other’s feelings let alone their own.

"Have you two heard of Habitat For Humanity?"

"You’ve got to be kidding me.  Miss trust fund over there built a house?" Luis sneered.

"At least I am willing to try!  You will get there and start bossing everyone around like you own the joint" Sheridan retorted.

"I can see there is no love lost between the two of you.  I was going to give you the nights free of each other, but now I am not so sure" Judge Windward stated.

"You can not keep us together 24 hours a day" Sheridan said flatly.

"After that comment I can, and I will.  I have to credit my daughter for the next part of your punishment.  She was watching The Parent Trap last night. Have either of you seen it?"

"No" Sheridan answered.

"Figures.  Yes I have seen it"

"Well good then you will remember the isolation cabin" the judge was determined to get the two to be able to be in the same room for the good of the world.

"Oh no.  You can’t be serious"  Luis hoped he was joking.

"I am very serious"

"Someone want to clue me in?" Sheridan asked.  The judge motioned to Luis to explain the events of the next week.

"Basically we do everything together, eat, sleep, work.  We can not go anywhere without the other" Luis explained.

"And if we don’t?" Sheridan questioned.

"Then you go to jail.  This isn’t your first offence at destroying police property Miss Crane, you better be happy that I don’t throw the book at you. And before you protest Officer this is a very fair punishment for kidnapping.  You two better be thanking your lucky stars that I am in a good mood today.  Now I am going to send you to Castleton.  There is a project there starting tomorrow.  You can get settled tonight.  Enjoy your time together"

 The judge smiled and showed them out the door.  Tina was waiting for them on the other side.  She was going to be their escort to Castleton.  Tina took them into her police cruiser.  Luis had asked to sit in the front but she kindly reminded him that he and Sheridan were glued at the hip for a week at least.  So they sat in the back seat as far away from each other as possible.  Both stared out the window on their side of the car.  Tina couldn’t understand why they just didn’t admit how they really felt about each other.  She was going to make sure she told them what she thought before the got out of the car and started their punishment.

 "Before I let the two of you out into your cabin, do you mind if I give you a little advise?"

"Do we have a choice?" Luis questioned knowing that they were stuck until she opened the door from the outside.

"Actually you don’t.  So here goes"  She turned around in her seat and looked directly at them.  "If you two kiss and make up now, the whole week will be a whole lot sweeter"  They looked at each other with lust filled eyes while Tina got out of the car and opened the door for them.  Suddenly they realized who the other was and the passion was lost in their pride. They got out and looked around.  It was a small cabin in the middle of nowhere.  

"Where are we?" Sheridan asked.

"This cabin is owned by the Boston PD.  We use it for exercises in teamwork. There will be someone to pick you up at 6 am tomorrow morning.  There isn’t a phone here so we called both of your families and had them send up some clothes for you.  They should be inside already.  Good luck and I hope you follow my advice"  

Tina left leaving the two of them alone, with no distractions. They walked into the cabin and checked the place out.  No words were said.  Sheridan turned on a lamp and the first thing she noticed that it was basically a one-room cabin.  There was a small sitting area with a couch, two chairs and a coffee table.  Behind that was the kitchen.  Which consisted of a small stove, sink and refrigerator, there was a small counter connecting them all.  There was also a round kitchen table with four mismatching chairs.    The bathroom was off to the right in between the kitchen and the living room and to the left, across from the bathroom was a ladder.  The ladder led up to a loft that more than likely contained a couple of beds.  They were finished investigating in about five minutes and it was only 8 pm.  They didn’t know what they were going to do for the next couple hours.

"So what do you want to do first?" Sheridan asked.  Their thoughts both wandered to what Tina’s advice.  Kissing each other would definitely pass some time.

"So what do you want to do first?" Sheridan asked.  Their thoughts both wandered to what Tina’s advice.  Kissing each other would definitely pass some time.

"I’m kind of tired" Luis lied.

"Luis, it’s not even dark out"

"It’s been a long day" he tried to cover.

"Ok whatever you say"

Sheridan said with frustration floating through her voice.  She walked past him and went outside.  She sat on the front steps and buried her head in her hands.  Luis watched her go, but couldn’t decide whether to follow her or not.  He finally decided they were supposed to be joined at the hip and walked out to her.  He sat next to her with out saying a word. They say there in silence, without even looking at each other for over 20 minutes.

"What are you doing out here Luis?"

"We are supposed to do everything together, remember?"

"So you pick now to follow the laws" there was another long and uncomfortable pause.

"Sheridan, we need to talk"

"I don’t want to fight anymore Luis"

"I didn’t say…" Sheridan quickly cut him off.

"Luis we always fight"

"Why do you think that is?"

"Because you are the most stubborn person I have ever met"

"I’m not the only stubborn person here"

"See?  We can’t go five seconds without an argument.  And I’m not in the mood for it tonight"

"What if we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal" Sheridan was genuinely interested.

"We agree not to pick a fight or say anything intentionally hurtful for the rest of the night"

"Luis, that is asking a lot"

"Okay how about an hour.  I think I can handle it"

"Ok I’m game.  It’s a deal.  For the next hour we are best buds"

"I like the sound of that" Luis got a far off look on his face and smiled.

"Is it really going to be that difficult to build a house?" Sheridan questioned.

"Well it won’t be a walk in the park, but you’re a quick study.  You’ll learn fast"

"I don’t know I have never picked up a tool in my life"

"You hadn’t picked up a basketball before you whipped me on the court either" Sheridan smiled thinking back to their basketball game.  Not only that but the fact that he had confidence in her made her all warm inside. She looked up and saw a basketball hoop in the gravel driveway.  She pointed towards it.

"Do you think they have a ball up here?"

"Sheridan you know that is just going to cause a fight"

"I didn’t say we had to play a game.  Just shoot around, you know pass some time.  Besides I could give you a couple pointers on your jump shot"

"Funny"

"I try.  Where do you think they would hide the ball?"

"Actually I saw it inside.  I’ll go get it"  

Luis walked in and out of the house quickly.  He returned with the ball in hand.  Sheridan was already standing under the basket.  He passed her the ball from the steps and walked over to meet her.  She took a free throw and swished it.  She received a ‘nice shot’ from Luis as he gathered up the ball.  They were actually having fun.  They were taking crazy shots and making them, and of coarse the other had to try.  But it was all in fun, it wasn’t a real competition.  There were granny shots a flying, half court shots blasting and a lot of laughing at failed attempts.  One move Luis did was quite complicated and when Sheridan tried it she landed face down in the gravel.  She just laughed at herself though.  It didn’t hurt.  Luis walked over to help her up.  He was also busting a gut.  When she stood up Luis noticed that her elbow was bleeding.

"Sheridan, you’re bleeding.  Are you sure you’re not hurt?"

"No, I’m fine.  I just need a band-aid"

"Come let’s go get you fixed up"

They walked inside to the kitchen.  Luis retrieved some band-aids from the bathroom, while Sheridan washed her scrape.  Luis took her arm to look at it, she had done a good job but there was still some gravel in it.

"Let me help.  You still have gravel in it"

"Thank you"

"Tell me if it hurts"

"Oh don’t worry I will"

He cleaned it out sufficiently and bandaged her up.  He bent down and gently kissed her wound.

"There all better"  Luis smiled sweetly.  Sheridan was touched but also so confused.  She couldn’t figure him out.

"Luis, how do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Act like you care about me, when in reality you don’t?"

"What makes you think I don’t care?  Do you think I would have flown to Paris just to make sure you safe and took you back here when I knew you weren’t safe there if I didn’t care?"  

Sheridan didn’t answer him.  She didn’t know what to say.  She felt in her heart that he did care but her head kept reminding her of what she saw on the wharf.  She didn’t know how to answer his question.  Luis knew his answer when she said nothing.  She didn’t trust him enough to believe he was telling the truth and she didn’t know him well enough that she could see he cared in his eyes.  He turned to go back outside.  He couldn’t let her see the pain on his face.  He was halfway out the door when he finally heard her speak.

"Luis, wait"

"Luis, wait"

"Why?"

"Because I need to tell you something"

"What could you possibly need to tell me?  You told me enough when you didn’t say anything"

"I was just trying to figure things out.  I’m just so confused.  My heart wants to believe you, but my head keeps getting in the way.  Why did I have to hear you say those awful things?"

"What things?  When have I said anything to hurt you?"

"Look I’m tired.  I just want to go to bed"

"Fine.  Whatever you want.  You always have to get what YOU want don’t you"

"Luis, just stop.  I don’t want to fight"

They both ventured up into the loft to check the place out.  There were four sets of bunk beds.  They had both already changed for bed and bushed their teeth.  Luis had never seen Sheridan without any make-up.  Surprisingly she looked just as beautiful if not more.  It took all his strength to climb into a top bunk and not go maul her.  He rested his head on the pillow and let out a deep sigh.  Sheridan climbed in a lower bunk across the room.  She didn’t need to be any closer to him.  She wanted to be in his arms and the closer she was to him the stronger her feelings were.  She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.  She could try and put Luis out of her mind when she was awake, but in her unconscious state there was no holding back.  Luis couldn’t sleep however, he found himself watching Sheridan sleep.  He had a perfect view of her peaceful face.  Her face slowly turned grave though as she seemed to be dreaming.  She started to toss in turn in her bed and then came her pleas.

"Don’t leave me.  I’m sorry.  I believe you.  Please don’t leave me"  Luis jumped down from his bead and headed in her direction.  Again she started to cry out.

"Luis, I believe you.  Don’t go!"

"Shhh.  Sheridan.  I’m right here" he leaned down next to her bed and traced her face with his fingers.  "Wake up Sheridan, you’re just dreaming" He continued to try and calm her.  Sheridan’s eyes popped open and she jumped into Luis’s arms.  She snuggled into his shoulder and held his neck tightly.

"You didn’t leave" Sheridan was near tears.

"It was just a dream Sheridan" he rubbed the back of her head.  "It’s okay"

"Oh Luis. I’m sorry" she pushed away from him.  "Just a bad dream I guess.

I’m fine now thank you"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, but thanks for waking me up"

 Luis stood back up and headed back to his bunk.  He got back under his covers but something wouldn’t let him go to sleep.  Sheridan had been dreaming about him and he wanted to know why.  He glanced her direction to find her staring at him.  She quickly turned away but it was too late he had seen her.

"Sheridan, can I ask you a question?" Luis said softly.

"Yeah, why not"

"What were you dreaming about?"

"You mean you don’t already know?  I know I am famous for talking in my sleep"

"Actually I did hear some things, but what was the dream about?"

"It was stupid Luis, just my mind running away with my subconscious thoughts"

"In the judges chambers you said that you were angry because you wanted me to care about you"

"Yes, what is your point?"

"I DO care"

"No you don’t Luis"

"Why can’t you believe me?" he raised his voice.

"Because of what you said on the wharf!" she yelled back without even realizing what she said.

"Because of what you said on the wharf!" she yelled back without even realizing what she said.

"You’re mad at me because I said I enjoyed kissing you?" he yelled in frustration.  They were both sitting up in bed now.  Staring at each other with tremendous heat, confusion, and anger filled in their eyes.  "Well, I’m sorry but that is the truth.  Kissing you was like nothing I have ever felt before"

"That isn’t what I meant and you know it Luis"

"No I don’t.  Stop being so cryptic and tell me what you heard"

"I heard you conversation with your friend"

"What are you talking about?  You heard me talking to Silvano?"

"NO! Well maybe it was him.  I don’t know who you were talking to.  You were on the phone"

"I talk on the telephone a lot.  But what does that have to do with me and you?"

"Luis, do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Well apparently because I have no idea what you talking about"

"Don’t give me that Luis.  I might be a Spoiled Princess but I can still through your act"

"Sheridan you know I don’t think of you that way anymore"

"Oh a change of heart since I slapped you?  How sweet" she said sarcastically.

"Sheridan, why can’t you believe that I am not like the other men in your life?"

"Because Luis, I know the truth.  That you are just like them.  I am eternally grateful that you saved my life so many times and I will never hesitate to put my safety in your hands, but you don’t get my heart.  Not after what I heard you say about me"

Sheridan fell back on her pillow and rolled over to face the wall.  She had had enough for the night.  She was exhausted, it was late and they had to be up with the sin in the morning.  Luis just stared at her.  She had just hurt him more than she ever did, more than she ever could have imagined she could.  She was determined not to love him and that crushed him.  He wanted to walk over to her and kiss her until she believed him, but he thought she would just slap him again.  He wondered what she could have heard him say about her.  Before she slapped him and even after the only words he said about her were expressing his feelings towards her.  He never said anything bad about her, he didn’t have a bad thought about her in his head.  Finally he too returned his head to his pillow and drifted off.  They were awoken by the sound of a horn honking and someone pounding on the door.  They both looked at each other and jumped out of bed.  They had overslept.  They ran around the cabin trying to get ready.  Sheridan ran to the in her nightclothes with her toothbrush hanging from her mouth.  The person just laughed as he imagined why they had not been ready yet.  Sheridan returned to her frantic rush to get ready.  She climbed down the ladder as Luis emerged from the bathroom.  They ran out the door together and jumped in the back seat of local police car.  Luis recognized the man.  He used to work in Harmony.

"Jim, long time no see" Luis commented.

"Luis?  You’re the Officer?  I never would have thought…"  Jim Howard chuckled.

"Yeah well" Luis sighed.

"But you had your own Mother…"

"Jim please, don’t ask.  This is Sheridan Crane"

"It’s nice to meet you Ms. Crane"

"You too Officer…?"

"Howard, but you can call me Jim"

"And please call me Sheridan"

They drove for only about five minutes when Jim pulled to a stop.  He opened the door and let them out to their place of work.  Sheridan walked straight out to meet some of the others.  Luis hung back and asked Jim a couple of questions.  After a short while Luis joined Sheridan and was in a rather chipper mood.  She looked at him curiously.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

"Oh nothing.  I just worked it out so we aren’t going to straight back to the cabin after we are finished today"

"What was that all about?" she asked.

"Oh nothing. I just worked it out so we aren’t going to straight back to the cabin after we are finished today"

"Where are we going?"

"You’ll find out later" Luis said slyly. "Did you find out what we get to do today?"

"Yes, we get to pound nails all day" she said mockingly.

"Well let’s get started" They walked up to the empty lot that was going to be someone’s home.

"I can’t believe that in a week this is going to be someone’s house" Sheridan said in awe. Luis grabbed a hammer and some nails and put them in a tool belt. He fastened it around his waste and looked up to see Sheridan staring at him.

"You ready?" he asked her.

"Don’t I need anything?"

"Nope, we are set"

"But I want one of those belt thingys" Luis chuckled and threw her and empty tool belt. She immediately threw it back. "I want stuff in it too" she said with a pout on her face. Luis rolled his eyes and put a hammer and some nails in her belt. He walked up behind her and swung the belt around her waist.  He began to tighten around her while he took in a deep breath to inhale her perfume.

"You are really getting into this aren’t you?" he made himself asked while he let he hands linger on her waist.  Another member of their team happened to walk by at that moment and say how close the two were.

"Hey lovebirds, get to work.  We have a house to build" he teased as he walked by.

"We aren’t lovebirds!" they both shouted at him as he continued walking. They walked up to the lot and over to the part that they were to work on.  A team leader showed them how to place the boards and position the nails and left them to start.  Luis watched Sheridan as she took her hammer and looked at it curiously.  She tried to hide his smile, but he still ended up smirking.

"Don’t laugh" she scolded.  "I told you I have never touched a tool before"

"I’m sorry.  I think we need to go over the basics quick"  He took his hammer in one and a nail in the other.  "This is a hammer" he lifted the hand that contained the hammer.  "And this is a nail" he held the nail.

"Hey, I know I’m no Einstein, but I knew that.  Just show me how to work them"

He helped her grip the hammer and showed her how to hold the nail.  Finally he told her to try and nail one in.  She took her hand with the hammer back and lightly taped the nail.

"Now Sheridan, your going to have to hit it harder than that"  She again took her arm back and this time looked like her was going to punish the nail.  Mid swing Luis yelled, "Sheridan, STOP!" she stopped and dropped the hammer behind her back.

"What?" she looked at him shockingly.

"Don’t close your eyes!  You’re going to kill your hand"

"Don’t scared me like that" she hissed.  "I thought I was going to ruin the house"

"You never cease to amaze me" Luis chuckled.

"What did I do now?"

"You care more about ruining a stranger’s house then you do about hurting yourself"

"I would heal, but I don’t want to set us back" she said earnestly.  The worked hard for the rest of the day and amazingly they didn’t fight.  Officer Howard came to pick them up and whisked them off to Luis’s secret destination.  The car stopped and Sheridan looked around.  They were middle of downtown castle.

"Luis, what are doing?"

"We are going there?" he nodded his head in the direction of their destination.

"There?" She pointed at the local library.

"No there" he moved her hand and readjusted it to point to the building next to the library.

 "No there" he moved her hand and readjusted it to point to the building next to the library.

"You want to repent for your sins?" Sheridan questioned.

"Not exactly"

"Then why are we going to the church?"

"I have my reasons but first lets get something to eat"

"Yeah, I am kind of hungry, but I want to know what is in that church that makes you want to go there tonight"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, you know candles, crosses, pews and a priest or two"

"Do you need to confess something?" she said thinking that he was going to confess about what happened on the wharf.

"Actually I do.  Now let’s go eat I’m starving"

"Okay Luis, we can talk while we eat" she smirked and he knew she wasn’t going to drop the subject.  They walked across the street to a little diner.  The both ordered sandwiches and lemonade.  It was a beautiful day so they went to a nearby park to eat.  They sat on a park bench and sunrays danced around them.  Luis noticed Sheridan was just picking at her sandwich.  She had taken one bite and was now pulling tiny pieces off.

"You don’t really like that do you?" Luis asked.

"It’s alright" she lied.

"You’re lying.  Here take a bite of mine" he held his sandwich to her mouth so she had no choice but to take a bite.  "Better?"

"Mmmhmm" she mumbled as she chewed.

"Then here" he gave her half of his sandwich.

"Luis no" she tried to refuse. "You were the one who was starving"

"No, it’s okay.  I’m better now.  Eat it"

"Thank you" she smiled.

They finished eating their dinner and they sat on the bench watching the sunset.  They hadn’t even realized it but while the sun faded they held hands.  They were caught up in nature’s beauty.  They stared until the last sliver of sunlight disappeared.  Luis stood up and was surprised when Sheridan’s hand followed him, because they were still held together.  She smiled shyly and when she noticed her hand attached to his she tried to let go, but Luis tightened her grip and led her back to the church.  They walked inside and Sheridan looked as confused as ever.  Luis walked her up to the front pew and sat her down.

"I’ll be right back" he whispered to her.

"Where are you going?" she whispered back.

"To find a priest, just stay put" he whispered sternly.

Sheridan watched him disappear into the back of the church and when he was gone she looked to the side and saw all of the candles.  She couldn’t think of anyone she needed to light one for.  Everyone she knew was healthy and happy, except for herself.  With that thought she got up and light one.  She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as she prayed for her life to change somehow.  Then she returned sadly to her pew and waited for Luis to come back.  Luis returned to her with a priest by his side.  She looked at the two of them and smiled at the priest.

"So are you going to tell me what is going on now?" Sheridan asked Luis.

"I think now is the right time.  This is Father Mathews.  He is here to listen"

"To listen, to what?"

"To what I have to tell you"

"So are you going to tell me what is going on now?" Sheridan asked Luis.

"I think now is the right time.  This is Father Mathews.  He is here to listen"

"To listen, to what?"

"To what I have to tell you"

"You had to bring me to a church to tell me something?  Luis what’s going on?"

"Look, you wouldn’t listen to me last night so I thought I would bring you here and maybe get through to you"

"Being in a church is going to make a difference?"

"Do you think I would lie in front of a priest?"

"I guess not"  Luis sat down next to Sheridan on the pew as the priest sat on the steps leading to the altar.  Luis had asked him just to sit there and not intervene.  The priest agreed considering the circumstances and planned just to watch.  Luis took her hands in his and look deeply in her confused blue eyes.

"I want you to know that no matter what you think you saw or heard…" Sheridan interrupted his shpeal.

"I don’t think I know"

"Okay, okay.  But no matter what, I do care about you.  I have for a long time and I don’t think that I will ever stop caring about you" Sheridan was beginning to soften and tears were welling up in her eyes.  They were yet again interrupted by someone walking to the church shouting.

"YO! Michael, are you coming or what?  I thought we were playing some B-Ball today"  As Stanley got closer he got a weird look on his face.  "What ya doin dressed like that man?"

"I’ll be right there Stanley" Michael Mathews said nervously as he excused himself from Sheridan and Luis.  Sheridan’s face completely tensed up and became an intense shade of red.  When Stanley and Father Mathews were gone Sheridan ripped her hand from Luis and stood up angrily.  She darted down the aisle.  Luis ran after her catching her at the door of the church.  He grasped her arm so she couldn’t run any further.

"Let GO of me Luis"

"No!"

"I can’t believe you?  You made someone pretend to be a priest?  Is this even a real church?"

"Sheridan, I didn’t…"

"Pilar would be so ashamed of you.  I knew you weren’t the man of my dreams, but I didn’t know how low you could sink"

"Sheridan stop.  You don’t understand"

"Well that isn’t a first now is it?"

"Please just shut up and listen"

"Fine! Just let go of me" she calmed down.

"You promise not to try anything?"

"Yes, and in church my word means something" she said bitterly.

"Father Mathews is a real priest.  And I would never lie in a church"

"I don’t know how I can believe you.  That young man, Stanley, seemed to be surprised to see Michael dressed in a robe.  And everything in my mind points to the fact that I can not trust you"

"Michael Mathews is the priest of this parish!"

"Why then we walked in did it say that a Father George Clark was presiding on the welcome sign?"

"This is Father Mathews first week"

"Oh what a convenience"

"Sheridan just open your mind and listen!  Why won’t you believe me?"

"I don’t know what to believe anymore.  And I refuse to let myself be hurt again"

"You can’t live your life being afraid of being hurt"

"You’re right I can’t.  But I can keep myself from getting hurt by you again"

Sheridan turned to walk out into the fresh air.  Officer Howard was already outside waiting for them outside.  She was descending the steps when he called after her.

"I know that in your heart you believe, but we won’t you let you mind give into your feelings?"

Sheridan stopped dead in her tracks and stopped to ponder his words.  His words dove deep into her soul.  She turned around to look at him standing there watching her.  She wanted to run into his arms and forgive him and kiss him all over.  But instead she turned around again and got into the back of the police cruiser.

 "I know that in your heart you believe, but we won’t you let you mind give into your feelings?"

Sheridan stopped dead in her tracks and stopped to ponder his words.  His words dove deep into her soul.  She turned around to look at him standing there watching her.  She wanted to run into his arms and forgive him and kiss him all over.  But instead she turned around again and got into the back of the police cruiser.  Luis didn’t follow her.  He parked himself right on the steps of the church.  Though the sun had set the church steps were illuminated by many decretive lights.  If she was going to be stubborn so was he.  The whole time he watched her sitting in the car and not once did she turn to look at him.  He got his hopes up a couple of times when she lifted her head, but it was only to talk to Officer Howard.  Luis’s mind raced as he sat there.  This gave him time to sort through his feelings, which was never easy to do when Sheridan was sitting within close proximity.  In his head there was a battle and whatever side won, he still felt he would lose.

Luis got up from his spot on the pavement and walked to the car.  He casually got in without saying a word and closed the door.  Officer Howard saw the expressions on both of their faces and decided just to drive them back to the cabin.  He didn’t want to start anything.  They both looked like their hearts had been torn out and stomped on.  The pain had overtaken their faces.  They pulled up to the cabin and Officer Howard let them out.  They both said quiet ‘Thank Yous’ and went on their way.  Officer Howard left quietly while Luis entered the house.  He went straight for the couch and flung himself down.  He folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.  He was exhausted, not only physically but emotionally, from the long day.  Sheridan stayed outside.  There was a full moon that gave her enough light to see.  She collected the basketball they had left under the hoop last night and rolled it in her hands.  Sadly she threw the ball up at the hoop, but she had no strength left and the ball didn’t even reach the hoop.  It fell well short and rolled away.  She didn’t go after it, just watched it roll.  Her thoughts began to flood her mind.  They were so overwhelming that she couldn’t stand anymore.  Her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the gravel.  She didn’t faint, but she was now sitting on the ground, legs sprawled in front of her and leaning back resting on her arms. 

Sheridan suddenly got a resurgence of energy.  She stood up and started pacing.  She stuffed her hands in her pockets and her stride kept quickening.  Something wasn’t right.  It just didn’t make sense.

Sheridan continued to tear up the driveway.  She didn’t even notice that Luis had come outside and was standing on the porch watching her.  The moonlight danced in her eyes and sparkled in her hair.  He was fascinated.  She was going back and forth so fast she looked like someone had the fast forward button on her.  Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks and looked up to the sky.

"Oh God what have I done?" she gasped to herself.

Sheridan continued to tear up the driveway.  She didn’t even notice that Luis had come outside and was standing on the porch watching her.  She was going back and forth so fast she looked like someone had the fast forward button on her.  Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks and looked up to the sky.

"Oh God what have I done?" she gasped to herself.

Sheridan took her gaze from the heavens and darted it towards the cabin.  She was going to rush into that place and talk to him.  But as soon as her gaze focused she saw him there watching her.  Sheridan shifted uncomfortably and gave him as shy smile.  She then looked away.  She was embarrassed by what he could have seen and heard.  Lucky for her though she didn’t say very much for once, but she must have looked like a lunatic.  She pushed some gravel around with her feet and couldn’t look at him.

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to see Robo Sheridan try and dig to china by pacing back and forth.  You do know how to fly a plane remember"

"Yeah well… I was just thinking"

"About what?" Luis sat down on the front steps as Sheridan still stood not able to look at him.

"About how stupid I am"

"Sheridan you are anything but stupid"

"Maybe that wasn’t the right word.  How about blind, naïve, or gullible?  Take your pick"

"I don’t think you want me to answer that" she final looked over at him to give him and ever so slight smile.  "Now what did you do?"

"I…ummm…I am a horrible person"

"What are you talking about?  You just spent the whole day building a house for someone less fortunate than you"

"That might be true, but I wasn’t very nice to you or fair for that matter"  She walked over and sat next to Luis.  She sat as far away as she could, but the steps were small and they were only inches apart.

"I can’t argue with you on that" Luis said smugly.

"Your always honest" Sheridan whispered.

"What?"

"Oh nothing.  Now back to me being a jerk.  I’m sorry I blew up at you in the Church.  I should have believed you.  I should have known you would never lied in a church.  Pilar couldn’t raise a child who didn’t fear God"

"So you believe me?"

"I believe that Father Mathews is a real priest and it is first week on the job"

"And what about what I said before that?"  Sheridan relived the earlier events.

***Flashback***

Luis returned to her with a priest by his side.  Sheridan looked at the two of them and smiled at the priest.

"So are you going to tell me what is going on now?" Sheridan asked Luis.

"I think now is the right time.  This is Father Mathews.  He is here to listen"

"To listen, to what?"

"To what I have to tell you"

"You had to bring me to a church to tell me something? Luis what’s going on?"

"Look, you wouldn’t listen to me last night so I thought I would bring you here and maybe get through to you"

"Being in a church is going to make a difference?"

"Do you think I would lie in front of a priest?"

"I guess not" Luis sat down next to Sheridan on the pew as the priest sat on the steps leading to the altar. Luis had asked him just to sit there and not intervene. The priest agreed considering the circumstances and planned just to watch. Luis took her hands in his and look deeply in her confused blue eyes.

"I want you to know that no matter what you think you saw or heard…" Sheridan interrupted his shpeal.

"I don’t think I know"

"Okay, okay. But no matter what, I do care about you. I have for a long time and I don’t think that I will ever stop caring about you" Sheridan was beginning to soften and tears were welling up in her eyes.

***End Flashback***

"Well do you believe me?" Luis questioned again.

"Yes" Sheridan said sadly and tears began to fall down her cheeks. Luis scooted himself over and put his arm around her. She snuggled into his chest and continued to cry.

"I will always care about you" he bent down and kissed her forehead. "And I will always be your friend" Sheridan looked up at him with more pain in her eyes than before.

"My friend? Is that all you want is to be my friend?" Luis took his arm from around her and she sat up and looked deep into his eyes.

"I can’t…" he couldn’t bear to have her looking into his soul. He turned and looked the other way. "I can’t let myself be anything more"

"My friend? Is that all you want is to be my friend?" Luis took his arm from around her and she sat up and looked deep into his eyes.

"I can’t…" he couldn’t bear to have her looking into his soul. He turned and looked the other way. "I can’t let myself be anything more"

"What?" Sheridan said totally shocked.

"I want to have you in my life don’t get me wrong. My life would be boring without you, but I can only be your friend"

"Luis, weren’t you trying to convince me to trust you earlier? Was that just to get me to be your friend?"

"No, my motives were different earlier, but that is before I thought things through"

"And when did this epiphany occur?"

"While I sat on the church steps staring at you. I realized that you didn’t want me, so I needed to move on"

"Luis, you don’t know what you’re talking about"

"No that’s where your wrong" Luis stood up and walked a bit down the driveway before he turned back to Sheridan. "I know what I am talking about. You however do not"

"How dare you say that I don’t know what I am talking about" Her face grew tense and she stood up too. They still had a huge gap of empty space between them.

"Ok" he said flatly. "Let me ask you a question. How do you feel about me at this very moment?"

"Right, now I’m a little upset at you"

"No, other than that. If I asked you to go out with me tomorrow night what would you say?"

"Are you asking me out?" Sheridan had a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"This is just hypothetical"

"Oh" she tried to hide her disappointment. "Just for the sake of your little scenario, I would say yes"

"Just what I thought. This morning you would have thought about it, but there would have been a 50/50 chance you would have said yes. And this afternoon you would have bitten my head off for even asking. But now, you would say yes. You don’t know what you want"

"It just all so confusing" She became quite depressed knowing that he was right.

"Exactly and I can not spend my days pining after you while you toy with my emotions"

"Luis that is not what I am trying to do" Sheridan retreated to the steps and sat back down in defeat.

"It might not be, but it is. I can’t live this way"

"You shouldn’t have to" she said sadly. She began to think about she had just blown her chance with the only man she had ever truly loved. The one who was supposed to love her for all her faults and yet he was just brushing her away. Tears formed in her eyes yet another time this day. Luis noticed that he must have hurt her and walked over to comfort her. He intentions were never to make her cry, but he needed to tell the truth about how he felt. She wouldn’t look up at him, even when he was standing centimeters in front of her. He finally reached down and lightly touched her chin. He raised it so her eyes where gazing into his.

"I’m sorry" he whispered as he kissed her forehead and walked into the cabin without another word. He couldn’t stand to see her like that. He just wanted to kiss away her tears, but it was now his turn to let his mind get in the way. Sheridan pulled her knees into chest and let the tears fall as she watched some clouds roll in. She thought her dreams were fading just as the moonlight was.

"I’m sorry" he whispered as he kissed her forehead and walked into the cabin without another word. He couldn’t stand to see her like that. He just wanted to kiss away her tears, but it was now his turn to let his mind get in the way. Sheridan pulled her knees into chest and let the tears fall as she watched some clouds roll in. She thought her dreams were fading just as the moonlight was.

It was now completely dark but she still couldn’t bring herself to go inside. She rested her head on the porch and shut her eyes. Before long she had fallen asleep. Luis had walked inside and headed straight for the shower. He was furious with himself for deliberately hurting her, but he thought it was for the best. He came out of the bathroom a little more relaxed and calm, but still in pain. He looked around but didn’t see Sheridan anywhere around. He climbed into in the loft, but he didn’t find her there either. He became a little frightened. He thought about how powerful the drug cartel was in Paris and had himself in a frenzy of worry with in seconds. He rushed out the door and nearly trampled Sheridan. At the last second he managed to see her sleeping on the steps, but he had been in such a hurry he could stop before getting to her. He took a flying leep and landed on his knees in the gravel. He winced in pain as he tried to stand. Sheridan had been startled by the thud Luis had made as he hit the ground. She jumped up and spun around in a daze.

"Luis! What happened?" She asked full of concern. She walked over to try and help him up.

"Nothing" he didn’t want to tell her the truth.

"Nothing? So you were just walking outside for some fresh air and you didn’t see me on the steps and you tripped?"

"Not exactly" Sheridan led him into the cabin and sat him on a kitchen chair. Both Luis’s knees were bleeding and his hands weren’t doing much better. She went in to the bathroom for a washcloth and some soap and came directly back to his side.

"So what exactly happened?" She started to clean his wounds.

"I was worried. OUCH! Hey watch it"

"Sorry. But don’t be such a baby. What were you worried about?"

"Can’t we change the subject?" Luis pleaded.

"No, I want to know what made you think you were Peter Pan"

"Alright, fine you win. I just had a flashback of Roger and Pierre and got scared"

"Luis you have nothing to be worried about. There is no way they could no I am in this particular cabin. For all they know I am on the Crane estate. Give me your hands" Luis looked at her and was not going to put his hands in hers. "Luis, I’m done with your knees, give me your hands so I clean them" He then realized she didn’t want his hands to comfort him, just to mend him. He gave her his hands and she cleaned them one at a time.

"There" she let go of his hands and stood up. "I’ve done all I can. You should really soak in a tub and get the rest of the gravel out" Luis stood up and tried to walk around a bit, but every step was an immense effort. "A bath might take some of the pain out of the joints too. You will probably be quite sore tomorrow"

"Great. Something else to look forward too. Thank you"

"You’re welcome" Sheridan smiled sweetly. "People are going to think we beat each other up when we get back to Harmony, with your hands and knees and my arm we look awful"

"And the week isn’t over yet"

"Did you want to soak in the tub for awhile Luis?"

"No, I just took a shower. I think I am going to head to bed"

"Okay just checking. I’m going to jump in the shower then. Goodnight"

"Maybe I should wait until your done. I mean, you are falling asleep in strange places tonight"

"Ha ha, very funny Peter" she wasn’t going to let him be the only one poking fun. Luis just smirked at her comment and struggled up the ladder to the loft. She watched making sure he made it alright and then jumped in the shower. Sheridan immerged from the bathroom in her pajamas and headed into the kitchen. She was getting a drink from the refrigerator when someone grabbed her arm tightly and covered her mouth. The person had one hand on her mouth and another one guiding her out of the cabin at her waist. She could feel a gun in the hand on her waist. She was so scared she was shaking and before she knew it she was in the back seat of a car.

Sheridan immerged from the bathroom in her pajamas and headed into the kitchen. She was getting a drink from the refrigerator when someone grabbed her arm tightly and covered her mouth. The person had one hand on her mouth and another one guiding her out of the cabin at her waist. She could feel a gun in the hand on her waist. She was so scared she was shaking and before she knew it she was in the back seat of a car. She looked around and suddenly was a little less terrified. She was in a police cruiser and the person in the front who had just taken her from the cabin looked familiar, but it was really dark.

"Who are you?" Sheridan muttered.

"Come on Sheridan don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about me already"

"Tina?"

"Yeah, Tina. Your cop friend from Boston"

"What the hell are you doing?" Sheridan gasped.

"Just calm down Sheridan"

"Calm down! You just kidnapped me. What do I have a sign stuck to my back that says ‘kidnap me’?"

"I was just doing my job"

"Where have I heard that before?"

"Look, the truth is that Roger and Pierre have been sited in the area. They know where you are and I was ordered to get you out of here" Tina started up the car and started to pull out of the driveway. "We found their hideout and found bomb making remnants there"

"Stop! Where are you going?"

"Sheridan, I just told you there could be a bomb here"

"What about LUIS?"

"Another patrol car will go get him when I pull out of the driveway"

"But it could be too late" she pleaded. "He is asleep. You have to go get him!" Sheridan was now in a panic and had tears falling from her eyes. "Tina please, you can’t leave him there. What if…?" her voice trailed as she decided not to finish her own sentence. Tina continued to drive away from the cabin ignoring Sheridan’s cries of fear.

"Sheridan they are going to get Luis out of there, don’t worry" The reached the end of the driveway and Sheridan was surprised to see a whole team of FBI agents and a squad of police gathered there. Tina got out of the car and let Sheridan out into the swarm of uniformed men and women.

"Okay. I’m out of harms way. NOW send a car and get Luis out of there" Tina motioned to another squad car and it started up the driveway. "Okay now that they are getting Luis and I am a little less hysterical, can I ask you a few questions?"

"Fire away Sheridan"

"Why, all this hoopla?"

"This is a very big case. They can’t take the chance of anyone screwing up"

"So why are they this far away from the intended crime scene?"

"Well if there is a bomb in there it wouldn’t be too smart to put a base of cops and FBI right next too would it?"

"I guess not. Now for the most important question. Why did you only take me from the cabin? You had plenty of time to get Luis too"

"Yes I did. But the instructions were to take the first witness seen out of the cabin immediately and bring him/her back to the base"

"First witness?"

"Yes you and Luis are the only two that can identify Roger and Pierre. Making you both valuable witnesses. They didn’t want to take the chance of you both dying together"

"So it was in the FBI’s best interest not ours" Sheridan looked up the driveway. "Where are they?"

"They’ll be here in a couple of minutes" Tina reassured her. "Luis is just fi…"

Before Tina could finish saying the word fine there was a huge explosion from the way of the cabin. A huge fireball appeared over the tops of the trees and everyone covered their eyes to protect them from the glare. Sheridan collapsed to her knees.

"NOOO!!!" she sobbed. There was a lot of commotion and she was scooped up off the ground and put into an armored truck and driven away from danger before she could protest. She sat in the truck in a fit of sobs not knowing whether or not Luis had gotten out in time.

Before Tina could finish saying the word fine there was a huge explosion from the way of the cabin. A huge fireball appeared over the tops of the trees and everyone covered their eyes to protect them from the glare. Sheridan collapsed to her knees.

"NOOO!!!" she sobbed. There was a lot of commotion and she was scooped up off the ground and put into an armored truck and driven away from danger before she could protest. She sat in the truck in a fit of sobs not knowing whether or not Luis had gotten out in time. She tried to calm herself but it just wasn’t working and the FBI agents just looked at her and offered no comfort. In the madness Tina had been left behind and Luis was who knows where, if he was still alive. She took a deep breath and tried to remember the good times they had had in the cabin in the past two days.

~*~Flashback~*~

Luis walked in and out of the house quickly.  He returned with the ball in hand.  Sheridan was already standing under the basket.  He passed her the ball from the steps and walked over to meet her.  She took a free throw and swished it.  She received a ‘nice shot’ from Luis as he gathered up the ball.  They were actually having fun.  They were taking crazy shots and
making them, and of coarse the other had to try.  But it was all in fun, it wasn’t a real competition.  There were granny shots a flying, half court shots blasting and a lot of laughing at failed attempts.  One move Luis did was quite complicated and when Sheridan tried it she landed face down in the gravel.  She just laughed at herself though.  It didn’t hurt.  Luis walked over to help her up.  He was also busting a gut.  

~*~

Sheridan smiled slightly and then became even worse then she was before what if she never got to have any of these moments with him again.

~*~Flashback~*~

He cleaned her elbow off sufficiently and bandaged her up.  He bent down and gently kissed her wound.
"There all better"  Luis smiled sweetly.  

~*~

He was so caring, so he couldn’t be taken from her life. He just couldn’t. Even if he just wanted to be friends with her. She would do anything if he could just be alive. He put the needs of others before his own.

~*~Flashback~*~

It was a beautiful day so they went to a nearby park to eat. They sat on a park bench and sunrays danced around them. Luis noticed Sheridan was just picking at her sandwich. She had taken one bite and was now pulling tiny pieces off.

"You don’t really like that do you?" Luis asked.

"It’s alright" she lied.

"You’re lying. Here take a bite of mine" he held his sandwich to her mouth so she had no choice but to take a bite. "Better?"

"Mmmhmm" she mumbled as she chewed.

"Then here" he gave her half of his sandwich.

"Luis no" she tried to refuse. "You were the one who was starving"

"No, it’s okay. I’m better now. Eat it"

"Thank you" she smiled.

~*~

The back door of the armored truck opened and FBI agents rushed in and swarmed around Sheridan. They quickly led her into a secure building. They went through three security checks and many metal detectors. They put her in a small room with only enough room for a table and a water cooler. They literally had to sit her in a chair because she was in such a state of shock. They put a mug of water in front of her and left her alone in the room. She put her head on the table and let the tears fall freely. She didn’t even hear the door open. She didn’t feel someone walk behind or put their hands on her shoulders.

"How you doing?"

"Tina? Where’s Luis?" she looked up and didn’t see any encouragement in Tina’s eyes.

"I’m not sure honey, I was escorted back here in the truck after you"

"Go find out. PLEASE" she panicked.

"I asked already. No one knows anything yet"

"WHY THE HELL NOT?" she came out of her broken state and became furious. "The FBI has a multi million dollar communication system don’t they? USE IT"

"Sheridan, calm down" Tina reached out and tried to comfort her. Sheridan shrugged Tina off. She tried to walk past Tina and out the door but Tina jumped in front of her.

"Where do you think you going?"

"I need to find Luis"

"Sheridan, they are going to let you go anywhere. Try and calm down"

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?!? How can you expect me to CALM down?" Sheridan swiped her arm across the table and grabbed the mug. She then hurled it against the wall. She then flung herself back in the chair and threw her head in her hands and started to cry again. There was no calming her, no way to comfort her. Tina’s walkie talkie began to go off.

"Witness 2 has been recovered. His condition is…" Tina grabbed her walkie talkie and turned it off. She rushed out of the room, leaving Sheridan alone and more confused.

"Witness 2 has been recovered. His condition is…" Tina grabbed her walkie talkie and turned it off. She rushed out of the room, leaving Sheridan alone and more confused. It didn’t take very long for Sheridan to bolt from her chair and race after Tina. But as soon as she got to the door to guards posted on either side pushed her back in.

"I’m sorry ma’am. You need to stay in there"

"I’m not in jail. I didn’t do anything wrong. You CAN’T hold me against my will"

"It is for your own protection ma’am. Now please step back into the room"

"Screw you! I want to know what happened to Luis" She tried to step past them, but they pushed her back in and stood in the opening so she couldn’t get out.

"Fine you want to play? I’ll play" Sheridan said to them but they didn’t even turn around to look at her. "TINA!!!!" she screamed as loud as she possibly could. "WHERE’S LUIS?!?! I’M NOT GOING TO QUIT SCREAMING UNTIL SOMEONE TELLS ME!" About five officers, including Tina came running down the hall. They stopped in front of her door just as she was opening her mouth again.

"Ok Sheridan we’re here" Tina tried to act professional, but she had gotten so involved with the two of them it was hard not to cry.

"Tell tweedle dee and tweedle dum to let me out!" Sheridan said angrily. Tina motioned her hand and they moved aside. "Where is he?" she tried to calm down.

"Sheridan I think you better sit down" Tina chocked out.

"I don’t want to sit down. Just tell me, whatever it is just tell me"

"The officer didn’t get to Luis before the house blew up"

"NO! He made it out. He isn’t dead!" Sheridan felt her legs going numb and the two guards who she had been so rude to had to steady her. She had cried all the tears she had left in her body earlier. Her body was thrown into convulsions until she had a sudden burst of energy. She ran into the bathroom and emptied what little she had in her stomach. She collapsed on the floor and that is all she remembered until she awoke in her own bed. She was back in her cottage. She rolled out of bed and realized that she was no longer in the clothes she wore before she was in a t-shirt and a pair of boxers, neither of which she recognized. She walked out of her room rubbing her eyes and she let out a big yawn. There were strange noises coming from her kitchen and she walked in to see two FBI agents drinking coffee and fiddling with some sort of technologies.

"Morning Ms. Crane"

"Um…Morning. How did I get here?"

"The paramedics brought you here. You passed out at the police station"

"Oh. Are you hungry? I can make you something instead of just taking up space"

"No thank you?"

"Agent Lopez"

"Lopez?" she said softly. She could feel tears springing in her eyes. "No. I’ll call the cook" she ran from the room and sat in the chair facing the door. She pulled her knees up to her chest. She looked up and out the windows of the door. She closed her eyes and when she opened them she could see him standing there. He was dressed just as he had been for their first date. He was smiling at her and she got up and towards him. But as she got closer he began to fade. The closer she got the more he disappeared. She finally reached where he was standing but he was no longer there. He waved her hand back and forth in the air where she saw his presence. She turned around to go back to her chair and as she turned around she closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. Then she saw him again. This time he was lying on the couch just as he had been on New Years Eve. He looked so peaceful as he slept there. Sheridan didn’t want to move she didn’t want him to disappear again. But she couldn’t stay in this spot forever. She walked back to her chair but she noticed as she passed the couch he wasn’t fading. He was still as visible as he was before. She reached out to touch him and brushed his cheek with her fingertips. This time he didn’t disappear.

She walked back to her chair but she noticed as she passed the couch he wasn’t fading. He was still as visible as he was before. She reached out to touch him and brushed his cheek with her fingertips. This time he didn’t disappear. Sheridan shivered as she ran her hand over his face, tracing his jaw line. She closed her eyes again, took another deep breath and counted to three. When she opened her eyes again. He was still there, sleeping peacefully.

"How can this be?" she whispered.

Once again tears fell from her eyes. It seemed for the past hours that all she had been doing is crying. But this time it was tears of joy. She kneeled down besides the couch and rested her head on his stomach. It rose and fell with every breath he took and Sheridan took great comfort in that. She wanted to wake him up and kiss his soft lips.

"We are just friends" she scolded herself. "That’s all he wants"

She took his hand and gently rested it on her cheek and closed her eyes. It wasn’t long before she slipped into a peaceful slumber. Luis awoke and felt something strange on his chest. He looked down to see Sheridan sleeping on him. He realized his hand was rest on her face and he picked up and moved it to her hair. He gently stroked her hair as he slowly tried to sit up with out waking her. But Sheridan’s head jilted just enough to wake her. She looked up at him with her big blue eyes sparkling.

"You’re alive" she said sweetly.

"So are you" he whispered.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She suddenly stood up and had fire in her voice again. "You are supposed to be dead"

"You want me dead? I thought you’d be a little happier to see me" Luis sat up on the couch and swung his feet around to the floor. He pulled his blanket out of the way but still kept himself covered. He motioned for Sheridan to sit down next to him.

"That’s not what I meant" she sat down on the couch with him, but maintained her distance. "You don’t know what I went through thinking you had …" she couldn’t even finish her sentence.

"Shhh…Hey look I’m alright. See I’m right here"

"I know but…" her bottom lip quivered.

"And I did see what you went through"

"What do you mean?"

"Who do you think carried you in here"

"But Agent Lopez said that the paramedics brought me here"

"They drove, I carried. I wouldn’t let you out of my site when I found out you were alive" This statement confused Sheridan. She thought he only wanted to be friends, but she wasn’t going to bring it up right then, she was going to live in the moment.

"So how did I…get into these clothes? And umm…Whose are they?"

"Well when I got to the station your clothes were covered in … well … the contents of your stomach"

"What a lovely picture"

"I didn’t want you sleeping like that, so…"

"You changed my clothes?"

"Well I did it in New Mexico. I was hoping you wouldn’t be too angry if I did it again"

"Wasn’t Tina there?"

"Yes she helped"

"It took two of you?" Sheridan said quite embarrassed.

"You are just as uncooperative in a unconscious state" he smiled slyly.

"Ha, ha ,ha" she responded dryly. "So whose clothes are these?"

"Mine" Sheridan glanced at him with a confusion wrought face.

"If I’m wearing…your boxers… then what are you wearing under that blanket?" She looked from his lap to his face and both their faces turned crimson.

"I’m wearing boxers too" he said quickly. "I go to Castleton enough to have a locker there. I had extra clothes"

"Oh" Sheridan was disappointed that he wasn’t naked under his covers. "I have one last question for you Luis"

"What’s that?"

"What the hell happened to you at the cabin?"

"I have one last question for you Luis"

"What’s that?"

"What the hell happened to you at the cabin?"

"It’s kind of boring are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Why would you even ask a question like that? Of coarse I want to hear it"

~*~Flashback~*~

Luis laid in bed fighting off sleep, although he was losing the battle. He knees ached so he had taken some Tylenol to ease the pain. Taking any sort of medicine made him sleepy but he wanted to make sure Sheridan got to bed safely. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that Roger and Pierre were after her again. Sometime before Sheridan even stopped running the shower Luis fell sound asleep. He awoke a short time later because he swore he heard Sheridan gasp downstairs. He bolted out of bed and ran to the railing that kept him from falling out of the loft. He looked down to see Sheridan being dragged out of the cabin. He was ready to jump the railing and pounce on the intruder when he noticed it was Tina.

~*~

"I knew you would be safe with Tina. I would trust her with my own life"

"She’s a great person Luis. So you must have followed us out of the cabin right?"

"Not quite"

~*~Flashback~*~

Luis rushed to put clothes on. A tank top, jeans and tennis shoes would have to do. He was about to climb down the loft ladder when he heard a noise coming from behind the cabin. He ran back to the other side of the loft and look out the window. He could make out a person who looked to be just standing near the house. He hurried down the ladder and out the back door of the cabin. The person was startled and started running. As he was running he yelled "maintenant!" into his walkie-talkie and continued to pick up speed. Luis started to run after him.

~*~

"And you said this was going to be a boring story. I’d hate to see what your definition of excitement is"

"I’ll have to show you some time" he said under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing. But this is where it gets boring"

~*~Flashback~*~

Luis continued to chase after the assailant for a good ten minutes, but each step was getting harder and harder to take. He looked down but he knew what he was going to see because he could feel warm liquid running down his leg. His scabs had broken open and his knees were now bleeding profusely and soaking his jeans. Then finally his knees just gave out. He wanted to continue and catch that guy but hi body wouldn’t let him, even with all the adrenalin pumping through his veins. He collapsed in the woods, close to a mile away from the cabin. He picked himself up off the ground and started to walk back towards the cabin, determined to find out where Tina had taken Sheridan.

~*~

"And that is when the bomb went off"

"I’m so glad you weren’t hurt" then Sheridan glanced at his knees. "Well, in the explosion at least" she smiled at him remembering what he looked like sprawled in the gravel.

"What are you smiling at?"

"Oh nothing" she tried to act innocent.

"You think it is funny that I nearly maimed myself worrying about you?"

"No I think it is funny that you pretended you could fly"

"I’d try anything for you"

They both held a glare that they hadn’t seen in awhile. They could see how much they needed and wanted each other in the other’s eyes. They continued to lean closer and closer together. Slowly they faces inched towards another. But just when they lips were about to meet Sheridan stopped moving closer.

"I thought you just wanted to be friends" she whispered.

But just when they lips were about to meet Sheridan stopped moving closer.

"I thought you just wanted to be friends" she whispered.

Luis didn’t say a word he just continued his current path. They both closed their eyes when their lips touched. Their lips brushed tenderly and the kiss was a series of sweet gentle kisses. They did not let it escalade to anything more. They were both testing the water. They pulled away at the exact same time but their faces remained inches apart. They held a glare that was asking each other if it was alright to kiss again. Their eyes both reflected yes and they went in for the kill. This kiss was more passionate and heated than the first. They were hungry for each other and the temperature continued to rise. Luis pulled Sheridan on his lap causing her to open her eyes for a spilt second and that was all she needed.

"Luis" she said between intense kisses, but it was said full of pleasure and not enough conviction.

"Luis!" she said again and this time lightly hit him on the shoulder.

"What?" he was disappointed she stopped.

"We have company" she looked in the way of the kitchen and Luis’s eyes followed. There were the two agents smiling goofing grins and drinking their coffee.

"Hi guys" Luis said slightly embarrassed.

"And you were worried she wasn’t going to be happy to see you here" agent Lopez smiled as the agents both walked back into the kitchen. Sheridan slowly got off Luis’s lap and intertwined her fingers in his.

"Come on" she ordered as she pulled him up from the couch.

"Where are we going?"

"My bedroom. We need some privacy"

"I think I like where this is going"

"Get your mind out of the gutter Luis" Sheridan said seriously. "We need to talk"

Luis complied with her wishes and followed him into her bedroom. No sooner than he shut the door did she maul him with kisses. He was pushed against the door as she continued to kiss him like there was no tomorrow. He finally willed himself to push her away.

"I thought you wanted to talk" he said playfully.

"I changed my mind"

"Are you always so fickle?" he jested. He walked past her further into the bedroom. She followed closely in his tracks. "Now whose mind is in the gutter?"

"Okay your right we need to talk. I need to know why you kissed me"

"I thought I was being quite obvious" they both rested on her bed, sitting and facing each other.

"But last time we talked you told me you just wanted to be friends"

"Right we ARE just friends" Luis leaned in to taste her lips again. He found them soft and inviting. The kisses were again slow, soft and gentle. He wanted to savor every one.

"Now whose fickle?" Sheridan said seductively as the continued their escapade. They were totally lost in each other when there was a knock at the door.

"Luis?" the voice sounded from the other side of the door.

"Sam?" he continued to kiss Sheridan not wanting to let go.

"Yeah. We need to talk" Sam urged.

"Now?" Luis pleaded, hoping Sam would disappear.

"Yes now, it is important" Luis and Sheridan broke apart and took deep breaths. They tried to regain their composure but their faces were both flushed.

"Come in Sam" Luis and Sheridan scooted farther apart on the bed as the door opened.

"I’m sorry to interrupt Luis. Good morning Sheridan" she nodded at Sam. "Luis we need to go"

"Go? Go where Sam? I’m not going anywhere"

"No protests Luis. FBI orders. They don’t want you and Sheridan to be near each other in case Roger and Pierre strike again"

"You mean we are being forced apart?" Luis questioned.

"Until they are caught yes"

"Sam you can’t do this" Sheridan pleaded as she lightly touched her lips with her fingertips, remembering what just happened.

"I’m sorry Sheridan. I am just following orders. Luis is going to be set up with agents just like you"

"I don’t want to go home Sam. I can’t put my family in that kind of danger"

"I know Luis we are set up for you at the bed and breakfast. Hank is staying with your family until this blows over"

Sam headed out of the room expecting Luis to follow. He did as expected and Sheridan followed too, clutching Luis’s hand. Luis grabbed the pair of sweats he wore there and threw on the pants, sweatshirt and a pair of shoes. He gave Sheridan a big bear hug and kissed her on the forehead. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms trying to warm her up because she looked cold in his t-shirt and boxers. He began to walk away.

"Hey!" she called for him and he turned back around. She walked up to him and gave him one last firery kiss that he would not soon forget. She pulled away to let him go and he stood in place, blinking like an idiot. He was surprised at her actions, because Sam was right there. Sam chuckled to himself and walked out to the car.

"Just friends right?" she asked.

"Yeah just friends" he smiled as he walked towards the door. He took his police jacket off the hook and threw it in her direction. "Here stay warm" and then he closed the door and joined Sam in the police cruiser.

"Just friends right?" she asked.

"Yeah just friends" he smiled as he walked towards the door. He took his police jacket off the hook and threw it in her direction. "Here stay warm" and then he closed the door and joined Sam in the police cruiser. Sheridan walked back to the couch and slipped into the spot Luis had occupied that morning. She put on Luis’s jacket wrapping it around her and took a deep breath. She could still smell his intoxicating scent. She covered herself with the blanket that was still on the floor and closed her eyes. She was having happy dreams of Luis when the phone woke her up. She jumped up to get it but when she reached for the phone Agent Lopez pushed her hand down preventing her from picking up the phone.

"All set Harrison?"

"Yep the tap is in place" another voice yelled from the kitchen. Agent Lopez looked at Sheridan.

"The phone is tapped if this is Pierre or Roger we need you to keep him on the line as long as possible. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand. But I really don’t think they will call they never have" she picked up the phone and agent Lopez watched her facial expressions trying to analyze her.

"Hello?" she said all jittery.

"Sheridan, what’s wrong?"

"Luis?"

"Yeah, what’s the matter?" sat sitting on his bed at the bed and breakfast.

"Nothing really. The worrywarts over here just got me thinking it could be Roger or Pierre. They are worse than you"

"Sheridan they are only doing their job"

"I know Luis, hold on a sec ok?" Sheridan took the phone away from her face and began to talk to the agent who still stood inches from her. "Its just Luis, you can go now. I would like to have some privacy" she said sternly.

"You know we will still be able to hear you through the tap in the kitchen" he said smugly as he made his way to the kitchen.

"You can turn it off. Luis isn’t going to come murder me and if he was to come over he would have a trail of his own agents behind him"

"I’m just doing my job"

"Is that the first phrase you learn in cop school?" she said rhetorically as she put the phone back to her ear. She could hear Luis laughing at her.

"What is soo funny?"

"You. You’re incorrigible"

"Thanks for the compliment. So … um … why did you call?"

"To see how you were doing. To know if the agents were giving you any grief, but as I should have known you are the one giving them grief. You’ll never change will you?"

"You want me to change?"

"NO!" he said quickly.

"I thought not. I’m fine. I was just about to take a nap when you called"

"I’m sorry. I’ll let you go"

"No that’s alright. I need to get up and do something with my day. I just got so warm and cuddly in your jacket"

"You’re wearing it?"

"Yeah, what else was I supposed to do with it? I put it on as soon as you left" Luis at smiling like an idiot on his bed. Things were going just as he wanted them to.

"Do you think maybe we can have … ?"

"Have what Luis?"

"Have a date tonight?" he asked shyly.

"I would love nothing more, but do you think the FBI is going to let us be together even for a short time?"

"No, but I have something planned. Just be by your phone at 8pm okay?"

"What are you up to?" she asked curiously.

"I’ll talk to you tonight. Bye buddy"

"See ya later pal" Sheridan hung up the phone with a smile plastered on her face. She took the blanket from her lap and got up to shower and change. Before she got through her bedroom door though there was a knock at her door. The two agents made a beeline for the door. They had their guns poised and ready. Agent Lopez slowly opened the door. Ethan was on the other side, shocked when he saw two guns pointed at his chest.

"What do you two think your doing? I’m her nephew Ethan"

"Do you have identification?" Agent Harrison asked still holding the gun on him.

"He doesn’t need identification" Sheridan protested. "This is my nephew, unless you think he is wearing a mask"

"Alright, come in, but we will have to frisk you" Agent Lopez informed Ethan.

"Is that really necessary?" Sheridan said angrily. These guys were getting on her nerves. But before they said anything they had Ethan frisked and were on their way back to the kitchen.

"Is this going to happen every time I visit?" Ethan asked.

"I’m sorry Ethan" They made there way to the couch and sat down.

"Its not your fault. So how are you doing?"

"Under the circumstances, wonderfully" Sheridan started smiling uncontrollably.

"What is that smile for?"

"Oh nothing"

"Nothing? You almost get blown up and you smile like that? I think not"

"Alright. It’s Luis"

"Luis? You mean you two finally made up?"

"Uh huh" she said excitedly.

"So he finally explained what happened on the wharf?"

"The wharf" Sheridan gasped. Suddenly her smiles faded as she remembered the fateful night on the wharf. She must have selectively forgotten that moment until now.

"Luis? You mean you two finally made up?" Ethan asked.

"Uh huh" Sheridan said excitedly.

"So he finally explained what happened on the wharf?"

"The wharf" Sheridan gasped. Suddenly her smiles faded as she remembered the fateful night on the wharf. She must have selectively forgotten that moment until now.

"What Sheridan? What did I say?"

"How could I be so stupid?" she shoved her head in her hands.

"Stupid? What are you talking about?"

"How could I have forgot? He seems so caring, so genuine, but no he is just using me"

"You mean you didn’t confront him?"

"I almost did"

"You almost did? Sheridan this is like the tenth time you have almost confronted him. Don’t you think it is about time you told him the truth?"

"I did in a way and he acted like he didn’t know what I was talking about. I told him I heard him on the phone with someone at the wharf, but I didn’t tell exactly what I heard. He just acted like he didn’t know what I was talking about"

"Maybe he doesn’t. Are you sure…"

"Don’t even finish that sentence" Sheridan cut Ethan off. "If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I never would have believed. I still have a hard time believing it was real sometimes"

"Sheridan do you love him?"

"More than ever now"

"Then talk to him. Tell him the truth, you never know what you’ll find out"

"I don’t know if I can" Ethan looked down at his watch.

"Sheridan I have to go to the Book Café and meet Theresa. Do you want to come along?"

"Let me ask Fred and Barney if I can" Sheridan left for the kitchen and Ethan instantly reached for his cell phone. He quickly dialed a number and talked quietly before Sheridan got back in the room. He slipped his cell phone into his pocket and acted innocent as Sheridan came back into the room followed by the two agents.

"Well at least I’m not under house arrest" Sheridan said trying to make the best of the situation. Sheridan, Ethan, and her two agents left the cottage and headed for the Book Café.

Luis hung up the phone with Sheridan and sat and smiled for a brief moment and then ran for the door. The agent outside his door jumped up and followed him into the lobby where the other agent was.

"Okay I know you guys aren’t going to let me go to Sheridan’s cottage, right?" he didn’t wait for an answer. "So I need you guys to help me make tonight special. If you don’t help I swear to god I will make your job a living hell until the drug dealers are caught"

"What do you want us to do?" the agents said reluctantly.

"First I need you to call your buddies at Sheridan’s and get them to get her out of the cottage for awhile. I don’t care how they do it, just as long as she is gone" Luis continued telling his agents of his plan. When he finished he was completely out of breath from talking so fast and so long. He was sitting in a chair trying to catch his breath when Theresa came into the lobby of the bed and breakfast. The agents rushed over to her and started the inquiry of who she was and what she was doing there.

"Hey back off" Luis yelled. "It’s my sister"

"We are just following procedure" one agent commented as the other one started to frisk Theresa.

"Get your hands off my sister!" Luis pulled Theresa away from the agents. "I told you who she was and I don’t want a mistake like that to happen again" Luis was furious that that man tried to touch his sister.

"Luis, calm down. I’m fine" Theresa tried to get him to relax.

"Theresa what are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here"

"Luis, I’m not going to just forget you’re my brother until the bad guys are caught. I missed you and wanted to come and ask you to go to lunch with me. Is that so terrible?"

"No, I guess not. Sure I’d love to come with you. As long as you don’t mind these tag alongs" Luis pointed to his agents.

"I don’t mind at all as long as I get to spend time with my big brother" she smiled sweetly. Since Luis had everything planned for tonight he had no reason to sit around the bed and breakfast all day. He got his coat and walked out the door with Theresa. He put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. They continued walking with her under his wing.

"So where are we going?" Luis asked as they continued their stroll.

"I thought we could just go to the Book Café"

Luis got his coat and walked out the door with Theresa. He put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. They continued walking with her under his wing.

"So where are we going?" Luis asked as they continued their stroll.

"I thought we could just go to the Book Café"

Sheridan and Ethan sat at a table near a window of Book Café. They had ordered coffees and were talking about Ethan’s upcoming wedding to Gwen. They were enjoying their time together. Luis and Theresa entered the café, but didn’t notice Sheridan and Ethan at the window. Sheridan however did notice. She became furious and shot an evil glare at Ethan. Luis and Theresa walked up to the counter and ordered.

"What is HE doing here?" Sheridan spat.

"I don’t know Sheridan. Theresa must have invited him"

"Don’t play innocent. Did you tell Theresa to bring Luis?"

"I did no such thing" Ethan smiled slyly as he thought of the quick phone call he had placed to Theresa.

"I’m leaving Ethan" Sheridan tried to grab her purse off the table, but Ethan placed his hand on top preventing her from moving it. "Let go" she said with fire in her eyes.

"Sheridan, what’s wrong this morning you would have ran into his arms"

"We are nothing more than friends, if that"

"Well you can sit her and sulk, I’m going to go say hi"

"I hope that Luis goes ballistic when you try and talk to Theresa"

"Thanks for being so thoughtful Sheridan" Ethan said sarcastically. "Now if you’ll excuse me" Sheridan waved her hand in the air and rolled her eyes. As soon as Ethan was far enough away she was determined to slip out the door. Ethan walked up to the counter and ordered another coffee trying not to be obvious that he just wanted to talk to Luis and Theresa.

"Oh hello, Luis, Theresa. Chad can I have another coffee?" Chad nodded and continued his business.

"Hi Ethan" Theresa tried to contain her excitement in front of her brother.

"Hi Ethan" Luis also tried to hide his excitement. He had never been so happy to see a Crane other than Sheridan. "How have you been?" but before Ethan could answer Luis continued. "Have you seen Sheridan today?" Ethan just laughed, he could tell Luis genuinely liked his aunt.

"Actually I have. She is sitting right over there" Ethan pointed to the table they had been occupying, but Sheridan was no longer there. "Okay well she was right there" The three shifted their heads around and Luis caught a glimpse of Sheridan at the door.

"Sheridan" Luis called as he practically ran over to her.

"Oh hi Luis. I was just…" she didn’t have a clue how to finish her sentence. She walked down the step and back into the Café. Ethan and Theresa leaned back against the counter and watched the two.

"What do you think will happen?" Theresa asked.

"I have a feeling it’s not going to be good"

"Why not?" she asked concerned about her brother’s feelings.

"I’ll explain later, but first we need to buy them some time" Ethan pointed to the two sets of FBI agents who were talking to each other. Theresa followed Ethan to the table where the agents sat. Ethan got into his lawyer mode and got ready for battle.

"I know you guys are probably playing rock paper scissors to see who gets to say, but can’t you just give them some time together?"

"That is against orders Sir" one of the agents chimed in.

"Look, they aren’t going to blown up here. Do you really think the drug cartel planted something here on the off chance they would be together here today?"

"It’s possible" another agent jumped in.

"Look my brother and Sheridan just want some time together" Theresa said sadly. "They have a lot to work out" her voice kept getting more and more depressed. "I don’t want my brother to miss his only chance at happiness" tears gushed from her eyes. "Can’t you just give them a couple minutes?" she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Alright, alright Miss. Please stop crying. But if we see anything strange they are both going back to their bases ASAP"

"Thank you" Theresa let another tear escape.

"Come on Theresa lets get you some water" Ethan was genuinely concerned about her. They got back up to the counter and she wiped her face.

"I can’t believe they bought that" she said happily.

"You mean that was just an act?" Ethan said flabbergasted.

"Well you looked like you were drowning fast, so I had to help"

"That was quite a performance"

"Thank you, now lets get a table and watch the fireworks"

"I think we will see a lot of explosions but I don’t know about fireworks" Ethan said seriously as they sat at a table.

Luis gave Sheridan a quick hug, but she stood there, her arms limp at her sides. She tried not to show any emotion. Luis was glowing. He was so happy to see her.

"Do you want to sit down?" Sheridan just nodded, still unwilling to let words escape her mouth. They sat at the table her and Ethan were previously sitting at. She looked out the window wishing she was outside and not sitting at the table.

"Sheridan are you ok?"

"Yeah, I’m fine" she said coldly.

"Then why does it seem that I am over joyed to see you, but you don’t seem one bit happy to see me?"

"Things aren’t always as they seem Luis. I learned that the hard way" Sheridan continued to look out the window.

"Okay, now I know something is wrong. What happened since I talked to you this morning?"

"I awoke from a dream, one I should have never let happen"

"Do you mind explaining?"

"Don’t you get it Luis? We can’t work. You were right saying we could only be friends"

"Is that how you really feel?" the happiness drained from Luis and he started putting up walls.

"What does it matter how I feel? Look I need to go" Sheridan was on the verge of tears.

"No not this again. You are going to tell me why you are acting this way. You are not running anymore"

"Luis let me ask you some questions. Do you think of me as a spoiled princess?"

"Where is this coming from?"

"Just answer me"

"No" he said flatly.

"Do you plan on using me, for my money or otherwise?"

"No"

"Do you consider yourself an honest man?"

"Yes, Sheridan where is this going?"

"Then why do you continue to lie to me?" Sheridan yelled across the table.

"Lie? I am not lying!!" Luis raised his voice to the level of hers.

"YES you ARE. I know you think of me as nothing more than a spoiled princess that you intend to use to get back at my family!"

"I do NOT!" all eyes in the café were now focused on them.

"I can’t take this anymore!"

"You and me both! One minute you can’t take your hands off me and the next you bite my head off! You should be committed!"

"Don’t joke about that Luis" Sheridan said softly and sadly.

"I’m sorry" he took the words from his heart.

"Don’t be" she grew angry again. "Just for once tell me the truth"

"The truth about WHAT?" his voice was again raised.

"What you feel about me!"

"You want the truth?" he stood up and rested his hands on the table.

"YES!" she stood up too, taking the same position as he did. Their faces were a mere foot apart and still they yelled.

"The truth is …is…I"

"Spit it OUT!"

"I love you!" he finally blurted out without thinking.

"You want the truth?" he stood up and rested his hands on the table.

"YES!" she stood up too, taking the same position as he did. Their faces were a mere foot apart and still they yelled.

"The truth is …is…I"

"Spit it OUT!"

"I love you!" he finally blurted out without thinking. Sheridan just stared at him and her mouth dropped to the floor. Luis violently shook his head when he realized what he had just said. "See now that was a lie" he said hurtfully. Ethan and Theresa simultaneously slapped their foreheads with their hands wondering why they were doing this to each other.

"I loath you" Sheridan hissed as she grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

"You’re not my favorite person right now either" Luis shot back.

"Well at least we can agree on something" She grabbed the handle of the door.

"Hey Sheridan" Luis yelled to her, with no anger. Sheridan turned around but didn’t say anything, just looked at him wide eyed. "Still friends?"

"Yeah still friends" she said quietly as she walked out the door. She was quickly followed by her agents. Ethan said his goodbyes to Theresa and said that they would work on the wedding later. He then followed Sheridan too. Theresa slowly walked over to Luis. She wasn’t sure if she should talk to him or if he needed to be alone.

"Hey Theresa" Luis said as soon as she got close, signaling to her it was alright to sit with him and talk. She noticed how depressed he sounded.

"What was that all about Luis?" she said sadly.

"I don’t really know. I think it all boils down to why she was mad at me in the first place and took off for Paris. I just wish she would tell me what I did"

"She hasn’t told you?"

"Not exactly. From what I can piece together for some reason she thinks that I am using her for her money and power. And that I just think of her as a spoiled princess"

"Why would she think that?"

"Because she’s crazy!" he said emphatically. "Oh and in the cabin she told me she heard me talking to someone on the phone on the wharf"

"Did you talk to someone on the wharf?"

"Yeah her and for the life of me I can’t figure out why telling her I enjoyed kissing her is a crime. But she did tell me that that wasn’t it. I was talking to someone else. But she is the only person I called that night"

"Luis you need to make her tell you before you make yourself insane"

"I’ve tried nothing seems to work"

"Then find something" Theresa noticed the time and how late it was getting. "Luis I promised Whitney I would meet her at 6pm. Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah I’ll be fine. Go have fun" he tried to sound excited for her. Theresa stood up and gathered her things.

"Luis can I give you some advice first? I know I’m just your baby sister…"

"Your opinion has always mattered to me"

"Stop lying to Sheridan"

"I am NOT…" Luis became furious that she could even think that.

"Luis you do LOVE her, just admit it to yourself and to her. It might make things easier"

"I am not in love with Sheridan Crane" Luis said flatly.

"I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. It’s obvious to everyone but you two. Wake up!" Theresa left her brother to think about what she just said. Luis wasn’t in the mood to just sit and think though. He had to get moving. He decided to go for a walk before returning to the Bed and Breakfast.

Sheridan left the book café and sighed. The two agents gave her some room as she strolled along the streets. Ethan ran to catch up with her. He didn’t want to leave her alone.

"Hey you ok?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, I’m just peachy" Sheridan said sarcastically.

"Sheridan?"

"Hmmm?" she continued to roam the streets not caring where she ended up.

"How can you be friends with someone who makes you feel like this?"

"Luis is a great friend. He has saved my life so many times and for that I will always be his friend. But now it seems that’s all we can ever be"

"You completely trust him with your life?"

"Yes" she said without thinking twice.

"Then why do you feel…"

"Ethan you know why. Why did I have to be there to hear him? Why couldn’t I have just stayed in my cottage that night?"

"You really wish you hadn’t seen that side to Luis"

"At least I would be happy now"

"Sheridan I know you probably don’t want to hear this right now, but …"

"Go ahead. What can it hurt with the night I’m having?"

"I believe Luis truly does care about you. I even think he might love you. I know you saw what you saw, but I can’t seem to shake the feeling there is something fishy about it"

"I know what I saw Ethan"

"It never occurred to you that Father and Grandfather could be behind this?"

"What they paid Luis to say those things? Get real Ethan. Luis would never take money from them"

"Then why do you think he is using you? In your little world of mistrust Luis would have taken the money and run, not still followed you around trying to protect you"

"Ethan you’re NOT going to change my mind. It was not Julian or Alistair it was Luis. I saw him and I heard him"

"Believe what you want, but as far as I see it there is a piece missing from this puzzle. I’m going to go home and call Gwen now. Good luck sorting out your feelings"

Ethan left just as they had reached the wharf. Sheridan said goodbye to Ethan and then turned to continue her walk, but there he was standing right in front of her. Luis was on the pay phone and Sheridan was tempted to hide behind something and listen again because she always got an earful when she did this, but decided her agents probably wouldn’t hide with her. She decided to go say hi. What was the worst thing that could happen? They more than likely would just fight again, but she was used to that by now. Her agents stood back and just let her be, they didn’t want to cause a scene.

"Lopez, come in" agent Lopez’s walkie-talkie went off.

"This is Lopez"

"This is Bryant. Where are you guys?"

"We are by the Seaside Management Company. Where are you two?"

Sheridan continued to get closer to Luis. His back was tuned to her so he couldn’t see her coming. Each step she took was barely a step, she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk to him again tonight.

"Get her out of there right NOW!" agent Bryant ordered. Agents Lopez and Harrison hurriedly walked over to Sheridan and each took on of her arms. They swung her and started walking with her the other way. She was so shocked she hadn’t made a sound.

"What are you doing?" Sheridan sounded annoyed.

"We are taking you home" Agent Harrison said. Sheridan drew the conclusion that they didn’t want her and Luis together.

"You didn’t mind us talking before" she stated.

"That was then and this is now" Agent Lopez interjected.

"What’s going on?" Sheridan began to get scared.

"Please cooperate" Agent Harrison pleaded. "We will tell you when you are safe"

"When I’m safe?" Sheridan questioned.

Luis left the Book Café and he too roamed aimlessly. He had no destination, just determination to get her off his mind. She had it set in her mind that they were just going to be friends. He thought that way too not so long ago, but when he saw how concerned she was when she thought he had died. He thought she really cared. But why was she so angry with him. Then he thought about it again. She wasn’t so much angry, but hurt. He knew she was in pain and he was the cause of it. He wandered through the city and ended up at the wharf. Suddenly he remembered the surprise he had planned for Sheridan. After the day they had, he wasn’t she if she’d enjoy, let alone want it. He ran over to the pay phone. He finished his call and slammed the receiver down.

"Damn!" he yelled to no one in particular.

He then headed off the wharf as fast as he could walk. Luis wanted to run, but he feared that his agents would think he was trying to lose them, so walking fast would have to do. They finally reached their destination, the Crane Estate.

"We can’t go there Sir" Agent Bryant informed Luis.

"She shouldn’t be here. I just need to do some things in her cottage"

"We’ll have to check on that first"

"Lopez, come in" agent Bryant called into his walkie-talkie.

"This is Lopez"

"This is Bryant. Where are you guys?"

"We are by the Seaside Management Company. Where are you two?"

Luis was getting antsy. He wanted to get in and out of her cottage before she even had the chance to think about coming home. Luis continued to pace in front of the Crane gate.

"Get her out of there!" Agent Bryant yelled snapping Luis back to reality.

"What? What’s wrong with Sheridan?" The agents didn’t say much they just grabbed Luis’s arms and started to lead him away from the estate.

"We need to get you back to the Bed and Breakfast. We need to get you back in a secure place"

"Back in a secure place? What happened? Is Sheridan ok?"

"We’ll explain the situation to you later sir" They continued to push him down the street.

"But if you were here, then who did I see on the wharf?" Sheridan said.

"That is what we would like to know" The agents reentered the room. "There seems to be two of you running around this town. From what we can figure out you have an imposter officer"

"Why would someone want to impersonate me?" Luis questioned.

"That’s another good question. We have a squad of men out on the look out for the imposter right now. We should have him in custody by the morning"

"Until then" agent Harrison interjected. "You are not to be moved. We don’t want any mistaking you for the imposter"

"I am not leaving my home" Sheridan informed the agents.

"You didn’t let me finish" Harrison continued. "Until the morning we are bending the rules about you being separated. Don’t get too used to it though"

"So I just have to sit here while there is some one out there pretending to be me?"

"We are doing everything in our power" agent Lopez stated.

"I still don’t like it" Luis said annoyed that he wasn’t allowed to do anything. The agents left to go back to the kitchen. Luis and Sheridan stilled sat in their chairs trying to piece together the puzzle.

"Who would want to be me? I’m a nobody" Luis said softly.

"You’re not a nobody" Sheridan stated.

"In the world of money and power I am"

"Luis, you are beyond a doubt the best cop in Harmony. And you’re family thinks so much of you for what you gave up for them. Don’t ever believe you are a nobody"

"Thanks. But why? They have nothing to gain by being me"

"They could write beautiful woman speeding tickets" Sheridan smiled and so did Luis. She always found a way to make him smile.

"Sheridan, can I say something?"

"You don’t have to ask Luis"

"No, but can you promise you won’t hate me for saying it"

"I’m still not too happy with you right now, so why not. You can’t make things worse"

"I think Julian and Alistair could be behind this" this sent Sheridan’s mind into a whirlwind.

~*~Flashback~*~

Sheridan and Ethan were walking aimlessly around the town. "Sheridan I know you probably don’t want to hear this right now, but …"

"Go ahead. What can it hurt with the night I’m having?"

"I believe Luis truly does care about you. I even think he might love you. I know you saw what you saw, but I can’t seem to shake the feeling there is something fishy about it"

"I know what I saw Ethan"

"It never occurred to you that Father and Grandfather could be behind this?"

"What they paid Luis to say those things? Get real Ethan. Luis would never take money from them"

"Then why do you think he is using you? In your little world of mistrust Luis would have taken the money and run, not still followed you around trying to protect you"

"Ethan you’re NOT going to change my mind. It was not Julian or Alistair it was Luis. I saw him and I heard him"

"Believe what you want, but as far as I see it there is a piece missing from this puzzle"

~*~

"Luis after you called me that night on the wharf what did you do?"

"What does that have to do with your family and my imposter?"

"Humor me"

"I went to the station"

"Then what?"

"I did some paperwork, got changed into my uniform and went back to the wharf"

"So you did go back to the wharf"

"Yeah but as soon as I got there I called you again"

"No, no, no, no, this can’t be happening" Sheridan stood up and started pacing the room.

"What are you talking about?"

"How could I have been so blind"

"Sheridan?"

"They walked me right into a trap" Sheridan kept rambling getting madder and madder by the second. Luis finally stood up too. He walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders to stop her from pacing. He looked deep into her eyes.

"What trap? What are you talking about?" Suddenly Sheridan turned from furious to deeply distraught.

"Don’t look at me. I can’t believe I did this to you" she broke away from his grasp and ran into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Luis wasn’t going to let her get away that easy, not only because he wanted answers, but he knew that look. She was no doubt in there with tears falling from her eyes. He made his way to her door and grasped the handle. Only what he hadn’t expected was that she locked the door, leaving him on the outside to hear her sobs.

"Don’t look at me. I can’t believe I did this to you" she broke away from his grasp and ran into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Luis wasn’t going to let her get away that easy, not only because he wanted answers, but he knew that look. She was no doubt in there with tears falling from her eyes. He made his way to her door and grasped the handle. Only what he hadn’t expected was that she locked the door, leaving him on the outside to hear her sobs.

"Sheridan please open the door" Luis pleaded.

"No, you can’t see me. I’m a horrible person" Sheridan squealed bringing her head away from the pillow it was buried in.

"You are not. Please talk to me"

"Go away" she pleaded.

"I’m not leaving you"

"Please" she sobbed.

"No, I am not leaving. I am going to sit in front of your door until you open it" he sat down and leaned against the back of the door. "Do you really want me to leave? Because if you do I will" he said softly. He listened for an answer, but none came. He got up from his spot and was ready to leave when he heard the lock click and the door open slightly. He pushed open the door and Sheridan was already back on her bed. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot. And she looked sadder than her had ever seen her. He walked up to her slowly and stopped in front of her. She lunged at his torso burring her head in his stomach and held on for dear life.

"Sheridan, what’s going on? Please talk to me"

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry" she mumbled through her sobs.

"Its alright Sheridan" he put his hands on her cheeks and pushed her head back so she was looking at him. "What are you sorry for?"

"Julian…Alistair…" she wiped her eyes. "I should have listened to Ethan" tears continued to roll down her cheeks. "I shouldn’t have…" she took a deep breath.

"What Sheridan? You shouldn’t have what?" he said softly.

"Doubted you" she sighed.

"Look Sheridan I don’t blame you for anything"

"You don’t even know what I am talking about?" she yelled in hysterics.

"Calm down ok?" he brought he head back to his chest and held her close. He ran his fingers through her hair trying to sooth her. "I need for you to calm down and tell me what you are talking about" Sheridan pulled away from Luis and sat back down on her bed. She wiped her eyes and took several deep breaths. Luis pulled her vanity bench over and sat across from her.

"Luis, I don’t know how to tell you this" she said softly, not looking at him.

"Hey" he grabbed her hands to get her attention. "Start with Julian and Alistair, what did they do to make you this upset?"

"They hired the imposter" she said quickly and coldly.

"You know that for a fact?" Luis was already disgusted.

"I’m pretty sure"

"Do you have proof?" Luis said with a glimmer of hope in his voice.

"Not exactly proof, just more of a hunch. The pieces just fit too well together"

"What pieces?"

"That there is an imposter of you and you are normally so real, so genuine"

"I think I need more of an explanation"

"This is the part I don’t want to tell you"

"Why? You can trust me"

"I know but if I tell you, you are going to hate me" Sheridan hung her head in sorrow.

"I could never hate you"

"Fine" she took a deep breath. "I tried to tell you so many times why I got so mad at you after the night on the wharf. Well as wasn’t as mad as I was hurt. I heard who I thought was you, and am now guessing was your imposter, say really hurtful things about me. He called me a spoiled princess and told the person on the phone that he was going to use me to get back at my family"

"You heard him say that? No wonder you slapped me the next day"

"Well now I realize he was just feeding me lines. He blurted out my worst fears and I bought it. Without a second thought I bought it. This just proves to me that Julian and Alistair are behind this"

"I am going to kill those bastards" Luis stood up and flung his arms in the air. "I can’t believe they would do that to you"

"Luis how can you defend me? I didn’t trust you, I didn’t believe in you, and worst of all I doubted you"

Luis looked at the floor, and paced around the room not sure what to say. She watched him trying to analyze his facial reactions. He wasn’t showing any emotion though. After awhile Sheridan had enough silence.

"Luis" she whispered. "Do you hate me?"

"Luis how can you defend me? I didn’t trust you, I didn’t believe in you, and worst of all I doubted you"

Luis looked at the floor, and paced around the room not sure what to say. She watched him trying to analyze his facial reactions. He wasn’t showing any emotion though. After awhile Sheridan had enough silence.

"Luis" she whispered. "Do you hate me?"

Luis looked around the room, and tried to gather his thoughts. He didn’t know what to say, but he did know what to do. He walked over to Sheridan and took her in his arms and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. The kiss steamed up the windows and curled their toes. Luis broke away and stared into her eyes. Something didn’t sit right with Sheridan though. She looked at him and in that second she felt like she could read his thoughts.

"That was goodbye wasn’t it" she said nervously as she downcast her eyes. He didn’t answer he just turned away from her. He wondered how she always knew what he was thinking.

"I understand" she bit her lip. "But Luis, you ARE stuck here for the night" Luis groaned.

"Only I have this kind of luck"

"Is it really going to be that terrible for you to be near me tonight? I can go up to the main house if you don’t want to see me"

"Stay right here I am not going to kick you out of your own home. I think I’ll just go and make myself comfortable on the couch"

"I’ll stay out of your way"

"Don’t inconvenience yourself"

"Luis giving what you want is not an inconvenience" Luis looked away from Sheridan yet again. He didn’t want her to be so nice to him right now. He wanted to be mad at her. He needed to get away from her.

"Well, I’m going to get some rest. Night" and with that he left and plopped himself on the couch. Sheridan watched him intently not wanted to take her eyes away, but she finally pushed the door shut.

Julian was in his normal position, sitting by his desk, drinking a brandy and talking to his father. An as usual Alistair was not happy with his son to say the least.

"Julian, what the hell did you do?" Alistair grunted.

"What ever do you mean father?" Julian asked honestly not knowing what he did this time.

"You really are stupid aren’t you?"

"I resent that"

"I resent not having a more intelligent son!"

"Yes, yes, I have heard this all before father, now what did I manage to screw up this time?"

"Screw up??? Julian this is more than a screw up! This could ruin the family. I thought I told you to have that mask destroyed"

"I did" Julian lied through his teeth.

"Don’t lie to me. I know it wasn’t destroyed! What were you thinking giving that man another assignment?"

"Another assignment? Father I did nothing of the sort"

"Then why was our employee seen out at the docks wearing the mask? The FBI is all over this Julian"

"That can’t be true. I have the mask right her in my desk" Julian sneered.

"You might want to check your SAFE hiding spot" Julian dug through his desk drawers with increasing nervousness. His father was right the mask was nowhere to be found.

"It’s gone!" Julian was flabbergasted. "But who could have taken it?"

"That is what I am going to find out" Alistair said with confidence and determination.

Luis lay on the couch with his hands resting behind his head. He needed to be thinking of reasons why there was someone impersonating him. Or more importantly why Julian and Alistair hired some one to impersonate him. After what Sheridan had told him he was sure they were behind it. But his thoughts kept finding their way back to Sheridan.

Slowly Luis lost consciousness and drifted into a sound slumber. Sheridan sat in a chair in her bedroom. She was looking out the window hoping some miracle would help her repair her relationship with Luis.

Luis was still asleep on the couch. He had been having terrible dreams all night. In everyone he lived the rest of the night without Sheridan. He knew he cared deeply about her, but why would dreams affect him so much. He finally began to blink his eyes. It was a new day and Luis was determined to work with the FBI agents and find some answers about the imposter. He sat up and looked around. He heard some chatter from the way of the kitchen but nothing from Sheridan’s room. He figured she hadn’t gotten up yet. He got to his feet and stretched his arms to the ceiling. He glanced at the way of the window. When he awoke for a second this morning he could have sworn the sun was beginning to shine it’s rays but now it looked overcast. Luis loved summer storms. He walked into the kitchen hoping to find a cup of coffee. The agents were all around the table, cups of coffee in hands, and maps of Harmony spread out on the table. Agent Harrison looked up to see Luis standing in the doorway.

"Good morning Luis" agent Harrison said while yawning.

"Morning Harrison, Bryant, Thomas. Where is Agent Lopez this morning?"

"Oh he escorted Miss Crane on a walk…"

"What?!? A walk? That woman has no fear" Luis interjected. "She must want to die"

"Calm down officer. He escorted her on a walk up to the main house. She isn’t gallivanting around town"

"Oh" Luis felt foolish. He walked over and helped himself to a cup of coffee. "So am I off to the Bed and Breakfast again today?" he leaned against the counter.

"Actually we don’t know. We have two possibilities right now. We are awaiting orders"

"And what might those possibilities be?" Luis questioned.

"Well we can either bring you back to the bed and breakfast and go back to how it was, while trying to catch the imposter…"

"Sounds good to me" Luis interrupted.

"OR" Harrison said loudly. "We can keep you here, not let you go anywhere and let the imposter run around town"

"And why would you even think of doing that?"

‘Well then the drug lords will mistake the imposter for you, especially if we put a couple agents out their to trail him"

"And where will Sheridan be in this equation?"

"Well her base will continue to be here, but she will be able to come and go"

"That almost seems fair" Luis sneered.

"I vote for the first possibility"

"I’m sorry officer, but you don’t get a vote. It is up to the head hanchos"

"But it’s my life. My opinion should count for something"

"You’re right it should, but in reality it doesn’t. We are only trying to protect you" Harrison said sympathetically.

"I can take care of myself" Luis protested.

"We are well awake of that, but we are here to do a job. There is nothing we can do"

"So until the drug cartel is taken down, I have no control over my own life? This is unbelievable!"

Sheridan was so excited that she couldn’t sleep. She paced around the room trying to figure out when to put her plan into action. She knew it would get her in a whole lot of trouble but for Luis she would try anything. After hours and hours of thinking in circles she decided that it was best to wait until the imposter and drug lord situations were over. Then would be the best time. Nothing else would interfere with them getting together. Sheridan had everything planned out in her mind. Through her window she watched the sun come up. The sky was unusually red this morning. No doubt it was going to rain today. The rain always calmed her, she hoped this would be enough to allow her to sleep, if only for a couple hours. She wasn’t going to sleep now though, she had too much on her mind. Sheridan needed to get it out. The first person she thought of was Ethan. She ran to her closet and put on the first thing she could find. She ran into her bathroom slicked her hair back, brushed her teeth and threw on a little make up and quietly slipped out of her room. She made her way to the kitchen making sure not to wake Luis. She didn’t want to have to face him until she calmed down. Sheridan was too excited for her own good right now. She went into the kitchen and asked for an escort and again slipped past Luis and headed to see Ethan. She was lucky and found Ethan sitting in the living area, enjoying his breakfast.

"Sheridan" Ethan said happily. "What a pleasant surprise"

"Good morning Ethan" Sheridan said with a radiant glow on her face.

"I take it you and super cop made up"

"Not exactly. In fact I think he hates me right now"

"And this makes happy?" Ethan asked confused as ever.

"No actually that part feels like someone ripped out my heart and is doing a Mexican hat dance on it. And the worst part is I brought this on myself"

"You made him hate you?"

"Well I had some help from father and Julian"

"Ok Sheridan start explaining. I’m lost"

Sheridan explained to Ethan the Luis imposter situation and the fact that it was a pretty good possibility that her father and brother were behind it.

"Sheridan, I tried to warn you about them"

"I know, I know, but stupid always hoping for the best in people me, gave them the benefit of the doubt.

"They aren’t god people. You should know that by now"

"I see that more and more each day"

"Ok so now Luis is mad at you or at least isn’t happy with you. So why are you so happy?"

"I have a plan that Luis won’t be able to resist, but I need your help"

"What can I do?"

"I need you to do everything you can to get these situations with the drug cartel resolved. I know the FBI are working on it, but I also know that the Cranes have connections in low places. Please, if not for me and Luis, just for me and my safety"

"I would do anything for you. I’ll get working on it"

"Thank you Ethan" she gave him a kiss on the cheek and went to leave.

"Hey Sheridan" Ethan called after her and she turned back to him. "This plan isn’t going to get you in any trouble will it?" Sheridan’s grin went from ear to ear and Ethan just shook his head knowing that it was useless to and try her talk her out of it. Sheridan collected her bodyguard from the foyer and was on her way back to the cottage. As soon as she stepped she looked up at the sky and it opened up at that moment and doused her and Agent Lopez. Sheridan stood there and twirled in circles a couple times before Agent Lopez grabbed her arm and led her down the driveway.

Julian was again in his usual spot in the library, drinking his favorite morning drink. There is nothing like brandy and toast in the mornings. He was impatiently awaiting a call from his father. Then the phone rang.

"Julian" Alistair said angrily.

"Yes father what did you find out?"

"Nothing yet, but I have someone going through the surveillance tapes"

"Surveillance tapes? The ones through out the hallways? How will that help us?"

"You are not my son! You actually think that I only have tapes in the hallways? What good would that do me? Nothing good ever happens in the hallways"

"Are you watching me right now?"

"I could be" Alistair sneered.

Luis returned to his spot on the couch after his rendezvous with the agents in the kitchen. He sat and lingered in his thoughts. He went into a daze as he watched the rain start to pour out the window.

Luis was so lost in his thoughts that he barely heard Sheridan and her Agent stumble in. They were drenched from head to toe. The agent looked unnerved that he had to be out that long in the rain, but Sheridan was still smiling. Agent Lopez quickly marched into the kitchen, but Sheridan couldn’t resist a chance to jab at someone.

"I’m sorry Agent Lopez" he turned to face her. "But unless you are the wicked witch, a little water never hurt" she smiled triumphantly and he turned back and hustled into the kitchen.

"You always have to have the last word don’t you?" Luis couldn’t help but chuckle she could be so damn cute some times.

"You know it" she said in a cocky tone. "Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to go change"

"What you can dish it but you can’t take it?"

"What are you talking about Luis?"

"Lopez is sitting in there in his wet clothes because of you and you just going to go dry off without a second thought?"

"I guess I never thought about that" she said quietly.

"That’s right you never thought…" Sheridan cut him off.

"Hey! You know as well as I do they have clothes here. Nice try Fitzgerald you almost guilted me into thinking you were right about something. That was close. Now like I said I am going to go change"

"Can you come back out here when you are done? I want to talk to you"

"You sound serious"

"I am"

"Alright Luis, I’ll be out in a few minutes"

Sheridan walked into her room and closed her door. She didn’t feel like getting dressed again and she was getting tired from not having slept so she opted to but on some pjs instead. She was ran a brush through her hair and looked in the mirror. Her mind began to race.

Sheridan finished her pep talk and went back into where Luis sat and waited her return. Ethan sat at his bedroom desk. He wanted privacy from all the ears of the house. He had closed his door and was now dialing the phone. He was making good on what he had promised Sheridan.

"Hello, may I speak to Benny please"

"What do you want?" the voice said gruffly.

"Benny?"

"Yeah, who the hell is this?"

"This Ethan Crane"

"Why hello Mr. Crane" Benny become more civil. "For what do I owe this honor?"

"I need a favor"

"A favor huh? You know I am very expensive"

"I don’t care Benny. I need this done and I need it done in a hurry. I’ll pay you 3 million dollars and I’ll give you 24 hours and for every hour you are early I will give you a $50,000 bonus. You interested?"

"Very" Benny’s ears were perked.

"Okay here is what I need. I need you to find me the hide out of some well-known French drug lords. The names are Roger and Pierre. Do you know them?"

"Who doesn’t. But this is going to be very dangerous for me to give you this information. I need some kind of insurance policy"

"Whatever you want. Name it"

"My daughter, if I die, I want my daughter to have the money you promised me plus some"

"Yeah I can handle that and as an added bonus if you die I will adopt your daughter"

"You’re a good man, but my daughter is 20. I don’t know if she will go for that"

"Okay then, I will marry her. Either way she will be well taken care of if you die"

"Thank you Mr. Crane. I need to get to work. I will be in touch"

The phone line went dead and Ethan was happy for once his name was Crane. He liked having the power to make people bend at his will to make the wishes of others come true. He just hoped that Benny would come through for him and get him the information he needed. Julian was still on the phone with his father. They were planning their next attack on keep Sheridan away from Luis as they waited for the surveillance tape to come in. Although they wanted just off Luis and get it over with they decided it was for the best that they wait it out until everything calmed down.

"Hold on Julian" Alistair put Julian on hold as a worker came in pushing a TV/VCR on a cart. He plugged it in and pushed play for his boss. "Amazing" Alistair announced as he watched the tape. "Julian?"

"Yes father?"

"Are you sure there isn’t something you want to tell me?"

"No I have told you everything"

"This is the last STRAW Julian!" Alistair screamed into the phone. "I caught you red handed on the tape handing over the mask to the imposter!"

Sheridan sat leaning against one arm of the couch and Luis sat against the other. Sheridan noticed at how nervous Luis looked, but he almost looked somewhat grim too. She waited patiently for Luis to start the conversation, but he seemed to be more interested in staring at the rain out the window.

"Why are you back in you pj’s?" Luis finally let words flow from his mouth.

"I didn’t sleep last night and storms always make me sleepy, so I figured I wouldn’t waste clothes"

"Rough night huh? I’m sorry"

"Actually it was quite a productive night. So don’t be sorry. Now I know you didn’t want to talk to me about my wardrobe so stop stalling"

"You’re right but I don’t know how to say this"

"Just say it, whatever it is I can take it"

"Okay, but I just want you to know this doesn’t change anything between us right now"

"Okay…" she said slowly.

"I want to apologize"

"Apologize? For what?"

"For being super cop. Until now I didn’t realize how I made you feel when I swooped in to save the day and then just lectured you. I should have been more concerned with your feelings and went about it in a different way"

"Are my ears deceiving me? Am I actually hearing Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald admit he was a jerk?"

"Don’t get used to it" Luis said quickly. "I couldn’t figure out why you were always arguing with me about how I was going about things until I did the same when the FBI agents did it to me. I am truly sorry and will try not to do it again. I can’t promise I will change all at once though" Sheridan smiled.

"Thank you Luis. This means a lot to me. And I don’t care if you never change, just knowing that you realize what you are doing now is enough for me"

"You’re letting me off the hook? Now I think my ears are playing tricks on me"

"Funny wise guy. I just really have come to terms lately with what a great person you are" Sheridan and Luis held one of their famous intense stares. That is until agent Harrison walked into the room.

"Luis, Sheridan, we have just received news from headquarters" he stated.

"This is the last STRAW Julian!" Alistair screamed into the phone. "I caught you red handed on the tape handing over the mask to the imposter!" Alistair’s voice was filled with fury.

"I did nothing of the sort father!" Julian protested.

"I can see it here clear as day Julian. Why did you send the imposter back out to Harmony?"

"I didn’t!"

"I don’t have time for this now. I have to try to clean up your mess. Goodbye"

Julian heard the click of the receiver and he turned off his speakerphone. What was he going to do now? He knew nothing of the whole situation. He did not know why but his father seemed to be setting him up. He knew it wasn’t him on the tape, if the tape even existed. His father must think he is stupid. He was not going to be a pawn in his father’s game. He headed over to Sheridan’s cottage to talk to the FBI.

"You’re letting me off the hook? Now I think my ears are playing tricks on me"

"Funny wise guy. I just really have come to terms lately with what a great person you are" Sheridan and Luis held one of their famous intense stares. That is until agent Harrison walked into the room.

"Luis, Sheridan, we have just received news from headquarters" he stated.

"Well what is it?" Luis jumped up from the couch and Sheridan followed suit.

"We are bringing you back to the bed and breakfast ASAP. It seems that the imposter issue has all been cleared up, so the second option isn’t plausible anymore. Get your things we are leaving in five minutes" Harrison walked back into the kitchen. Luis looked at Sheridan not sure whether to be happy or sad that he had to leave. He still wanted her badly, but he was devastated that she didn’t trust him. It was too bittersweet. He finally decided that some time apart would do them some good.

"Well.." he said quietly. "Since I don’t have anything of mine with me I guess I am ready to go"

"Yeah right" Sheridan said in almost a whisper. She didn’t want to see him leave even if she did know she would win him back.

"Then this is goodbye" he desperately wanted to engulf her in a huge hug but kept his distance.

"I guess it is. Bye Luis" She looked away from him. She just wanted to feel his arms around her. "Oh wait" she said suddenly. She headed to her room. "You do have something here" she walked back out of her room carrying his police jacket. "You might need this" She reached her arm to him to give it back.

"You keep it. It looks better on you anyway"

"Luis, won’t you need it when you go back on duty?"

"Yeah, but that might not be for awhile. Keep it safe for me ok?"

"Okay" she had a huge grin on her face. This proved to her that he wanted her to think of him. Things were definitely looking up. Agents Harrison and Thomas came from the kitchen ready to take Luis away. "Call me when you get there okay?"

"Sure" Luis flashed her a smile and disappeared into the rain. As the door swung shut another figure came to it. He stopped it from slamming his face. He pushed it back open and stepped inside. The agents rushed to his side, checking him for weapons.

"Julian? What are you doing here?" Sheridan asked coldly.

"I came to talk to the FBI about Luis’s imposter"

"Funny" Agent Lopez began to cuff Julian. "That’s just what we wanted to talk to you about"

Luis slipped into the police car and didn’t let his eyes wander away from Sheridan’s cottage until it was completely out of view. He let out a huge sigh and watches the rain trickle down the windows down the car. Suddenly he remembered why his was on his way back to the bed and breakfast. The imposter case had been cleared up. Luis had some questions that needed to be answered.

"What did you guys mean when you said the imposter case was resolved?" Luis asked without removing his eyes from the falling rain.

"It seems that Alistair has a high tech security system in his mansion, including video cameras in every room"

"And…?" Luis wasn’t sure where agent Thomas was going with this.

"He caught Julian giving the mask to the imposter and giving him orders to impersonate you as a cop to try and get you kicked off the force. We reprimanded the imposter about 15 minutes ago and are in the process of getting Julian Crane in custody"

"I knew the Cranes were behind this. But why would Alistair turn Julian in? It all seems to convenient"

"Alistair told us he would never interfere with the police and could not condone his sons illegal tendencies anymore. And he didn’t want to see his precious daughter in anymore pain"

"That bastard doesn’t give a damn about Sheridan. He is protecting himself"

"Well until we get any other evidence this is what we have to go on. Besides we are more concerned with what the drug cartel is up to"

Ethan sat at his desk tapping his fingers rapidly. He waited and waited for the phone to ring. And it finally did.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Crane?"

"Benny?"

"Yeah" Benny struggled to say.

"You sound awful. What did you find out?"

"Roger and Pierre are on their way to the States. Flight number 4721 from Paris"

"This is great Benny. I knew I could count on you. You did this all in under two hours. You amaze me so much that I am just going to give you 5 million dollars"

"Thank you" Benny said unenthusiastically.

"You don’t sound too excited about that"

"Mr. Crane, You didn’t forget your promise to me did you?" he let out a huge exhale.

"No. Why?" Ethan waited for an answer but none came. "Benny? BENNY?!?" he could hear breathing on the other but it was labored and the space between each breath kept getting longer. Finally Ethan heard the phone drop to the floor. He didn’t have time to think right now. He grabbed his coat and ran for the cottage.

"Julian? What are you doing here?" Sheridan asked coldly.

"I came to talk to the FBI about Luis’s imposter"

"Funny" Agent Lopez began to cuff Julian. "That’s just what we wanted to talk to you about"

"What is the meaning of this?" Julian barked.

"Being as smart as you are Mr. Crane I thought you would know it is illegal to hire to someone to impersonate a person of the law" They brought Julian over to a chair and sat him down.

"I had nothing to do with that!" Julian protested.

"Then what is this?" Agent Bryant threw a tape onto Julian’s lap. Sheridan stood back, wide eyed, trying to figure out what was going on. It was obvious they thought Julian was behind the imposter, but what was on that tape?

"I can’t believe he is doing this to me" Julian sneered. "That’s why I came over here. To warn you that my father is up to no good and is going to try and frame me" he then turned to the on looking Sheridan. "Sheridan you have to believe me. Father is behind this I had nothing to do with it"

"Me? Believe you? Are you drunk Julian? Well that was a stupid question you are always drunk" she sneered. "I wouldn’t believe you if you told me the sky is blue. I do not trust you or father and I never will again"

"Looks like the whole family is against you Mr. Crane" Lopez joked. "Too bad your money can’t buy you out of this one"

Before Julian could throw in one of his witty comments the door burst open and the agents pulled out their guns. They pointed it them and almost fired.

"It’s me!" Ethan yelled. "Ethan" The agents put down their guns and searched Ethan for weapons then they invited him in. They were beginning to think this wasn’t a safe place for Miss Crane with all the people who had just barged in.

"Ethan" Sheridan said excitedly. "What did you find out?"

"A lot actually" his gaze searched the room and stopped at his father sitting handcuffed in a chair. "Father?"

"Julian was behind the imposter" Sheridan quickly. "I’ll fill you in later, now what did you find out?" she said anxiously.

Luis walked back into his bedroom in the Bed and Breakfast. It was peaceful and it was quiet everything he needed right now, but there was something missing. He looked around searching for something that could be gone when the realization hit him.

"Sheridan" he whispered softly. He sat on his bed and tried to think of what to do about him and Sheridan. He finally decided on an idea he had seen on TV. He searched for a piece of paper and a pencil and sat at the desk. He drew a line down the middle of the paper from top to bottom. On one side he wrote the word Pros and the other side Cons. He began to talk himself through the project.

"She is stubborn to a T. Definitely a con. But she also has a heart of gold. Pro. We argue all the time. Con. But making up is half the fun. Pro. She is beautiful. Pro. We always have a good time together. Pro. She gets to me. Pro. Her smile can make me melt. Pro. She never ceases to amaze me. Pro" Luis looked down at the paper and quickly noticed the Pro side filling up.

"She is also defiant. Con. Obstinate. Con. I hate to say it but she is a bit spoiled. Con. I could never compete with the rich country club men. Con. Her family hates me. Con" It was all tied up. But there was something nagging at him.

"She didn’t believe in me" he whispered while writing it in the con column. He set the pencil down and thought himself to be defeated. He looked at the ceiling searching his mind for something, anything. Then he came up with the definitive answer. He retook the pencil in his hand and wrote boldly across the bottom of the page. I LOVE HER. He had the sudden urge to talk to her. He ran across the room and grabbed the phone. He had forgotten to call her when he got here, but hopefully it would be worth the wait. Suddenly he slammed down the receiver and went back to the desk. He crumpled up the piece of paper, but not satisfied he tore it up into little pieces and flushed it down the toilet. He didn’t want to take the chance of her ever seeing it and starting an argument beyond arguments. Plus he didn’t want her to see that he loved her before he got the chance to tell her. He went back to his phone and dialed her number.

"Sheridan, I think you better sit down before I tell you this" Ethan said as he guided his aunt to the couch. "Roger and Pierre are on their way to the States"

"What?" Sheridan gasped.

"How did you find this out?" Lopez burst into the conversation.

"I have my sources" is all Ethan would say.

"Do you have any details?"

"They are on flight 4721 from Paris" The agents ran into the kitchen and began working.

"Ethan, do you think they will be able to find me?" Sheridan said already shaking.

"That’s why the FBI are here" he gave her a reassuring squeeze. Ethan calmed her but no one could make her feel as safe as Luis. She wanted him near her at this moment. She jumped a mile when the phone began to ring. Remembering Luis promised to call she picked up the phone without waiting the ok from the agents.

"Hello?"

"Bonjour Mademoiselle. This time you will NOT escape us" and the phone went dead. Sheridan began shaking uncontrollably and sank to the ground next to the phone. Ethan rushed over to her.

"Sheridan who was that?"

"Roger. He said I wouldn’t escape them this time" She pulled her knees into her chest and squeezed them tight. Ethan rested his hands on her shoulders and called the agents to tell them what had happened. Lopez hoped that they were calling from the airplane. He returned to the kitchen and went back to work. Ethan sat next to Sheridan trying to get her to relax but it was no use. She was shaking and staring off into space. She was in her own little world surrounded by fear. Then next events seemed to happen within seconds of each other.

"SHIT!" the holler came from the kitchen. It was followed by a loud knock at the door. This shook Sheridan from her trance. She stood up and stared at the door afraid of who was on the other side. The agents ran from the kitchen.

"Get in the bathroom and lock the door" Bryant yelled.

"Why?" Sheridan asked as she made her way to the bathroom. "There are no windows and Roger and Pierre’s plane landed 20 minutes ago" Sheridan quickened her pace and did as she was told. Ethan remained in the room curious as to who was behind the door.

"Who is it?" Bryant yelled through the door. Both agents had their guns drawn ready to fire.

"SHIT!" the holler came from the kitchen. It was followed by a loud knock at the door. This shook Sheridan from her trance. She stood up and stared at the door afraid of who was on the other side. The agents ran from the kitchen.

"Get in the bathroom and lock the door" Bryant yelled.

"Why?" Sheridan asked as she made her way to the bathroom. "There are no windows and Roger and Pierre’s plane landed 20 minutes ago" Sheridan quickened her pace and did as she was told. Ethan remained in the room curious as to who was behind the door.

"Who is it?" Bryant yelled through the door. Both agents had their guns drawn ready to fire.

"It’s agents Friday and Hobbs" Bryant and Lopez lowered their guns. They had forgotten the other agents were on their way. They opened the door.

"Where is he?" Friday asked. Lopez pointed to Julian who had long since fallen asleep from his drunken state. Friday and Hobbs shook him awake and led him to the door.

"Good Luck" Hobbs stated as they left with Julian. He had obviously been listening on the radio.

"Thanks" Bryant called after him. "You can get Miss Crane out of the bathroom" he mentioned to Ethan. Ethan walked to the door of the bathroom and gently knocked on it.

"Sheridan, it’s alright. You can come out now" he said calmly.

"Who was it?" Sheridan said without opening the door. He could tell she was still nervous.

"More FBI. They came to pick up Julian" he then heard the click of the lock and the door slowly opened. She stepped out cautiously. Ethan took her arm and led her back to the couch.

"I’ll get you some tea" he left her to go into the kitchen. While the three men were in the kitchen she remained on the couch taking deep breaths. She tried not to think about the fact Roger and Pierre could be on their way to the cottage. Just as she started to relax the phone rang again causing her to let out a squeal and begin shaking again. Ethan and Lopez came running from the kitchen.

"All set" Bryant yelled from the kitchen.

"You can answer it now Miss Crane" Lopez informed her.

"No way in hell am I going to answer that phone. I don’t want to hear their voices again"

"You have to. And try and keep them on the line"

"I can’t!" tears began to form in Sheridan’s eyes.

"Sheridan you can do this" Ethan coaxed her. "If the tap works we will be able to catch them"

"Fine" she took a deep breath and picked up the phone. "Hello?" her voice was wavering.

"Sheridan, what’s wrong? What happened?"

"Luis?" she breathed a sigh of relief. "You don’t know how happy I am to hear your voice right now" she seemed to calm right down and settled back into the couch.

"What’s going on?"

"Roger and Pierre are in the States"

"What? How do you know?"

"Ethan found out for me and they called. They told me I wouldn’t escape this time" she was close to tears.

"Hey, you have great protection over there. No one will hurt you" his voice could always sooth her.

"So you got to the bed and breakfast alright?" she said trying to change the subject.

"Yep and I heard about Alistair and Julian"

"Yeah Julian is in custody along with your imposter now" she let out another huge sigh.

"Are you sure you’re alright?"

"Yeah, I just wish…"

"I wish I was there too" he finished her sentence.

Ethan and the agents had gone into the kitchen while Sheridan chatted to Luis. Ethan was preparing the tea he had promised Sheridan earlier.

"I want Sheridan taken somewhere safe" Ethan announced.

"She is perfectly safe here sir" Lopez responded.

"What? She is a sitting duck here. They obviously know where to look for her" he waited for a response but when none came he figured it out for himself. "I refuse to let my aunt be bait for these bastards. What if something were to go wrong. I want her moved and I want it to happen now" he ordered.

"It is out of our hands sir. We are only following orders"

"Well there is going to be a change of plans" with that Ethan grabbed Sheridan’s tea and marched to her side. "Sheridan, let me talk to Luis" he shoved the tea into her hand and grabbed the phone out of the other. He didn’t even wait for her to respond to him. "Luis, it Ethan. We need to talk"

"What is it Ethan? You sound serious"

"I am. I need you to do whatever you can to get Sheridan out of here. They are using her as bait and I don’t want to see her get hurt"

"I’m sure they know what they are doing"

"No! Why does she have to be here? They already know they are on their way, just put some blonde FBI woman in her and have her walk around. I don’t like it. I know there is something between you and Sheridan" he glared at Sheridan warning her not to interrupt. "If you care about her at all you will find away to get her out of here!"

"You’re right Ethan. I’ll get to work on it right now. Tell Sheridan not to worry and I lov…miss her" Ethan smiled.

"I’ll tell her" he hung up the phone and sat with his aunt.

"Tell me what?"

"Not to worry and that he umm misses you" Sheridan smiled.

"Do you really think it isn’t safe for me here?"

"Sheridan you have two FBI agents woohoo. That makes it two on two"

"What about the Crane security? Roger and Pierre will never get up this far"

"You know as well as I do that the Crane guards aren’t the most scrupulous people. Wave enough money under their nose and they’ll kill their own family"

"Why are you telling me this I was just starting to calm down"

"Luis is going to get you out of here. I don’t doubt his lov…caring about you"

Luis hung up the phone with Ethan and quickly dialed Sam’s number. The only thing he could think of would work, but he didn’t like playing this card.

"Chief Bennett"

"Sam, it’s Luis. We need to talk"

"What about?"

"I need you to call the mayor"

"The mayor?? Luis start explaining"

"Look I hate doing this but Sheridan isn’t safe. We need to play the Crane name. Call him tell him to call the president and have him issue her release into my custody. Tell him that if he doesn’t she’ll make sure the contribution to his campaign fund from her family won’t be there next year. I know for a fact the Cranes gave millions if not billions to the president. He’ll do it Sam"

"Luis, are you sure?"

"Yes I’m sure. Even Ethan doesn’t think it is safe for her there"

"Alright Luis, but I’m not promising anything"

"Just try Sam"

"Do you think Luis is having any luck Ethan?" Sheridan was still drinking her tea on the couch with Ethan.

"I hope so" there was another knock at the door. Without being asked Sheridan raced into the bathroom. The agents came out nonchalantly and walked to the door.

"Seems like you got your wish" Lopez said snidely to Ethan. "Marianne is that you?"

"Yep" the voice came from the other side of the door. They door was opened and a dark haired beauty walked in. She was dressed in sweats and had a baseball cap over her long tresses. "Where is she?"

"Bathroom" Lopez pointed her around the corner. Ethan watched curiously. Marianne reached the door and knocked on it sternly.

"Miss Crane my name is Marianne Lovell, I am an agent with the FBI. I need to see you in your bedroom" she didn’t wait for a response or for Sheridan to open the door. She walked directly across the hall into what she assumed to be Sheridan’s bedroom. Sheridan slowly opened the door and walked into her bedroom.

"Close the door" Marianne announced. Sheridan complied with her orders. "I don’t know how you did it but you seem to have overridden the FBI system. Now give me your clothes" Marianne began to take off her sneakers.

"What?" Sheridan questioned.

"Look just do it" she sniped. The ladies exchanged clothes, so Sheridan was now in the sweats and Marianne was in pj’s. "One more thing" Marianne reached up to her head and pulled off her long brown hair. She uncovered her blonde hair, which was about the same style as Sheridan’s. "Put this on" she threw the wig at her. Sheridan secured the wig on her own head and then put the baseball hat on top. "Bye" Marianne said bluntly as she hopped into Sheridan’s bed and pulled the covers over her. Sheridan walked out of her room still not sure what was going on. Once out of her bedroom Ethan grabbed her hand and led her to the door.

"Ready to go Marianne?" Ethan smiled.

"Yeah" Sheridan said softly. Ethan led her out of the house and into the Crane Limo. "Ethan where are we going?" She asked as they got situated.

"To meet your new protector. I told you Luis would find a way to get you out of there. Now you will be in a safe place" Sheridan began scratching her head.

"Do you think it is alright for me to take this off? I mean the windows are tinted"

"I don’t see why not" with that ripped off the wig and shook her head out.

"Man that thing itches" she threw it across the limo, but her hair was a mess so she put the hat back on.

"I’ll have Percy get rid of it" Ethan chuckled.

"No!" Sheridan protested. "It might come in handy sometime"

Luis was in the lobby of the Bed and Breakfast pacing the floor. He was impatiently waiting Sheridan’s arrival. Finally he saw the Limo pull up and he rushed out side to greet her. He was followed by his agents who were annoyed at his actions. Ethan opened the door for Sheridan and she rushed out. Luis literally pushed her into the Bed and Breakfast making sure she was safe. Sheridan barely had a chance to wave goodbye to Ethan, and she yelled a quick "I love you" as the door was shut. He scurried her in the lobby and finally released her arm. He looked her up and down and gave her a weird look she hadn’t seen before.

"I know, I know. First pj’s and now a sweat suit. It’s not one of my most fashionable days"

"That isn’t what I was thinking" he was more curious as to what was under the sweats. Usually her outfits enhanced her curves this one seemed to hide them and he was quite disappointed. "I just have never seen you in a hat" he tried to cover.

"Oh. Well I am not having a very good hair day either" she took her hat from her head. Then she looked at Luis curiously. "I know what might help though" she walked within inched of him and ran her hands through his hair. She then ran her hands through her own, somewhat slicking her own hair back. "thanks" she announced playfully.

"Cute, very cute. This is the thanks I get for bringing you to safety yet again"

"Thank you" she pushed herself closer to him and threw her arms around his waist and gave him a squeeze. She wasn’t sure why she was hugging him, she knew he was more than likely still mad at her, but she couldn’t resist. She buried her head in his shoulder an inhaled his scent. Her actions pleasantly surprised him. He gave her a gentle squeeze and rubbed her back. He pushed her shoulders back and looked deep into her eyes.

"Everything is going to be okay now I promise"

"I know it will" she backed away and smiled. She made her way to a loveseat. She laid her head on one cushion and hung her feet over one of the arms. She was staring at the ceiling. "How did you do it anyway?"

"Do what?" he walked over to her and looked down at her.

"Get to become my personal bodyguard" she said seductively. He gently lifted her head and shoulder and sat down. He then placed her head gently on his lap.

"I made a phone call"

"One phone call? To who?"

"To Sam"

"No offence towards Sam or anything, I respect him a great deal, but there is no way he did this"

"Yeah well I said I only made one phone call. That doesn’t mean there weren’t anymore made by other people"

"Okay wise guy, so who did Sam call?"

"The mayor"

"And the mayor called?"

"The governor"

"And let me guess the governor called the president" she said sarcastically.

"Yep"

"The President of the United States did this? Why?"

"He seems to like the yearly Crane family donations to his campaign fund"

"You didn’t?"

"I had to" Luis said seriously. "It was the only thing I could think of. So if anyone calls you assure them your family will continue their donations and try not to bite their heads off"

"Who me?" Sheridan said innocently and batted her eyes.

"Yeah you" he said voice full of sarcasm.

"So what are our plans for the evening?"

"Our plans? Well I thought I would save the world from some drug dealers. I don’t know what you are going to do"

"You are so full of yourself aren’t you?"

Before Luis got a chance to answer the FBI radios started going nuts.

Sheridan could tell from the voice that it was Agent Lopez on the other end of the distress call. Sheridan and Luis jumped up and joined Harrison and Thomas around the equipment. They could hear gunshots being fired and things being thrown askew and broken. After what seemed like hours the noise dissipated. They waited for someone to again speak.

"Her?" Sheridan gasped. "They shot agent Lovell" She sank to her knees and began to cry. Luis guided her back to her feet and sat her back on the loveseat away from the radios. "She could be dead because of me" Sheridan sobbed. Then it hit her. "That could have been me" she began to shake. Luis wrapped his strong arms around her and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Shh. Sheridan it’s over. Roger and Pierre are caught"

"How can you say it’s over Luis? A woman might be dead because of me"

"Sheridan it was her job. She knew the risks and dangers involved. You can’t blame yourself. Just be grateful that you are still here. I’m going to get you some water" he rubbed her shoulders before getting up.

"Any news?" he asked as he walked past the agents.

"Roger and Pierre are both dead, but so is Agent Lovell" Harrison whispered. Luis got Sheridan’s water and walked back to her, ready to break the news.

Chapter Thirty-Six

~*~ One Week Later~*~

Luis and Sheridan had just returned from a trip to Washington DC. They went to attend the funeral of agent Lovell. Sheridan had finally come to terms with the fact she could nothing about Marianne’s death. She was lucky to have Luis get her through it. Exhausted from their trip they both rested on the couch in the mansion. They rested against each other. Sheridan’s head lying on his shoulder, his arms wrapped tightly around her. They had been staying at his house since the FBI had left, but it was late and they just stepped off the Crane jet so it made more sense to stay here tonight. They was no way Luis was going to leave her alone with her family and she was glad to have him protect her from memories that didn’t resurface when he was around. Their peaceful moment was interrupted though by Julian strolling into the room, needing more Brandy.

"Hello sister dear" Julian said in his usual patronizing manner. He purposely ignored the presence of her companion.

"Julian" she replied coldly. "Run out of Brandy in the library and come for the backup stock?"

"I see you are in a wondrous mood this evening. I would think with your boy toy with you, you would have a smile from ear to ear. Apparently he isn’t doing his job and you should dispose of him" Julian smirked.

"Don’t talk about Luis like that Julian! I will not stand for it. You know as well as everyone else in this town that we are in Lo…"

"Da da da" Julian interrupted hushing her. "I don’t want to hear it, nor do I want to see it"

"Then leave Julian!" Sheridan shouted.
"Goodnight Sheridan" Julian gave her a feigned smile as he walked away. "Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do and remember father IS watching"

"He is soo infuriating!" Sheridan yelled as he went out of sight.

"Shh. Calm down. That is what he was trying to do" he gave her a gentle peck on the forehead.

"I still can’t believe he got off on a technicality. He should be behind bars along with the imposter"

"Yes he should, and so should your father, but we don’t live in a perfect world"

"Still confusing the judge like that was maliciousness at its best"

~*~Flashback~*~

Julian and his lawyer were standing in front of Judge Windward. The judged smiled when he saw Sheridan and Luis standing at the back of the room holding hands. He knew putting them together like he did would make it impossible to resist each other. He was proud of himself, but now back to the task at hand.

"Your Honor we have a theory that will make this case null and void" Julian’s lawyer announce.

"By all means enlighten me" the judge responded.

"Mr. Julian Crane has denied that he had anything to do with the Lopez-Fitzgerald imposter. Now our theory is Mr. Alistair Crane is behind the whole thing"
"What about the tape?" the judge questioned.

"Sir it is just a tape. There were no witnesses. If Alistair hired the Lopez-Fitzgerald imposter who is to say he didn’t hire one for Julian Crane too?"

"I see your point"

"What?" Sheridan exclaimed. "This can’t be happening"

"Be quiet Sheridan" Luis warned. "They’ll kick us out if we aren’t quiet"

"Due to the fact there is no other proof besides this tape, I can not send this case to trial. It would be a waste of taxpayer’s money. Mr. Crane you are released from custody, but be warned you are still under investigation and I expect your full cooperation"

"And you will have it" Julian said slyly.

"Thank you your honor"

~*~

"Father probably had that planned out since he made the tape. He knew the case wouldn’t stick against Julian"

"Sheridan’s there is nothing we can do about it"

"I know" she said sadly.

"I know what will make you feel better"

"Hmm"

Luis threw her from his shoulder to his lap he bent down and kissed her will all the passion he had in him. She was taken by surprise. But returned the kiss with equal fever and hunger. Luis suddenly realized where he was and the last thing Julian said before he left the room. He sat back up leaving a confused Sheridan on his lap. She twisted around and was now sitting on her knees next to him.

"What?" she asked highly annoyed that he broke away.

"Look where we are"

"So?"

"There are monitors throughout this house. You’re father is watching"

"If he thinks he needs to watch my every move, let’s give him an eyeful"

She said seductively before for lunging at him. She pushed him against the arm of the couch and was now completely on top of him, kissing him uncontrollably. He didn’t need to be convinced he was now completely caught up in their passion for each other.

"God I love you" he said between kisses.

"Just remember who said it first" she smiled as she returned to exploring his body.

~*~Flashback~*~

Luis walked slowly back to Sheridan. He didn’t want to have to tell her that agent Lovell had been killed by Roger and Pierre, but he did want to tell her that she was safe now. He slowly walked back to her and gave her the glass of water he promised.

"Thank you" she said quietly.

"What did you find out?"

"Find out?"

"Luis, I’m not blind I saw you talking to Harrison and Thomas. What happened?"

"Well you don’t have to worry about Roger and Pierre anymore" he sat next to her and instinctively she moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"What about Lovell?" he rested his head on hers and took a deep breath.
"She didn’t make it either"

"How did this happen Luis? They were supposed to be protected"

"Roger and Pierre somehow got into the estate. We figure they paid off some guard. They then snuck into your bedroom window. Before Bryant and Lopez even knew they were there they shot Lovell and were on their way to escape when the agents came in and open fired. They never had a chance to get back out the window"

"Why did they have to kill her?"
"These weren’t good people Sheridan, they would kill their own mothers if they felt the need to"

"That bullet was meant for me though" she shivered and the tears flooded down her cheek. "I think I am going to be sick" Sheridan got up quickly and ran into a bedroom’s bathroom. Luis quickly followed her. By the time he got there she immerged from the bathroom.

"You ok?"
"Yeah" she wiped her mouth. "Do you think you can find me a tooth brush?"

"No problem" he smiled.

He walked out of the room and to the front desk where he knew Grace kept the extras. Sheridan walked back into the bathroom and took a look at herself in the mirror. "Eww" she ran some water and splashed it on her face but that wasn’t enough. She noticed a bottle of bubble bath on the back of the toilet and smiled. She ran some water and added the bubbles. The tub filled quickly and she slipped in not caring that Luis was on his way back to her. He looked around the room and figured she had retreated back to the bathroom. He walked in and flustered with what he saw he turned right back around.

"Sheridan you could have warned me" he yelled as he leaned against the wall taking in deep breaths.

"I would have if I thought I needed to. You can see my shoulders and toes. Both of which you have seen before it is alright to come in. I wouldn’t have left the door open if I didn’t want you to come back in" Luis slowly crept back into the small room, not sure if could handle imagining what was under the bubbles.
"Here" he handed her the toothbrush without looking at her. She reached out her arm to grab it but he released it too quickly and it fell in the tub. He looked at her as he heard the splush.

"I’ll get it" she smiled shyly. She fished around for it a second and placed it on the side of the tub. "Thank you" Luis put the cover on the toilet and took a seat.

"You’re welcome" he refused to make eye contact with her.

"What’s this" Sheridan said playfully. "Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald embarrassed?"

"I am not" he refuted.

"Then why won’t you look at me?"

"You’re in the tub! I am being a gentleman"
"Uh huh. If that’s what you want to tell yourself and what would you do if I got out?" she put her arms on the sides of the tub and started to push herself up.

"That’s it I’m leaving" Luis got up and hurried for the door. Sheridan giggled and let herself back down into the tub.

"Luis wait. I’ll be good I promise. Stay and talk to me please. You make me feel safe"

"You’ll be good?"

"Scouts honor" she saluted him and he returned. "Luis?" her tone became serious.

"Yeah?"

"I know I don’t say it enough, but thank you"
"For what?"

"For what? For saving my life in Paris, bringing back here, saving my life again. That could have been me tonight and because of you it wasn’t. It seems that everything you do I should thank you for. I don’t think I could get through my life without you. And I know I can be a pain in the ass sometimes, don’t think that I don’t know it, but it just because I love you" the words flowed from her mouth without her realizing. They came out effortlessly and perfectly. His head wiped around and stared intensely at her. Her eyes widened when she realized the words slipped from her mouth. She was trapped she had nowhere to hide. He had heard her and she couldn’t run away anymore.

"What?" Luis whispered in a state of shock. She didn’t know what to do what to say then suddenly she slipped herself under the water. She plunged her head under, completely covering herself in water and bubbles. Luis walked over and sat on the side of the tub ready for her return from the under water world.

"You’re not a fish Sheridan. You can’t stay under there forever" Luis said as he splashed his hand in the water. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He wanted to say it first but she was so vulnerable from what had just happened he didn’t think it was the right time. And then she goes and says it first. Figures she was always trying to one up him. Finally she needed air and pushed herself out from under the water. She gasped for air. She worked up her courage under the water and as soon as could breath again she whispered

"I love you" to him. Her eyes were closed because there was water running over them and bubbles covering her face. She reached for a towel but Luis snatched it before she take it.

"What?" he said playfully.

"I love you" she said a bit louder, but not enough to Luis’s liking.

"I’m sorry I can’t hear you" she kept reaching for the towel and he would let her touch it, but then pull it away.

"Give me the damn towel" she yelled.

"Now I don’t think that is what you said"

"I LOVE YOU" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Good" he pushed the towel in her face and rubbed it around, clearing it from soap and water. He removed the towel and she stared at him nervously. "Because I love you too" he said sweetly. They stared at each other searching the other’s soul. They held the glare, neither one willing to move from the trance.
"Aren’t you going to kiss me?" Sheridan said in a snotty tone.

"Like I said before I am a gentleman and you are in the tub"

"Well lucky for you I don’t feel much like being a lady tonight" she gave him and evil grin and grabbed his shirt pulling into the tub with her. "Now you are in the tub too" she slipped her legs from under him and put them on top of him. She then positioned herself on his lap. She moved her head to his ear. "Now kiss me" she whispered in his ear.

"Yes ma’am" he didn’t need to be told again. He pressed her body to his and inched his lips closer to hers.
"Wait!" she suddenly pulled away.

"Yeah ok" Luis was very confused. First she threw herself at him and now she was pulling away. She stood up and wrapped a towel around herself.

"Stay there" she ordered. He wasn’t going to move it meant she was going to come back. She grabbed her toothbrush off the tub and ran to the sink. She quickly swiped the brush over her pearly whites and set down the brush. She started to walk back to the tub. "Opps" she said innocently as she let the towel drop the floor. Luis’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. She then slipped back into her previous position in the tub with Luis.

"Better?" he asked.

"MmmHmm" but before he let another word slip from her mouth he touched his lips to hers. The kiss was electrifying and full of bottled up feelings. They could have boiled the water around them.

~*~

Julian sat in his bedroom drinking his nightly decanter of Brandy. His speakerphone beeped and he knew before he answered it would be his father.

"Yes father" Julian sneered.

"Go get yourself downstairs and get my daughter off that police officer!" Alistair barked.

"What?"

"Sheridan is mauling that low life cop. I don’t think she has even come up for air. Go stop it! NOW Julian!"

"Right away father"

Julian jumped up and made his way to the living area. He cleared his throat but the couple didn’t seem to notice. He cleared his throat again this time making it as loud as possible. Sheridan and Luis jumped and looked over at Julian.

"What do you think you are doing?" Julian almost screamed.

"Not anything you wouldn’t do" Sheridan replied.

"Well kindly remove yourself from that man. Father isn’t happy to say the least"

"Tell him to get over it. I think I am going to keep this guy around for awhile" she smiled at Luis and he just sat back as he watched Sheridan handle Julian.

"Father will not stand for it you know. He has guys lined up that you can choose from. Super cop over there is not one of them"

"And when has that stopped me before?"

"Don’t get yourself into anymore trouble Sheridan, I’m warning you"

"Just stay out of my life Julian"
"Fine!" Julian sneered. "If you want to put yourself through this, I am not going to stop you" and with that he left again.

"You know he’s right" Luis announced.

"You’re agreeing with Julian?"

"Your father is never going to let us be together"

"Let me worry about that Luis. I can handle him"

"You might be able to handle Julian, but your father is a different story. He can pretty much do whatever he wants and get away with it. I don’t want to see you hurt"

"What if I told you I could get my father off our back for awhile"

"I’m all ears"

"Well I had planned to do this when you were upset with me, to win you back, but no that it is not needed for that I think it will work for this too. Actually I know it will work"

"Well are you going to fill me in?"

"You’ll find out tomorrow. It will work better if you are surprised. You have to work tomorrow right?"

"Yeah"

"Good. Maybe we should try and get some sleep"

"Whatever you say. Although I don’t know whether or not to trust you. You tend to get yourself into trouble sometimes"
"Me? Never!" she got up from the couch and took Luis’s hand leading him towards the stairs. Ethan and a woman came into the mansion as they stood on the bottom step. "Sheridan you’re back" Ethan smiled at her.

Sheridan and Luis looked curiously at the woman besides him. She looked a lot like a younger version of Fran Drescher in The Nanny. Flashy clothes and huge brown hair were some of her features.

"Yeah we got back about an hour ago. Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend?"

"Oh right where are my manners. Sheridan, Luis, this is Angela DiFranco. Angela this is my aunt Sheridan and her…well we don’t know what to call him yet but he is practically her husband…Luis"
"Boyfriend, will do Ethan" Sheridan gave him a dirty look.

"I’m pleased to meet you Angela" Sheridan and Luis took their turns shaking her hand. "Have you been in Harmony long?"

"Only a couple of days" she said in a think Brooklyn accent.

"And how long will you be here?" Luis tried to keep the conversation flowing.

"Forever" she stated. Luis and Sheridan shared a confused stare and then moved their stare to Ethan signally that he better fill them in on what was going on.

"Angela is my wife" he stated. Luis and Sheridan almost fell over they were so shocked. They collected their jaws from the floor and started firing questions.
"What about Gwen?" Luis started.

"You got married without me here?" Sheridan continued.

"Were you drunk?" Luis questioned.

"What the hell is going on?" Sheridan spat out.

"Calm down both out you. I will tell you everything" Ethan burst into the conversation.

"I am going to get something to eat" Angela excused herself.

"You two look like you were going to bed, this can wait until the morning" Ethan tried to squirm out of this one.

"Bed can wait" Sheridan said sternly.

They made their way back into the living area. They sat down and Ethan told the story of Benny DiFranco and his promise. Sheridan was shocked that Ethan went to such lengths for her.

"Do you know who killed Benny?" Luis was now in full cop mode.

"Nope, and it doesn’t look like we ever will. He was shot, but there is no gun and no evidence"

"Ethan you didn’t have to marry her. Just give her the money and get an annulment"

"I can not go against my word Sheridan"

"What did Gwen say?" Sheridan knew how much in love with Ethan Gwen was and was instantly concerned for her.

"I haven’t told her yet. She is still in New York"

"And what about Alistair and Julian. They hate me but what about her?"

"They think that I am finally sowing my wild oats. No one knows but you two!"

"What have you gotten yourself into Ethan?" Sheridan shook her head.

"Don’t worry about me, you have enough to worry about already, now why don’t you guys head to bed. I am going to find Angela"
"Night Ethan" Sheridan Luis finally continued their way to bed.

"How long do you think that will last?" Luis asked Sheridan.

"Ethan will never break a promise even if it means living his life in misery"

Luis put his arm around Sheridan and she rested her head on his shoulder as they walked to their bedroom and settled down for the night. Ethan walked out onto the veranda to find his bride staring at the stars. She had tears falling down her cheek and looked a million miles away. She held a worn piece of paper in her hands. Ethan didn’t know what to do, whether to try and comfort her or leave her alone. He was a little intrigued by her though, so he thought he would watch her for a moment before interrupting her solace.

"Why did you do it daddy?" she cried to the sky.

~*~Flashback~*~

Angela walked into her father’s penthouse apartment. It felt erie as if something big had just gone down. She walked further in the room to yellow tape and police officers in her home. She saw Uncle Vincent in the corner. This made her shudder, he was her father’s nemesis. She couldn’t figure out what he was doing here. She walked over to him and mustered up the courage to ask what was going on, even though she knew. When a mob man’s apartment was full of cops it meant he was dead.

"What’s going on?" she chocked back all her emotions.

"Your father has unfortunately been killed" Vincent said coldly.

"Why are you here you hated my father?"

"I found him. I came to collect a debt"

"You did this didn’t you?"
"You’ll never prove a thing. He told me to give you this" he reached in his pocket and gave her a piece of paper. "It should explain things is more detail. Have a good life princess. You’re father bargained with the devil for you" he smiled wickedly as he left.

She shoved the paper in her pocket as the police came to question her. After they were finished her she walked to a near by hotel and checked in for the night. She reached her room and sat on her bed. She had yet to cry over the death of her father. She had always prepared herself for this moment. She knew her father was a mob boss and had more enemies than friends. She knew this day would come eventually. Angela remembered the paper in her pocket. She took it out and carefully unfolded it.

My sweet Angela Marcianne,

I want you to know I love you and I would do anything for you including this. I didn’t want you to follow in my footsteps and get caught up with the mob. I saw the opportunity to give you a better life and had to give it to you. You are probably wondering what Uncle Vincent was doing in our home. I called in a favor. For some information I promised Vincent something he couldn’t refuse. My life. I passed the information along to my employer knowing that if I were to die he would take care of you. This man is an honest and worthy man. Everything you deserve. He will soon come looking for you, his name is Ethan Crane. He is quite wealthy and will give you the opportunity to become an honest and respected woman. You will become what I have always dreamed for you. You will become his wife and live the life of a princess. The world will not miss me, in fact it will be better with one less mob man. Don’t mourn over my death, I don’t deserve it. I know I was not an honorable man, this is my way to make amends with god and hope that he takes me with open arms. Take this opportunity to make yourself into something. Your dreams are now at your fingertips. Always remember that even though I was not a good man that I loved you. Goodbye my princess,

Daddy

~*~

Her father’s words still stung her eyes. He told her not to cry for him, but how could she not? He just gave her the greatest gift a father ever could the chance for a better life. She was determined not to let him down. "I’ll make you proud of me Daddy. I promise" she kissed the piece of paper and returned it to her pocket. She got up from the ground to see Ethan staring at her.

"Hello, Mr. Crane" she wiped her eyes.

"Ethan please, are you alright?"

"Yeah, just remembering my father"

"You two were close?"

"Not really, but he was a great man"

"I’ll show you to your bedroom" Ethan said kindly.

"Thank you" Ethan walked her to her room and then continued to his.

~*~The Next Day~*~

Sheridan and Luis had woken up in each other’s arms, and then had breakfast together before he had to leave for work. He gave her a kiss goodbye and left her at the mansion. She ran to the phone ready to put her plan in action. She dialed the police station hoping Sam would be on duty.

"Is chief Bennett in?" Sheridan asked.

"Yes, may I ask who is calling?"

"Sheridan Crane"

"One moment please"

"This is Chief Bennett"

"Sam I need your help"

"Sheridan? What can I do for you?"

"What do you have Luis doing today?"

"A lot of paper work, why?"

"Could you change his plans please? Our future is at stake"

"To what?"

Sheridan explained what she needed from Sam, only giving him the information he needed to know. He wouldn’t go for it if he knew what she really had planned.

"Thank you Sam" she said as she hung up. Now she needed to go find Ethan. He wasn’t hard to find he was having breakfast on the veranda with his blushing bride. "Ethan just the person I was looking for"

"What do you need Sheridan?"

"You know that wig I told you not to get rid of?"

"Yeah"

"Where is it?"

"Percy has it somewhere. What are you up to?"
"You’ll see"

Sheridan winked as she went to find Percy. He gladly gave her the wig and secured it on her head. She then went to get in one of the families cars, but not a flashy one. A plain old Cadillac would do for what she had planned. She got in the car and headed for the outskirts of Harmony. She got to a familiar point of the road and pushed the pedal to the medal. She zoomed past her favorite cop who was stuck catching speeders for the day thanks to her. He pulled out and flashed on his lights. But the person didn’t stop. He began to chase the car but the car had no intensions in stopping. The scene was looking all to familiar to him. He raced and got in front of the other car and blocked the road with his. To his surprise the person didn’t stop and crashed right into his police car. Annoyed he got out and walked over to the blue Cadillac.

"Not again" he was furious. This was he third wrecked police car in less than a year. Then he noticed that it was a woman in the front seat. He could see her long brown hair as he stepped closer to the car. "What is it with you women drivers?" he asked as she unrolled her window.

"Not all women, just me" Sheridan smiled as she pulled off the wig.

"Sheridan?"

"Surprise" she grinned at him.

And in that second he knew what she was up to. She would no doubt get more community service for this and he would make sure he was there to supervise her.

THE END