"You're pregnant." Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald sat in stunned silence at the words the doctor had just uttered to her. "I'd like for you to arrange an appointment with my secretary for pre-natal options, as soon as possible," the doctor continued, as she opened the door. "Congratulations."

Theresa began to get dressed. "This can not be happening," she muttered aloud. "They made a mistake," she attempted to convince herself, but in her heart she knew it was true. It had only been one night. One beautiful, glorious night, in which all of her dreams came true.

* * * Flashback * * *

"Theresa, I don't know what I'd do without you," Ethan told her as they sat in front of the fireplace. Julian and Ivy had left on a business trip, leaving Ethan alone in the huge mansion for the night. "I can't believe the way Gwen was behaving tonight. I'm so sorry for the awful things she said to you."

Gwen had gotten it into her head that because Theresa was trying to break up the engagement, and had yelled some ugly things to her. "Ethan, you can't apologize for something you didn't do. Gwen will never see me as anything more than the housekeeper's daughter. In her mind, anyone who isn't rich will do anything to become rich."

"She had no right to speak to you that way," Ethan said. He handed her another glass of wine. "I'm sorry."

"Ethan, it's not your fault," Theresa reiterated. She heard a song come on the radio, and felt the sudden urge to dance. "I wanna dance," she announced as she attempted to stand up, and promptly fell back down.

"Theresa, are you okay?" Ethan asked with a laugh as he helped her up. "Maybe we had a little too much wine."

"No, I'm just naturally clumsy," Theresa smiled back. She looked up into Ethan's eyes, and suddenly the mood in the room shifted to a more serious one. "Ethan?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Dance with me." He took her hand and began to guide her gently around the room, the music permeating everything in the room.

The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful Stop me and steal my breath Emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky Never revealing their depth Tell me that we belong together Dress it up with the trappings of love I'll be captivated I'll hang from your lips Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above

Ethan leaned down and softly brushed his lips against Theresa's. She looked up at him, and kissed him back with slightly more passion.

I'll be your crying shoulder
I'll be love suicide
I'll be better when I'm older
I'll be the greatest fan of your life


Rain falls angry on the tin roof
As we lie awake in my bed
You're my survival, you're my living proof
My love is alive not dead
Tell me that we belong together
Dress it up with the trappings of love
I'll be captivated I'll hang from your lips
Instead of the gallows of heartache, that hang from above

Theresa woke up the next morning in unfamiliar surroundings with a splitting headache. She looked around and realized she was in Ethan's room, in Ethan's bed. Upon closer examination, she found she wasn't wearing a single stitch, and the entire previous night hit her. She looked over and found Ethan stirring beside her. "Gwen," he whispered.

Theresa felt a wave of nausea hit her at the sound of Ethan saying Gwen's name, and promptly slid out of bed, raced downstairs to find her clothes, and fled the mansion.

She was forced to return to the mansion for work later that day, and ran into Ethan. "Theresa, we need to talk," he said nervously. "We have to forget last night ever happened. It was a huge mistake."

Theresa thought she could feel her heart breaking in two, but managed to nod and leave the mansion. She had called Ivy later that day and quit her job, then proceeded to stay in bed for a full week. She had refused to eat, and did nothing but cry all day. She was scared at first that Luis would realize something was wrong with her, but he had been rather caught up in Sheridan Crane, and hadn't noticed how awful his little sister looked.

* * * End Flashback * * *

And here she was a month and a half later, walking out of a doctor's office with the knowledge that Ethan's child was growing inside of her. "Oh God, what am I going to do?" she cried as she got into her mother's car. She managed to drive home without crashing the car, and went straight to her room.

She laid in bed thinking for almost an hour, when the phone rang, forcing her to get up. "Hello," she answered, hoping it didn't sound like she had been crying.

"Theresa, what's wrong?" came the concerned reply from the other end of the line.

Theresa sighed. Leave it to her cousin to be able to tell what she felt from hundreds of miles away. "Everything," she answered. "Can I come visit you for a little while?"

"Of course. When do you want to leave?"

"As soon as I possibly can."

"I'll have a ticket waiting for you at Harmony Airport. Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"I'll explain when I get there. Everything's too complicated to try over the phone."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you at the airport."

Theresa hung up the phone and managed to pack what she needed in the span of thirty minutes. She started to write a letter to her mother, to explain that she was leaving.

Dear Mama,
Please understand that I have to leave for a little while. I'll be in Port Charles, but please don't try to see me. I'll call you once a week to let you know I'm alright. Mama, I've gotten myself into a bigger mess than you could possibly imagine. Luis was right about the Cranes. Be careful around them. I love you, and I'll be back when I can. Love always, Theresa Rosabelle Lopez-Fitzgerald

As she began to write Whitney's letter, Theresa let her tears fall freely.

Dear Whitney,
You're the best friend I could ever ask for, and I wish I had listened to you when you told me to give up my dream of getting Ethan. Well, I didn't get him, but I got something else. Whit, please don't tell anyone this. I'm pregnant. Ethan and I had a little too much wine, and we ended up making love. Oh, Whitney, it was so wonderful. I thought he finally realized that I loved him, and he loved me too. Shows how naïve I am. He asked me not to tell anyone, and that it was just a big mistake. He still wanted to marry Gwen. I don't want him to know about the baby. I won't have him staying with me out of responsibility. I'm moving to Port Charles for a while. I don't know for how long. At this point I'm thinking it may be permanent. I'll call you when I get settled in. Maybe you could come visit me. Thank you for always being here for me. Love, Theresa

Theresa set the letters on her bed, and picked up her duffel bag, walking out of the room.

"Sonny, do you have any triple chocolate fudge ice cream?" Carly Roberts asked as she came downstairs from her nap. "With Gummy Bears, oh and those little red jelly beans?"

"I see we're into that 'weird craving' stage," Sonny teased as he hung up the phone. He and Carly were actually starting to get along pretty well, considering a few months before they couldn't be in the same room together without wanting to kill each other. "I don't think we do, but I can send Francis to get some."

"Okay," Carly answered. "Who was on the phone?"

"My cousin. She's going to come stay with us for a little while," Sonny answered. "Something's seriously wrong with her. She wouldn't tell me over the phone though."

"How old is she?" Carly asked, popping a handful of M&M Mini's into her mouth.

"Seventeen," Sonny told her as walked over to the door and told his one of his bodyguards, Francis, to go to the store. "Is there anything else you want?"

"Yeah. Puffy Cheetos and Twinkies," she replied as she settled into the couch.

Sonny merely shook his head and sent Francis out. "I've gotta go to the airport to pick Theresa up."

"Can I come?" Carly asked with interest.

"I thought you were hungry," Sonny said in amusement.

"I want to meet your cousin."

"Yeah, come on," he said as he took her hand.

"Can we stop at Kelly's on the way?" Carly asked. "I feel like their chili cheese fries."

Chapter 2

"This airport has a restaurant, doesn't it?" Carly asked Sonny as she finished eating the rather disgusting combination of chili cheese fries and a hot fudge sundae while they sat in the hard blue plastic seats near gate 5-B.

"You have got to be kidding me," was Sonny's reply as he looked up from his magazine. "How could you possibly still be hungry?"

"Come on, I'm eating for two," Carly reminded him.

"More like two hundred," Sonny retorted. Carly merely covered her face with her hands and pretended to start crying. "Carly, don't cry," Sonny said in alarm. "I was just teasing you. I'm sorry."

"Okay," Carly said as she smiled at him.

Sonny started to say something, but was cut off by the overhead speakers. "Flight 562 from Harmony, Maine is now arriving."

"That's Resa's flight," Sonny said unnecessarily as he stood up to look for his cousin. She was one of the first people off of the plane. "Resa," he called, waving at her.

Theresa smiled in relief at the sight of Sonny, and she ran to hug him. "Sonny!" she said happily as she threw her arms around him. "I don't think I've ever been so happy to see somebody in my life." She noticed Carly when she stepped back. "Hi, I'm Theresa," she introduced herself shyly.

"Carly Roberts," Carly said, hugging her. "I'm glad you're staying at the penthouse. It'll be nice to have another girl to talk to."

"You live there too?" Theresa asked in surprise. Sonny hadn't told said anything about a new girlfriend.

"Carly just moved in," Sonny explained. "That's why I called your house earlier. I needed to talk to Pilar."

"About what?" Theresa asked.

"How about we explain when we get home?" Carly suggested. "You look like you could use a little rest."

"That's an understatement," Theresa answered.

"Are you hungry?" Carly asked. "I'm starving. Sonny, let's get Chinese."

Sonny couldn't help but laugh. "Well, at least I know where your priorities are for the next few months," he said. "Resa, did you bring anything with you? Should we stop at baggage claim?"

"No. Everything I brought is in this duffel bag," Theresa answered.

"Good, then we'll have to go shopping," Carly said as they started to walk out. "You know, the mall has this really great pizza place…"

"Pilar!" Ivy Crane called from her front door. She usually didn't answer the door herself, but ever since Theresa had quit, she couldn't seem to remember to do anything. Theresa had always left reminders on her desk. Now that she had quit, Ivy couldn't remember a single thing she had to do. Her social calendar was in complete disarray. On top of that, she had forgotten to pay the maids, and now they refused to come to work. So she was stuck answering her own front door. Thank goodness it was only Pilar's son.

"Yes, Mrs. Crane?" Pilar asked as she walked down the stairs. "Miguel? What are you doing here so early? I don't get off work for another hour." Ever since Theresa quit working at the Cranes, she refused to go near the Crane Mansion, making Miguel pick up Pilar from work.

"Mama," Miguel started, unsure of how to say what had happened. "It's Theresa."

"What's wrong with Theresa?" Pilar asked, suddenly frightened.

"Usually when I get home from school, she's there making snacks to take to the kids at the Youth Center. But when I got home today, I couldn't find her. When I went in her room, I found these." Miguel held out the letters he had found on his sister's bed. He knew this couldn't be a good sign.

Pilar silently opened the letter from her daughter, and pressed a hand to her mouth. "Miguel, go give this to Whitney," she handed him the other letter.

"Mama, what's wrong?" he asked.

"After you give that to Whitney, call your brother and ask him to come home. I will be there in a little while," Pilar continued. "Mi hijo, please don't ask questions right now. Just do as I say."

"Okay, Mama," Miguel said as he took the letter and headed out the door.

"Pilar, what happened?" Ivy asked quietly. Pilar had been her closest confidant for over twenty years, and she could tell from the look on Pilar's face that something was very wrong.

"Theresa left town," Pilar answered.

"What?" Ivy asked in shock. "Where'd she go?"

"To stay with her cousin, apparently," Pilar answered distractedly. "Mrs. Crane, may I have the rest of the day off?"

"Of course Pilar," Ivy answered. "Take off as much time as you need."

"Thank you Mrs. Crane," Pilar said as she grabbed her purse and walked out the door.

"I wonder why Theresa would leave town," Ivy pondered aloud.

"What?" a voice from behind her asked.

Whitney Russell couldn't remember the last time that Theresa did something that shocked her. This, however, really took the cake. "Whitney, what's going on?" Miguel asked her.

"Theresa left," Whitney answered. She had never betrayed a secret of Theresa's, and she guessed now wouldn't be the time to start.

"Why?" Miguel asked, not really surprised. He had suspected it.

"She didn't want to see Ethan marry Gwen," Whitney lied. She really hated lying.

Miguel accepted this, as it was something Theresa may have actually done. "I should go home. Luis is going to be there and he's not going to like this." Whitney nodded.

"Theresa, how do you manage to get yourself into these messes?" she asked aloud to her empty room, as if her best friend could hear her.

"Okay Resa," Carly said, adopting Sonny's nickname for his cousin without realizing it. "I know you're probably wondering who I am and why I'm living with your cousin."

"Carly and I are having a baby," Sonny said, carefully watching his cousin's reaction. To his surprise, she burst into tears. "Resa, what's wrong?" he asked, as he pulled her into a hug.

"Sonny, you're going to be so disappointed in me," she cried.

Everything clicked in Carly's mind immediately. "Theresa, are you pregnant too?" she asked slowly.

Theresa merely nodded and sniffled, attempting to gauge Sonny's reaction. "I guess I'd be a bit of a hypocrite to be upset with you, wouldn't I?" he sighed. "What happened?"

Theresa spilled the whole story to him and Carly; everything from her lifelong crush on Ethan to the whole stalker issue to the night they spent together. "I'll kill him," Sonny responded vehemently when she was finished.

"Sonny, stop," Carly interjected as she kneeled in front of Theresa. "Resa, I'm not going to tell you everything will be okay," she started. "That's not a promise I can make. But I can promise you that Sonny and I will be here for you every step of the way. Believe me when I say I can relate to what you're going through."

Theresa smiled through her tears. "Thank you," was all she could manage to say.

"Resa, you'll be safe here. You can stay as long as you want," Sonny began, considerably calmer. "But we'll have to tell Pilar what's going on."

"No," Theresa answered. "She can't know. Sonny, please. Make something up, I don't care, just don't tell her that I'm," she trailed off.

"Resa, you're going to have to tell her sooner or later," Sonny argued gently.

"I think we're all a little too tired to talk about this now. Why don't we go to the PC Hotel for dinner?" Carly suggested, effectively making Sonny and Theresa laugh. "Just wait Resa, in another month you'll be saying the same thing," Carly promised.

Chapter 3

************************************************

A Few Quick Notes:
1) The story starts in January 2000. However, everything with the Carly and Sonny storyline happened, just a little earlier. (October 1999 is when Carly and Sonny slept together.)
2) Gertrude hasn't found out about Jax and Chloe, and Chloe was never hit by a car.
3) For future reference, to me Nikolas Cassadine is still Tyler Christopher.
The character of Nikolas is basically the same as before Tyler left the show. (In other words, he actually has a life.) Also, he and Alexis are still really close.
4) Ethan and Gwen are planning their wedding for January of 2001.

************************************************

"What do you mean Theresa left?" Ethan Crane demanded of his mother Ivy as he leapt down the remainder of the staircase. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know," Ivy answered, concerned with the urgency and desperation she heard in her son's voice. "Apparently she left letters for her mother and Whitney and just disappeared." She wondered why Ethan was so upset about Theresa's departure; she knew that Ethan considered Theresa a good friend, but he looked positively devastated. "Ethan, are you okay?"

"Yes mother," he answered automatically. "Would you excuse me, I'd like to go for a walk in the park." He didn't bother waiting for Ivy to respond, and simply left.

"Well that was strange," Ivy said as she watched him leave. Could his feelings for Theresa be stronger than she thought?

"I'll start with the salad, then I'll have the clam chowder, then the top sirloin steak, and the cheesecake for dessert," Carly told the PC Grill waiter as she closed the menu and handed it to him. "Resa, what do you want?"

Theresa was looking worriedly at the menu prices, mentally trying to calculate what the lowest possible price was. "Resa," Carly nudged her, whispering. "Don't worry about the prices." She turned back to the waiter. "She'll have the Italian chicken basket and the fried mozzarella sticks to start. Oh, and onion rings too," Carly handed him Theresa's menu, and turned back to her.

"How did you and Sonny meet?" Theresa asked curiously.

"Mutual friend," Carly answered vaguely. "We actually hated each other's guts until recently."

"Really?" Theresa asked in surprise. "What changed?"

"I'm still not sure. When Sonny found out I was pregnant, I was terrified he'd try to take the baby away from me. He'd always told me what an awful mother I was to my son, Michael."

"Michael?"

"Yeah, Jason named him."

"Jason Morgan?" Theresa asked.

"Uh-huh, do you know him?"

"I met him a couple of times. I haven't really been visiting Sonny over the past few years. With me, school has been such a huge priority. Sonny's had so much going on I didn't want to bother him. I mean, I know he would have dropped everything if I asked him to, but nothing too important has come up. Until now." Theresa looked down.

"Resa, you don't have to be ashamed that you're pregnant," Carly told her. "This isn't the fifties. No matter what, Sonny and I aren't going to think any less of you."

"But what about my brothers and mama?" Theresa asked as she began to cry again. "They'll be so disappointed in me."

"Don't worry about them yet. Try to live one day at a time. Believe me, it'll be much easier," Carly smiled.

"Sorry. I'm not sure why I'm so emotional," Theresa smiled back through her tears.

"Let's just chalk it up to hormones and eat," Carly answered. "I'm starving."

"Michael, did Theresa tell you why she wants to live with you?" Pilar asked. She had been on the phone with her nephew for a little over a half-hour.

Sonny smiled inwardly at his aunt's use of his actual first name-she had always refused to call him Sonny. "Aunt Pilar, she said it had something to do with a guy named Ethan Crane." Technically he wasn't lying, he tried to convince himself. It really did have to do with Ethan. 'The bastard,' Sonny thought.

Pilar sighed. "I suspected as much. Are you sure her staying with you won't cause you any problems?"

"Of course not," Sonny answered, leaning back in his chair. "Aunt Pilar, she plans on finishing out the school year here, so I was thinking it would probably be easier if you gave me temporary legal guardianship of Resa, until she turns eighteen. That way I can take care of her insurance and school stuff."

"Of course. Can you get it all in order?" Pilar asked.

"Sure. I'll send you the papers."

"Michael, take care of my daughter."

"You know I will."

Ethan Crane walked through Harmony Central Park in a daze. He couldn't believe Theresa had actually left town. Not that he actually blamed her, after what he did. Ever since the night he spent with her, he couldn't stop thinking about her. She was one of his best friends, one of the only people who didn't look at him as a Crane. She just saw him as Ethan.

And how did he repay her for her kindness and loyalty? By using her after a fight with Gwen. When he woke up the next morning, hungover, his wondered vaguely if he had simply dreamed the whole episode with Theresa. Then he saw her favorite earrings laying on the nightstand. They were tiny silver teddy bears that she had told him her father had given to her on her second birthday.

The look on her face when he told her to forget about what had happened between them would be etched in his mind forever.

"How could I have hurt her so badly?" he asked himself.

The next morning Theresa woke up surrounded by silver satin sheets and a royal blue goose-down comforter. She opened her eyes and took in the rich royal blue walls with intricate metallic silver patterns. It was obvious Carly had decorated the room. She yawned as she slid out of bed and walked to the top of the staircase, still wearing her favorite red satin pajamas.

"Sonny?" she yawned, before realizing that there were other people sitting in the living room. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," she apologized sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it Resa," Sonny said easily. "Carly's still asleep. Are you hungry?"

"Actually, yeah. I feel like I haven't eaten in months," Theresa answered.

"Okay, why don't you go get dressed and I'll send Francis out to get some breakfast," Sonny said. Theresa nodded and headed back toward her room.

"Was that the cousin?" Alexis Davis, Sonny's lawyer, asked. Sonny merely nodded in response.

"Why would she want to live with you?" Jasper Jacks snorted. He didn't usually go with Alexis to meet clients, but he didn't trust Sonny Corinthos with his wife, well, his pretend wife.

"Jax," Alexis warned. "Sonny, once your aunt signs this, bring it my office and I'll get it notarized. Is there anything else?"

"Are you a lawyer?" Theresa's voice interrupted as she came back downstairs.

"Yes," Alexis answered cautiously. "I'm Alexis Davis," she introduced herself.

"Alexis is my lawyer," Sonny told his cousin.

"Sonny, can I talk to Ms. Davis for a minute?" Theresa asked.

Sonny looked at Alexis, who answered, "sure, why don't we go in the kitchen?"

Theresa followed her into the kitchen and closed the door. "Ms. Davis, can I have your legal opinion on something?"

"Please, call me Alexis," Alexis answered. "And yes. What would you like to know?"

"Did Sonny tell you why I'm living with him?"

"No, he just told me that he needed to be your temporary guardian."

"I'm almost three months pregnant," Theresa said bluntly. "The man I slept with told me he wants to completely forget it ever happened. My question is, if he finds out about this baby, could he take it away from me?"

"Well, that depends. As the baby's father, he does have a right to the child. If he has the money and is willing to go through the custody process, there is a chance he could," Alexis answered honestly. "What you could do, is not write the father's name on the birth certificate. If you put someone else's name, chances are a judge won't see any point in ordering paternity tests."

"Thank you Alexis," Theresa said sincerely, as Alexis walked out. She began to contemplate what she was going to do. There was no doubt in her mind that Ethan would want the baby if he found out about it.

"Resa!" Sonny's called from the living room. "Someone's here to see you."

Chapter 4

When Theresa walked into the living room, she saw the last person she would have expected: Nikolas Cassadine. "Nik?" she asked in shock. When Lucky Spencer had introduced her to his half-brother Nikolas on a sunny summer day over three years before, she would never have imagined the Greek prince would wind up being one of her best friends. But somehow despite the vast differences in their backgrounds, they had immediately clicked, and kept in touch while Theresa was in Harmony through email, letters, and phone calls. Theresa had called him in tears the night after she and Ethan made love, and he told her that they should forget what happened. It had taken every ounce of Nikolas' self control to not fly to Harmony and kick the ass of the man who had broken his best friend's heart.

"Hey Rae," Nikolas greeted cheerfully, using the nickname he had made up for her, as he pulled her into an embrace. "Whitney called and told me you were in town."

"What'd she say?" Theresa asked as she pulled away suddenly.

"I believe her exact words were: 'Get your princely butt over to where she's staying this instant!' Why?" Nikolas grinned.

"We need to talk," Theresa sighed. "Sonny!" she called. "Do you mind if I go to Kelly's with Nikolas?"

"Take Francis and Tommy with you," Sonny answered as he walked back into the living room. "I got something for you," he said as handed her a silver cell phone and a set of credit cards with a driver's license.

"Theresa Corinthos?" she asked inquisitively.

"Alexis said it would be legally easier if you used my last name. Aunt Pilar agreed to it. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why do I have eight credit cards?"

"Carly wants to take you shopping later," Sonny said, as if that explained everything. Then he remembered that Theresa didn't know Carly very well. "Carly has this problem with money," he explained. "She can't seem to get enough of spending it."

Theresa smiled. "I'll be home in a little while," she promised as she walked out the door with Nikolas. She had gotten used to Sonny's guards following her over the years. They had become less intrusive she noticed as they took the stairs, allowing her and Nikolas freedom to talk in the elevator.

"So what's wrong?" Nikolas asked as the elevator doors closed.

"What do you mean?" Theresa evaded, pressing the button for the lobby.

"Come on Rae. I've known you for a pretty long time, and I know you wouldn't leave Harmony overnight for no reason."

"I didn't," Theresa answered defensively. "I left in broad daylight!"

"Rae," Nikolas said as they stepped out into the lobby and headed toward the door. "Does this have to do with that Crane guy?"

"Sort of." Nikolas raised an eyebrow at Theresa's deliberately vague answer. "Nikolas, I left because…I'm pregnant."

"Are you sure?" he asked quietly. He had suspected the reason why she left in such a hurry. Theresa nodded her head and tried to hold back the tears that she felt brimming in her eyes. "Hey, Rae, it's okay," he said as he embraced her. "I'm here for you."

"I really messed up this time, didn't I?" Theresa asked miserably, her voice slightly muffled.

"Everyone makes mistakes Rae-Rae," he answered. "And you always have liked to do things in a big way." Theresa giggled softly and held on to Nikolas.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"For what?" Nikolas asked. "I haven't done anything."

"You're here for me."

"Have you told the Crane guy you're pregnant yet?"

"No, and I don't plan to." At the look Nikolas gave her, Theresa started to explain. "Nik-Nik," she started. She was the only person on Earth he allowed to call him that nickname. "If Ethan finds out about this baby, he'll take it away from me and raise it with Gwen."

"Rae-Rae, no court would ever take a child away from its mother without reason."

"He's a Crane. He can pay judges to get the baby. Besides, Sonny's lawyer Alexis, told me that he may be able to take the baby away without buying off judges."

"When did you meet Alexis?"

"This morning. Do you know her?"

"She's my aunt."

"Is there a chance she could be wrong about Ethan's chances to get custody?"

"She's never lost a case, so she must know what she's talking about. What'd she tell you to do?"

"Put someone else's name on the birth certificate. The problem is I don't think I could ask anyone to take that kind of responsibility."

"I'll do it."

"What?"

"I'll do it."

"Have you lost your mind? Your uncle would kill you," Theresa dismissed him.

"So, Rae-Rae, you're my best friend. You've been there for me every time I needed you. Here's my chance to be there for you."

"Nik, there's a big difference between listening to someone's problems with a sympathetic ear and raising their children. I couldn't ask you to give up such a huge part of your life."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm volunteering so you don't have to ask me. Rae, I really want to do this."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes."

"You realize I'm indebted to you for life?"

"Make me some of your chicken chimichangas and we'll call it even."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day, Whitney Russell opened her email during her Computer Applications class, and found a letter from Theresa. She started to read it when she saw the teacher start coming towards her, so she quickly printed out the letter and stuck it in her backpack.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, Sheridan Crane couldn't seem to find any whipped cream in her cottage. "It would figure I wouldn't realize this until I'm completely finished making my mocha," she sighed. She grudgingly trekked her way up to the main mansion and decided to take the shortcut through the living room, when she saw Ethan sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. "Ethan?" she asked, alarmed. "What's wrong?"

Ethan looked up at his aunt with complete desolation. "Theresa's gone," he told her.

"Why are you so upset about it?" Sheridan asked. Ethan proceeded to tell Sheridan everything about what had happened between him and Theresa. "How could I have screwed this up so badly?" Ethan asked his aunt, who hugged him. Little did he know there was another pair of ears listening from the doorway.

Chapter 5

******************************

This chapter is dedicated to Lori, for being my personal sounding board for story ideas. Thanks for all your help Lor!!

******************************

Nikolas and Theresa arrived back at Sonny's penthouse, laughing and talking, just after Carly and Sonny had finished eating dinner. "Can I ask where you've been all day?" Sonny asked, the smile on his face allaying any doubts Theresa had about whether he was angry with her.

"Why don't you ask Francis?" Theresa suggested as she and Nikolas sat down in chairs across from Sonny and Carly. "I think he's the first guard of yours that I haven't been able to lose."

"Remind me to give Francis a raise," Sonny told Carly, who started to laugh. "Seriously, where have you been?"

"Nik took me all over Port Charles," Theresa answered. "You don't really realize how much you miss this place until you're back. Is that lasagna?"

"Sonny just made it," Carly answered, pushing her plate to the middle of the table and handing Theresa a fork. "Try some."

"This is fantastic," Theresa said between bites. "Oh, by the way Sonny, Nik is going to be the baby's father."

Sonny choked on his wine. "What?" he coughed.

"Alexis told me that if Ethan found out about the baby, he could take it away from me. So Nik volunteered to be the baby's father," Theresa explained. "Carly, is there any more of this in the kitchen?"

Carly nodded her head. "I think that's wonderful," she told Theresa and Nikolas.

"Sonny?" Theresa asked, her voice suddenly sounding very young and small. "Please tell me you don't hate this idea, because you're pretty much the only person whose opinion I really care about."

"If you think this is what's best, I don't have a problem with it," Sonny sighed. He knew Nikolas Cassadine would sooner call Luke Spencer an all-around wonderful guy than hurt Theresa, but he was still wary of letting anyone too close to his vulnerable cousin.

"Is it okay if Nik stays here tonight?" Theresa asked. "I want to talk to him for a while."

"Sonny, why don't you just let Theresa stay in Jason's penthouse?" Carly suggested. "Then she'll have some privacy, but she'll be close enough that we can still keep an eye on her."

"Where's Jason's penthouse?" Theresa asked.

"Next door," Sonny answered thoughtfully. "Carly, that may be the first good idea you've ever had." Carly swatted him on the shoulder.

"Would Jason mind?" Theresa asked.

"He left," Sonny explained. "He told me that he wasn't sure if he was ever coming back."

"Oh."

"So it's settled," Carly said, unusually brightly. Thinking about Jason always depressed her, and she really wanted to stay in a good mood. "Resa, how about we go shopping tomorrow. That way we can decorate your new place any way you want to."

"I'm going to be bankrupt tomorrow, aren't I?" Sonny asked.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gwen Hotchkiss couldn't believe her snooty society ears. Her Ethan had slept with the housekeeper's daughter? "I was right!' she said to herself. 'That gold-digging tramp was after Ethan!"

"What gold-digging tramp?" Julian Crane asked as he waltzed into the foyer.

"Theresa!" Gwen answered without thinking. "I can't believe Ethan actually slept with her."

"He did?" Julian asked. "I always knew that boy had Crane blood hidden somewhere." At the venomous look Gwen gave him, Julian backed away. "Gwen, at least he did it before you were married. Theresa left town, so she's obviously not going to try to steal Ethan away from you. Not that she could, being the housekeeper's daughter." With that Julian continued out the front door.

"Well, I'll just hang on to Ethan even tighter," Gwen promised herself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that night, Theresa and Nikolas were lying in bed, staring at the stars through the skylight in Jason's old room. "Do you think the stars are actually angels?" Theresa asked.

"I never really thought about it," Nikolas answered. "But if they are, that one is Lucky," he pointed to the North Star, the brightest one he could see in the sky.

Theresa turned her head slightly to look at him. "I still miss him too," she said softly. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Miguel or Luis."

"It's been really hard. I always felt like I had to be strong, for my mother and Liz mostly. They both took it so hard. For a while I wondered if Liz was going to just fall apart. At least my mother had a reason to keep going-Lulu. Liz didn't really have that."

"She came to Harmony just after it happened." It was apparent from the look on Nikolas' face that he wasn't aware of the fact Liz had left. "Sonny hadn't told me anything. When she showed up at my house, I thought she just wanted to talk. I remember I didn't believe her at first. I told her that it was a pretty twisted joke to be playing."

"Everyone was in denial after it happened. I was too. I mean Lucky could always get himself out of any trouble. I didn't think it was possible that he could die." Nikolas felt a tear slide down his cheek at his brother's memory.

Theresa gently wiped the tear away, and kissed her best friend's cheek. "Go to sleep," she ordered gently. "I'll be here tomorrow morning when you wake up."

About a half-hour later, Nikolas was sound asleep, and Theresa was just starting to doze off when she heard a commotion at the front door. She reluctantly slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Nikolas, and walked quietly out to the front door.

"Francis?" she asked sleepily while rubbing her eyes as she opened the door. "What's going on?"

"Who the Hell is she Sonny?" a woman demanded. "Another one of your girlfriends?"

"Hannah, go away!" Sonny said as he walked to Theresa. "Resa, sweetie, go back to sleep. You need some rest if you plan on going shopping with Carly tomorrow."

"Sonny, who's that?" Theresa asked.

"An old problem," he responded. "Go back to bed. Johnny, please escort Ms. Scott out of the building."

"She doesn't have a brain so she can't do it herself," Carly added smartly.

"Sonny!" Hannah whined. "I thought you loved me!" Theresa winced at the shrill whining and immediately retreated back inside her room.

"Carly, stop goading her on," Sonny ordered. "You go back to bed too."

"Oh, all right," Carly gave up. "I was just trying to have a little fun."

"Have fun doing something else," Sonny told her as they walked back into the penthouse. "Think about how much money you're going to spend tomorrow. That's fun, isn't it?"

"Not as much fun as seeing Hannah so upset," Carly replied.

"You have a twisted sense of humor."

"Yep, we're perfect together. Night." Carly said, leaving Sonny to think about what she meant by her remark.

Chapter 6

Two months later, Carly was sitting in Nikolas and Theresa's penthouse with a dozen books strewn over the couch. "Okay, I think I have my final choices," she told Theresa.

"Final choices for what?" Sonny inquired as he walked in.

"Names," Theresa answered. "Let's hear them," she said to Carly.

"Okay, it's either going to be Caitlin Barbara or Bethanie Anne," Carly said.

"What if it's a boy?" Sonny asked.

"It's not going to be, so we don't have to worry about it," Carly answered confidently.

"How are you so sure?" Sonny asked. They had told they doctor they didn't want to know what they were having. "And why don't I get a say in the name?"

"Tell you what, when you go through labor, then you can name the baby," Carly retorted. "Until then, you can pick the middle name."

"Pilar," Sonny answered immediately. "If it's a girl, we name her Caitlin Pilar."

"Caitlin Pilar Corinthos," Carly said, trying the name out. "Deal," she told Sonny. "What about you Resa? Have you picked any names yet?"

"Ryan Michael if it's a boy, and Rosalyn Caroline if it's a girl," Theresa smiled at them. "Nikolas should be home to take me to the doctor any minute. We're going to find out if the baby's a boy or a girl."

"That's great, Resa," Sonny told his cousin.

"While you're there, why don't you ask Dr. Johnson why I'm starting to look like a beached whale, and you look like you've barely gained a pound," Carly pouted.

"It's probably genetics," Sonny assured her. "Aunt Pilar was really small when she was pregnant with Resa."

"Rae?" Nikolas called as he walked in. "Hey, are you ready to go?"

"Absolutely," Theresa answered as she grabbed her purse. "See, you guys in a little while," she waved to Sonny and Carly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gwen looked down at the tiny blue square on the stick. "My plan worked!" she told herself excitedly. She had stopped taking birth control pills the day she found out about Ethan sleeping with Theresa. Now that she was pregnant, she knew Ethan would want to push the wedding up. Things were going perfectly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Whitney, would you please run these files to the conference room," Ethan asked. Whitney had started interning at his law firm about a month before, and she was easily one of the best people he had on his staff.

"Sure Ethan," Whitney said as she closed the file she had been working on. She was actually beginning to like Ethan a little. The guy obviously felt awful about the way he treated Theresa, and if the way he stared at the picture of her Whitney kept on her desk was any indication, he still had pretty deep feelings for her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Whitney wasn't really paying attention as she walked down the hallway toward the conference room, and slammed into someone. The files she was carrying went everywhere. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," she apologized. "You!" she cried in surprise as she looked at who she ran into.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You have got to be kidding me!" Theresa exclaimed in shock.

"I'm afraid not," the Dr. Johnson smiled, as she glanced at the ultrasound screen. "Fraternal twins, one boy and one girl."

"Oh my god," was all Theresa could manage.

"I'll print out a few of the ultrasound pictures for you, then you're free to go," Dr. Johnson smiled at Theresa and Nikolas as she walked out the door.

"Oh my god," Theresa repeated. "This is not possible."

"Rae-Rae, what's wrong," Nikolas asked worriedly.

"I was worried about giving birth to *one* baby, but two?" Theresa rambled. "I can't do that."

"Rae, listen to me," Nikolas said as he tipped her face up to his. "I honestly couldn't tell you whether it'll hurt more or not, but I'm here for you every step of the way." Theresa smiled at him. "And just think, at least this way you won't have to worry about the baby begging you for a brother or sister when it gets older." Theresa's smile started to spread into a grin.

"Wait until Carly hears this," she said. "She's really going to be mad that I haven't gained as much weight and I'm having twins."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald watched Sheridan playing basketball with some of the girls. He had to admit he was impressed. Even though her community service hours were up, she continued to volunteer at the Youth Center. He hated being wrong, but he was definitely wrong about Sheridan. She wasn't like the other Cranes-she didn't see people as classes, she saw them as who they were. "Amazing," Luis murmured to himself.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Miguel teased his brother as he walked up behind him.

"Shut up," Luis said, slightly embarrassed that he had been caught. "What are you doing here? Don't you have someone else to annoy?"

"Actually, no. I don't have to pick Mama up from work for another hour," Miguel told him. "But I thought you might want to know, Sonny sent us some pictures of Theresa."

Luis immediately grabbed the photos from his little brother. "Who're they?" he asked, pointing at some people.

"The one on the left is Sonny's girlfriend, Carly," Miguel started. "And that's Theresa's new boyfriend Nikolas. That's Emily Quartermaine with her boyfriend Juan Santiago, and Elizabeth Webber. You remember Liz, she stayed with us about a year and a half ago. Right after Lucky Spencer died."

"That's right," Luis said. "She seemed like such a sweet girl."

"She is," Miguel answered. He too had visited Sonny in Port Charles a few times, and he knew Lucky and Liz pretty well. "Oh, and Sonny sent a letter," he handed it to Luis.

"Theresa's graduation is June 4th," Luis read aloud. "Sonny wants us all to come see her." Luis' eyes widened at what he read next. "His girlfriend's pregnant?" he asked.

"Luis, Mama told us that a few months ago," Miguel sighed. His brother was really getting hung up on Sheridan Crane. "What did he say about Carly?"

"Just that she and the baby are doing good, and she can't wait to meet us. She's due at the end of May."

"Cool. Theresa said she's really nice."

"When did you talk to Theresa?"

"Last week. She called to check in with Mama and we started talking."

"What'd she say?"

"That her boyfriend is the sweetest guy on Earth. Oh, and she got a job."

"Where?"

"At L&B Records/Chloe Morgan Designs. She gets to learn about the design business from Chloe Morgan, who's this really important designer, according to Theresa. She's also married to Ned Ashton, Emily Quartermaine's uncle."

"Good for her. What does Sonny think of her boyfriend?"

"I don't know. You'd have to ask him."

"I think I will. I'm going to go call him. You go wait for Mama," Luis told Miguel.

"See you later, bro," Miguel answered.

Chapter 7

"You!" Whitney cried in surprise.

"Me? You're the one who wasn't watching where she was going!" Chad Harris replied as he stared at her.

Whitney didn't bother to answer as she surveyed the mess she had made of Ethan's files. "Great," she sighed. "Three and a half weeks on the job and I'm already going to get fired."

"Chill," Chad answered easily as he looked over the documents and began to stack them in neat piles. "Let me see the folders. Whitney wordlessly handed him the folders, deciding it might do her some good to see what he was doing before yelling at him. "See this line?" he asked, pointing to a line at the bottom of the page. "That number at the very end is the case number. You just match that number to the number on the folders." He stacked the papers inside the folders neatly and handed them to her.

"Thanks," Whitney said sincerely, wondering how he knew that case numbers were written on documents.

"No problem," Chad responded as he started down the hallway. 'Those tight jeans really show off his,' Whitney cut off her own thought with surprise. Where had that come from?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey Liz," Theresa greeted her best girl friend as she walked up to the table where Liz was waiting for her at Kelly's. "What's going on? You sounded kind of upset when you called earlier."

"Rae, you are never going to guess what!" Liz responded as she Theresa sat down across from her. Her face was flushed with excitement and she could hardly contain herself as she pushed a cup of coffee toward her friend.

"What is it?" Theresa asked curiously. "Are you okay?"

"I am so much better than okay," Liz replied emphatically. "Rae, Lucky's alive!"

Theresa choked on her coffee. "What? Did you just say what I think you just said?"

"I just said Lucky's alive," Liz grinned. Theresa sat back in her chair, too stunned to say anything. "Luke and Laura heard that he may not have died, and flew to France, and they actually found him." Liz was practically glowing with excitement, and had to force herself to take a deep breath to calm down. "Can you believe it?"

"Not really," Theresa answered in shock. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, they're on a plane back here as we speak," Liz smiled. "I couldn't believe it at first either. I mean, this is everything I wouldn't let myself dream about for the past year. Now that's it's actually happening," Liz trailed off.

"Lizzie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Liz looked down. "What if he doesn't remember me?"

"That isn't even a possibility. I remember how in love you two were. There's no way he could forget that," Theresa reassured.

"I know that in my heart, but I'm still kind of nervous," Liz sighed.

"Have you seen Emily today? Does she know about Lucky?" Theresa inquired.

"Yes she has, and yes I do," Emily answered as she walked up to the table. "I thought you two would be here. How'd your doctor's appointment go, Rae?"

"Oh, I forgot about that," Liz started apologetically. "What'd the doctor say?" Both Emily and Liz had been concerned about how little Theresa was showing for being five months along. "Is the baby okay?"

"Babies," Theresa corrected as took a sip of her coffee.

"What?" Emily asked. "Did you just say babies? As in plural, more than one?"

"Two, actually," Theresa replied. "Fraternal twins, a boy and a girl."

"That's so amazing!" Liz exclaimed. "Have you and Nikolas picked names?"

"Ryan Michael for the boy and Rosalyn Caroline for the girl," Theresa confided.

"After Carly?" Liz asked in disdain.

"I know you guys don't like her," Theresa began. "But she's starting to become the sister I never had."

"You have a sister," Emily reminded her.

"Paloma's been living with Aunt Maria since I was three. If I met her on the street I probably wouldn't even know it was her," Theresa said bitterly.

"Well, if you're having twins, then we're just going to have to buy twice as much stuff in the same amount of time," Emily said, swiftly changing the subject. "We should get started now."

"You're completely right," Liz agreed. "I think we need to go to the Port Charles Mall." Theresa smiled at her friend's enthusiasm for spending, and grabbed her purse.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Sonny returned to his penthouse after running to the store to buy Carly the vanilla bean ice cream she had demanded, the first thing he heard when he walked through the door was Carly crying. "Carly?" he called out in alarm. "Are you okay?" He found her sitting in the bedroom watching the Lion King. "Carly, sweetie, what's wrong?" he asked gently.

"Poor Simba!" she cried. "He was just a baby kitten and he had to see his father get stampeded!" She pointed to the screen to illustrate her point.

"Carly, have you ever seen this before?" Sonny asked, an idea dawning on him.

"No," Carly sniffled.

"Well, the dad lion isn't really dead," Sonny lied as he switched off the TV.

"He's just hurt. The weird looking monkey--"

"Rafiki?" Carly interrupted.

"Yeah, Rafiki," Sonny replied. "He heals the dad lion and they all live happily ever after."

"Really?" Carly asked hopefully.

"Really," Sonny confirmed. "Now get some rest."

"Okay," Carly sighed, wondering why everyone kept telling her she needed rest. Sonny kissed her forehead and walked out, making a mental note to never let her watch Bambi.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Gwen is pregnant?" Sheridan asked her nephew in disbelief, wondering how he could have gotten Gwen pregnant when he swore he still loved Theresa. "I thought she was on the pill."

"So did I, but apparently it didn't work," Ethan answered gloomily, hoping that he would wake up from the nightmare that had become his life.

"What are you going to do?" Sheridan asked.

"The one thing I really don't want to do," Ethan replied. "I'm going to marry her."

"Ethan, there are other ways," Sheridan said quickly. "You could live with her or something. You don't have to marry her."

"Yes, I do. Can you imagine what father would say if I didn't?" Ethan sighed. "How are you doing with Luis?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject. "I heard the fight you had with father and grandfather last night."

"They tried to tell me not to see him," Sheridan responded angrily. "I told them I would rather live without a penny of their money than live without love."

"Good for you," Ethan congratulated. "At least one of us will be happy."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"No, I'm not going easy on her," Sonny told his cousin in irritation. "You think I'm letting her go to bars every night or something?"

"No, but I think you may be a little busy with your girlfriend," Luis retorted. "What do you know about Theresa's boyfriend? Who is he?"

"Just some Russian prince she met a few years ago," Sonny answered sarcastically.

"Nikolas is a Greek prince," Carly corrected as she passed through the living room on her way to the kitchen.

"My mistake, he's a Greek prince," Sonny told Luis.

"What does he want with Theresa?"

"How am I supposed to know? I'm not him."

"How does he treat her?"

"Better than her last boyfriend. Luis, I know you're not going to believe me until you meet him yourself, but Nikolas really is good for her. I think she's starting to get over that Crane guy."

"I've been telling her since she was five that Ethan Crane would never notice her," Luis sighed. "Miguel told me she got a job."

"Yeah, she's working for Ned Ashton and Chloe Morgan. Emily Quartermaine told Chloe about Resa's fashion design abilities and Chloe hired her as her protégé, basically."

"How's your girlfriend doing? She's what, six months now?"

"Six and a half. She's going through this weird hormone thing. She was sobbing over the Lion King earlier. How about your girlfriend?"

"She's moving in here for a while. She got in a huge fight with her family over me. Told them that she'd rather be with me than have their money."

"And she actually knows you?" Sonny joked. "Seriously, do you need some money? And don't give me that 'I don't need charity' speech."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "You know how much I hate taking money from you," Luis sighed.

"Well, sometimes you need the things you hate. Look at me and Carly. I hated her, but now I don't know what I'd do without her."

"I know what you mean. I first met Sheridan when she smashed into my police car and proceeded to tell me that I couldn't arrest her because she was a Crane."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. But that's besides the point. Save your money, I might be forced to ask you for a loan so we can come see Theresa graduate."

"Okay, but I'm sending Miguel money for his birthday."

"One more question about Theresa. Was Miguel telling the truth when he told me that you let Theresa move in with her boyfriend?"

"I lied. I'm sending Miguel coal for his birthday."

"So it's true?"

"They're across the hall from me, and sleeping in separate bedrooms, if that makes you feel any better."

"It doesn't, but I guess if you trust the guy with her, I can too."

"Good, I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Bye Sonny."

Chapter 8

It was the second week of May, two months after Lucky Spencer returned to Port Charles, and first met his cousin Carly, that he got to be one of the privileged few on the receiving end of Carly's threats toward anyone of the male species as she went through labor.

"Michael Alexander Corinthos Junior if you EVER touch me again, I swear to god you will wish I had just turned you over to Cerrell!" Carly screamed, as Sonny ran out the door of her room, narrowly avoiding the vase that she threw at him.

"Rae, would you promise me something?" Nikolas asked his best friend as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him.

"What?" Theresa asked as she sipped the herbal tea that he had gotten her.

"I don't have to be in the same room when you go through that," Nikolas said. When Theresa smiled and playfully hit him, he continued. "I'm not kidding. If you start throwing things I don't want to be anywhere near you. You have too good of an aim." Theresa merely laughed at him.

"Resa, would you do me a favor and go in there please?" Sonny asked his cousin in desperation.

"Of course. Sonny, she's just saying all that stuff 'cause it hurts, and you're too far away to inflict any major damage on," Theresa smiled as she stood and started towards Carly's room. In the tunic-and-legging sets Chloe had designed for her, most people didn't notice Theresa was pregnant, despite the fact she was almost eight months along. "Hey Car," Theresa said as she sat next to Carly on the hospital bed.

"I want drugs," Carly greeted.

"Sorry babe, the doctor said you're too far along to give you anything without harming the baby," Theresa said sympathetically. "But just think, in a few more hours, you and Sonny are going to be holding little Caitlin or Andrew."

"Sonny won't live long enough," Carly responded vehemently. " 'Carly, I'm sure it won't hurt that bad,' " she mimicked. "No matter what they tell you, take the drugs."

Theresa laughed. "Think of it this way, my friend. At least you only have to do this once. I have to do it twice."
"You win," Carly scowled. "Do me a favor and go tell Sonny that he'd better sleep with one eye open from now on."

"I'm sorry Miss Hotchkiss," Eve Russell began. She really hated this part of her job. "We couldn't save the baby." Gwen had been involved in a car accident a day before; she had run a stop sign and a car had slammed into the side of hers. "And I'm afraid there was irreversible damage to your uterus and kidneys. You won't be able to have any more children."

"Dr. Russell, would you please give us a few minutes?" Ethan asked soberly, as Eve nodded and left. "Gwen?"

Gwen stared ahead with a vacant expression, as if she couldn't process such horrible news yet.

"Gwen, maybe this was for the best," Ethan started, wondering if anything he said would get through to her, and what he should even say.

"How could this be for the best?" Gwen yelled at him. She knew Ethan had thought of her pregnancy as a burden, and unloaded her anger on him. "You wanted this to happen," she accused.

"Why would I want to lose my child?" Ethan countered. "If you hadn't been such an irresponsible driver," the minute the words left Ethan's mouth, he regretted them.

"Go away," Gwen said quietly.

"Gwen, I didn't mean that," he apologized. "We're both very upset right now. Let's take some time to cool down, and we'll talk later." He grabbed his coat and started toward the door.

"I love you Ethan."

Ethan felt the bile rise in his throat, but forced the same words out of his own mouth as he left.

"This is just a minor setback," Gwen murmured to herself. "There's no way he'll leave me now."

"Ladies and gentlemen, exactly three and half minutes ago, the world was blessed with the miracle of another Corinthos," Sonny told the crowd in the waiting room proudly, who groaned in response. "Caitlin Pilar Corinthos, to be exact."

"All right, pay up," Theresa told Nikolas, Lucky, and Juan, who had each bet her twenty dollars that the baby would be a boy.

"Man," Lucky muttered as he pulled out his wallet. "Sonny, I hope you know you're reimbursing me for this. You specifically told me that it was going to be a boy."

"You should have known to listen to Carly," Liz laughed. "She was the one carrying the baby."

"Shut up," Lucky good-naturedly told his girlfriend.

Two days later, Theresa was working on some sketches at the L&B/CMD building by herself. She had taken to listening to her portable CD player whenever she could, now that she actually had the money to buy the CDs that went with it. She had just bought the Christina Aguilera single for "What A Girl Wants" on a whim, and had listened to it at least a dozen times since then.

So she didn't even notice when she began to sing along to the song while she sketched.

I wanna thank you
For giving me time to breathe
Like a rock you waited so patiently
While I got it together, yeah
While I figured it out


Yeah yeah

I only looked but I never touched
Cuz in my heart was a picture of us
Holding hands, making plans
And it's lucky for me you understand

What a girl wants
What a girl needs
Whatever makes me happy sets you free
And I'm thanking you for knowing exactly
What a girl wants
What a girl needs
Whatever keeps me in your arms
And I'm thanking you for giving it to me


What I want
Is what you got
And what you got
Is what I want


Now all the time I was blind
I was so confused
Run away just to hide it all from you
But baby you knew me better
Than I knew myself

They say if you love something, let it go
If it comes back to show
Then that's how you know
It's for keeps, yeah, it's for sure
And you're ready and willing to give me more

What a girl wants
What a girl needs
Whatever makes me happy sets you free
And I'm thanking you for knowing exactly
What a girl wants
What a girl needs
Whatever keeps me in your arms
And I'm thanking you for giving it to me

Theresa jumped and pulled off her headphones when she noticed Ned and Chloe standing in the doorway grinning at her. "I don't like those looks," she said. "You look like you're about to pounce."

"Theresa, you have a beautiful voice," Ned started.

"Absolutely not," she flatly rejected, anticipating what he was going to say.

"And I think you would make a great addition," he continued, undaunted.

"Not in a million years."

"To the L&B label--"

"When pigs give birth to flying dogs."

"I'm sure Edward could get some lab technicians to work on that," Ned grinned.

"I'm almost eight months pregnant."

"So, we wait until you give birth to promote you. I can see it now: Theresa Corinthos and Juan Santiago, the unmatched singing gems of L&B."

"Does he realize how much he sounds like Edward?" Theresa asked Chloe.

"Bite your tongue. I'm nothing like grandfather," Ned responded, making Theresa laugh. "But mark my words, I will get you signed to this label."

"This is so unfair!" Carly pouted two weeks later on May 28th as she sat in Theresa's hospital room. "I went through eight months looking like a house, and hours of agonizing labor, and what do you go through? Exactly eight months where people couldn't even tell you were pregnant with twins, and an hour of the most painless labor any woman on the planet has ever gone through." She tried to scowl, but couldn't for long, as she found her godchildren too adorable. Theresa had asked her and Sonny months before to be the godparents.

"Guess I'm just special," Theresa cooed to her new daughter. "Isn't that right Rosalyn?"

"Carly, do you want to hold Ryan?" Nikolas asked, carefully standing with the tiny newborn in his arms.

"Can I?" Carly asked. As he handed her Ryan, she looked down at the tiny bundle and then back up at Theresa. "So have we decided on family titles yet?" she asked. Theresa and Carly had been going back and forth for a month about what the kids would call each other, and the adults.

"It'll be easier if we just drop the second-cousin and third-cousin thing-it'll be too confusing for them. I think to Ryan and Rosie, you will be Aunt Carly, and Sonny will be Uncle Sonny. Isn't that right?" Theresa asked the baby in her arms.

"Sounds good to me," Carly said. "Speaking of uncles, what's the story with yours Nik? I thought he would be here."

"I was hoping he would be, but I guess he's not going to be as easy to convince as I thought," Nikolas answered. Stefan had refused to acknowledge Nikolas' announcement that he was the father of Theresa's children, and hadn't spoken to Nikolas since he moved out of Wyndemere.

"I'm sure he'll come around," Carly told him. "Especially when he meets these two little charmers," she cooed to Ryan. "Besides, isn't your mother here?"

"Yeah, but she left a little while ago. She said she had an errand to run," Nikolas answered, wondering what the errand was.

"Lasha, I refuse to accept this girl Nikolas has moved in with. I believe he is making a grievous error," Stefan said resolutely.

"Oh Stefan, why is Nikolas falling in love so incomprehensible to you?" Laura asked, beginning to get frustrated.

"Because that girl is beneath him."

"Oh, she was beneath him all right," Laura muttered, as Stefan stared at her. She rolled her eyes. "Would you at least reserve judgement until you see the twins? They are your great-niece and nephew."

"I'm not guaranteeing anything," Stefan warned.

"You wouldn't," Laura replied as she grabbed her purse.

Chapter 9

"Rae, what's wrong?" Lucky asked as he sat in her living room and rocked his two-week-old niece to sleep.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Theresa evaded as she held Ryan.

"Come on, Rae. I've known you for a long time. Something's bothering you and I want to know what it is," Lucky said firmly.

"Okay," Theresa caved. "My family is flying in from Port Charles tomorrow afternoon, and I'm not sure what tell them." Sonny had called and told Luis that she had gotten food poisoning and wouldn't be better in time for her graduation ceremony, so the Lopez-Fitzgerald family had put off coming to Port Charles.

"About?"

"About the décor of the penthouse. What do you think about?" Theresa said in irritation.

"You mean they didn't know about the twins?" Lucky asked in surprise.

"They didn't even know about the night I spent with Ethan," Theresa sighed. "I can already hear Luis telling me how I should have listened to him about the big, bad Cranes. Of course, he may not be able to do that now. It would be a tad hypocritical, seeing as how he's living with Sheridan Crane."

"Miss Corinthos?" Francis called as he opened the door. "There's some people here to see you."

"If it's another flower delivery congratulating Nik and I send them directly to the children's ward at the hospital," Theresa responded.

"Why are people congratulating you?" a familiar voice asked from the doorway.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Carly, I have a question for you," Sonny said as he walked down the stairs in the penthouse after putting Caitlin to sleep.

"What?" Carly asked as she picked up Michael's toys. Sonny gently pulled her away from the chore and sat her on the couch and kneeled in front of her.

"Sonny, what?"

"Carly, I got you a present," he handed her a fair-sized box, which she immediately opened to reveal another box. Five minutes later she was still opening boxes.

"Sonny, is this some sort of a trick?" Carly asked, her amusement dwindling.

"There's just a few more," Sonny promised.

Carly gasped when she opened the final box and found a huge diamond ring.

"What's this for?" she asked.

"Carly, you have a way of growing on someone, almost like a fungus--"

"I'm not sure whether to thank you or hit you."

"What I'm trying to say is. I've come to realize that I can't imagine this penthouse without imaging you and Michael and Caitlin in it too. Whenever I think of home, you're always in that vision and I don't want that to ever go away. Caroline Benson, will you marry me?"

Carly stared at him in shock for a minute, then threw her arms around him. "Is this a yes?" he asked, grinning.

"Most definitely," she responded happily.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Mother?" Ethan called from the living room of the Crane Mansion.

"What darling?" Ivy asked from the foyer.

"What is this flier for?"

"Oh that," Ivy said as she walked in. "Pilar's nephew sent it to her. She thought we might be interested in it."

"The Nurse's Ball?"

"Apparently it's a very important fundraiser for AIDS charities. I thought perhaps you and Gwen would go."

"Sounds interesting, but it's only a week away."

"I'm sure Whitney would be willing to keep the firm running for a few days."

"Mother, Whitney's not even a law *student* yet."

"Well then it will be good practice for her." Ethan rolled his eyes. "Now darling, I suggest you start packing. The more I think about it, this would be a great opportunity for you to meet some new clients." 'And see Theresa,' Ivy silently added.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Luis!" Theresa exclaimed in surprise as she stared at her brothers, mother, and Sheridan Crane. Panic was clearly etched across her face. What was she going to say? How was she going to explain the newborn she was holding? "You're not supposed to be here until tomorrow."

"Whose babies are those?" Luis ignored her statement.

Theresa took a deep breath. "Luis, they're mine."

"What?" Luis roared, waking up both babies. As soon as Ryan began to wail loudly, Rosalyn followed suit.

"What's going on?" Nikolas asked as he pushed past Luis and Sheridan, and took Ryan from Lucky. As if Nikolas' presence calmed him, little Ryan seemed to cease crying as soon as Nikolas took him. "Lucky, Liz told me to tell you she had to switch shifts at Kelly's," Nikolas said quietly. "She wants you to pick her up in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks man," Lucky said as he grabbed his coat. "Rae, we'll see you this afternoon at for rehearsal for the Nurse's Ball."

"Luke's, right?" Theresa said softly, as she rocked Rosalyn.

"Yep, 3:30."

"Rae, I'll take Rosie upstairs too," Nikolas offered, as Theresa nodded, and carefully gave him Rosalyn.

"Luis, if you're going to yell, do it somewhere else," Theresa warned with some anger. "It takes me forever to put them both to sleep at the same time as it is. I don't need you screaming on top of it."

"Theresita," Pilar rushed to embrace her daughter. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Oh Mama," Theresa felt the tears welling up in her eyes. "I wish I could have, but I just couldn't."

"Theresa, will you tell us now?" Miguel asked gently. He didn't want to push his sister, but he was also curious about how she had gotten pregnant.

"Luis, I know you love Sheridan," Theresa began. "But is there something else she could do? This is a little," Theresa struggled to find a word that was polite, but vague.

"Theresa, I've asked Sheridan to marry me," Luis told her. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you can say it in front of her."

"Fine," Theresa conceded. "But before I start, I want you all to know that I will do whatever it takes to keep my children. I have the resources to disappear off the face of the Earth if I wanted to."

"Theresa, what are you so scared of?" Miguel asked.

"I have to start from the beginning," Theresa said. "It was about nine and a half months ago."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Well Whitney, do you think you can handle it?" Ethan asked, after explaining everything that she would have to do over the week he was gone.

"I think so," Whitney replied, incredibly unsure. It sounded like an awful lot of work for someone without any law experience.

"Good, I should be back late next week. If there's an emergency, you can reach me at the Port Charles Hotel," Ethan said as he walked out of the office.

About five minutes later realization hit Whitney. "Did he say the *Port Charles* hotel?"