Sheridan sat in the hospital bed, staring out the doorway into the hall. Visiting hours had just reopened and she was waiting patiently for Luis to visit. One full week in the hospital and he hadn’t come in to see her once. Pilar and Theresa had brought little Colin in, his sad brown eyes filled with tears when he saw his mother in the bed. He said that this was the place that people sometimes came to die and was dreadfully afraid something was going to happen to her. Sheridan tried to comfort him, but sometimes even she wondered if she would survive this pregnancy without Luis. The only sign that even part of her husband was back were the beautiful long stemmed red roses that would appear in the vase beside her bed…

Seven days, fourteen roses and nothing but the occasional note that said he would come in soon. She wasn’t sure how he felt about the entire hypnosis confession or if he had even found anything else that would tie her to the murder. Eve had stopped in to see her, but hadn’t said a word about the tape or Luis and when Pilar visited Sheridan found herself feeling very uncomfortable. It didn’t matter that Pilar had never brought the subject up, probably blissfully ignorant about the confession Luis now had on tape. In fact, Sheridan wasn’t sure anyone had heard the tape other than she and Luis. Wouldn’t she have been arrested by now?

Part of her wished she would be arrested for the crime. If the confession were true, if she had been the one to kill Martin Fitzgerald that night, she was truly deserving of it. Right now she was being punished worse than any court of law could inflict. Every time she saw her family, the people she had come to love so much she ached, she started to feel knots grow inside her. It was a terrible feeling to look at Pilar or Theresa and just have to wonder what the chances were that you had ruined their lives. Had she really taken away her mother-in-law’s husband? Had she killed an innocent man? Destroyed his family? Truly ruined her husband’s life? She didn’t know, but she wanted to, and she wouldn’t give up finding out.

Sheridan had even questioned Julian, but he merely shifted his eyes away and told her he was going to prove she hadn’t done it. Sheridan wasn’t so sure she hadn’t and she wanted to know more than anything what her brother was hiding. They had been getting so close, he had seemed to love her so much, but that didn’t stop him from shrugging off that night again. All he said was to worry about the twins; that he would take care of things but even if he tried, she was the one that had the key locked inside of her. She was the one living with the guilt over the memories she couldn’t unlock. Deep down inside Julian already knew what happened and could tell her…

So why hadn’t he said anything about it? Why had he hidden the truth?

Sheridan sighed and sank back into the bed; it had been the twenty-fifth of April when she was admitted, now it was May second. Dr. Hamilton would release her today if Luis got his sorry butt into the hospital to sign the papers. They wouldn’t let Sheridan release herself, even against medical advice. It seemed they were afraid that she couldn’t promise to keep her life stress free and completely relaxed but her husband could. Like anyone’s life could be so airy and perfect with Luis and a five-year-old around! Still, Kate Hamilton was determined to see Sheridan through this pregnancy with as little medical interference as possible.

“Come on, Papa! Mama’s room is this way!” Colin called, grabbing his father’s hand and dragging him towards Sheridan’s room.

Sheridan smiled, hearing her son’s voice certainly brightened her day. She loved seeing him no matter what was going on; he was her little angel. One of the greatest gifts in her life was the love of her little boy after all this time away. He was so trusting and innocent and Sheridan loved every moment she had with him, especially right now. She wasn’t sure how much time she had left with him, so she was never going to take it for granted.

Soft taps of little sneakers hitting the linoleum and the hum of the one machine beside her were the only noises Sheridan heard for a second before Luis replied to their son.

“Slow down, kiddo. Mom’s still going to be there in ten minutes, I promise. We have to find her doctor first.”

“But Papa! She’s missed you and I miss her,” he pouted.

Sheridan could hear the pout in his voice and knew Luis was slowly losing his battle with the child. No one could deny Colin anything when he pulled out the puppy dog eyes with the alligator tears. Funny how every human trick had animal names…

“I know, and I’ve missed her too,” Luis sighed audibly and for a moment Sheridan felt like she had her husband back, that the tape was just a terrible nightmare. “But I want to see how she is from a medical point of view.”

“Huh?”

Luis laughed, as did Sheridan. Her son was a buster sometimes but still he was the cutest thing on earth. Sometimes it was like looking into the past and Sheridan was sure Luis had been the same way as a child. Not that she ever asked; she didn’t need to.

“I want to talk to her doctor. Why don’t you go see her first, ok?” Luis asked, ruffling his son’s hair. Sheridan could see their shadows on the wall. She couldn’t believe how something so simple as Luis’ shadow sent her heart fluttering.

“But you are coming?” Colin asked skeptically.

“Yea, I’ll be right in, I promise.”

Colin shrugged, closing the distance to Sheridan’s room with a few quick bounds before stopping cold in the doorway and removing his baseball cap like the little gentleman he certainly wasn’t trained to be. “MAMA!”

“Colin!” she smiled and he ran over, using a nearby chair to hop onto the bed and fall into her arms. “Oh I’ve missed you so much,” she hugged him tight, kissing his sweet little cheeks and smothering the small child in her love. “How are you, angel?”

“I’m fine, Mama! I’ve missed you so much,” he pouted, little eyes quickly filling with tears. That was the last time she left him with Theresa! “Papa says you can come home today! That means you can sing to me again!”

“Yes, I can finally come home and play with you,” she kissed his cheek again, but he wiped all the remnants off, reminding her that he was still against the baby treatment that he often received.

“Mama, that’s gross,” he groaned, looking down at her full stomach as he started to play with his ball cap. “I’m sorry the stupid babies made you sick,” Colin looked upset, fiddling with the rim some more. “I wish you weren’t having them, then you could have come to my soccer game. You missed it, I even scored a run,” he confused his sports.

“Colin, I’m sorry I missed your game, sweetheart, but please don’t say your sisters are stupid or wish that they weren’t coming. Your Papa and I are very excited that we are going to have more children. We love you and the babies so much,” she hugged him close. “You’ll love being a big brother and knowing that you can teach them all the new things that you love to do.”

“But they are trouble!” he pouted. “You and Papa fight cause of the stupid twins. It’s their fault! Everything is!”

“Colin, it’s not their fault. They haven’t done anything wrong,” Sheridan sighed. “ The babies are special little gifts to all of us and when they come they are going to be a lot of work, but they aren’t any different than you or me. They didn’t cause your father and I to fight; we don’t need help in that department. Trust me, the babies are innocent; they just need a lot of care right now, especially since they can’t take care of themselves and are living inside me.” She felt a kick in her ribs, which caused her to smile. Sometimes it was like they agreed with something they heard and just relaying the message. “Oh feel!” she grabbed his hand, placing it on the spot.

For a second Colin tried to pull away, still angry with the babies and not particularly wanting to touch his mother’s stomach when he was trying to be mad at his baby sisters. But she held his little hand against the taught flesh, leaving little room for an argument. The baby kicked again and Colin’s eyes grew wide, almost bugging out of their sockets in a comedic way. “Wow. Is that one of them?” It had been a while since he had felt them move.

Sheridan nodded. “I think she’s trying to tell you she wants to learn to play soccer,” she smiled at her son, enjoying the look of pure wonder on his face. Moments like this were certainly ones she would always treasure. The one moment of complete bliss when everything fell into place and you knew it didn’t get much better…

Now if only she could have shared it with Luis…

“Mama, was I ever growing in your belly?” Colin interrupted her thinking, laying his head on her stomach but leaving his hand in place. The baby kicked again, making Colin giggle and rub the spot as if he were playing a game with his little sister.

Sheridan brushed her fingers through his hair, watching the locks fall right back into place. She repeated the gentlest of touches in his baby-soft hair, just watching them dance. “Yes, quite a few years ago. You were so tiny and you made a lot of noise,” She teased. “I wish I had pictures that you could see so you knew how small you were. Your whole hand could barely wrap around my pinky. And just like the twins you lived in my belly for nine whole months.”

“How did you feed me?” he questioned, astonished.

She giggled. “We’ll talk about this another time, sweetheart. I have a great book we can read about it.” Being a teacher had its perks, especially when you needed the right book for the right situation. Not that she wasn’t going to do a lot of talking when he asked questions, but sometimes it was nice to have the pictures to go along with the words.

“Clarence Goes West and Meets a Purple Horse?” he asked, his lower lip started to quiver as he pouted yet again. They had read that book ninety times and every time they reached the part about the horses dancing a line dance, Colin laughed so hard he cried. It wasn’t a particularly funny book, but her son loved it all the same and she never could deny him his favorite read. The Lion King, however, had to go!

“That’s not the book I was thinking of, but I’m sure we can read it tonight. Good deal?”

“Great deal!” he cheered, rubbing her stomach again and for a second she swore she felt him place a kiss or two there. “Can we read it to the babies or are they too little to hear stories?”

“They can hear everything,” Sheridan told him, still playing with the hair above his hear. “Try talking to them, they’ll respond with kicks and movement sometimes. They’ll learn your voice if you talk to them enough.”

“Really?”

Sheridan nodded. “Go on,” she prodded.

Colin looked pensive for a moment, just running his tiny hand over her stomach. Finally he sighed and followed it with the most beautiful thing Sheridan had ever heard. “I’m your big brother, Colin, and sometimes I’m going to yell at you and get mad at you, but I still love you. Mama, she’s really pretty and Papa, he’s real handsome, but I’m the cute one and I’m older so you’ll have to do what I say. You two are going to be all girly with dolls and stuff, but it’s ok cause Mama says we’re all different. Okay? Now no more causing trouble.” When he was finished and earned a kick from one of his sisters, Colin started singing to them his very special lullaby that Sheridan sang to him every night.

Closing her eyes, Sheridan felt a tear roll down her cheek. It was certainly moments like these that kept her going, even in the darkest and direst of times.

Luis stood in the doorway, watching their son sing to his unborn siblings. Sheridan looked so beautiful lying there with their son, her eyes closed as she played with Colin’s hair. Even with her pale complexion from being in the hospital for a week, she still looked amazing. Reluctantly, he entered the room, afraid of breaking this moment but no longer willing to just be an observer. Colin smiled at him and Luis smiled back, gently brushing some hair from Sheridan’s cheek and placing a kiss on the tip of her nose.

Her blue eyes fluttered open, moisture resting on the tips of her lashes. She smiled the second she saw him, her hand coming off of Colin’s body and lifting to caress her husband’s cheek. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered, her fingertips barely touching his skin. “I thought…”

He put a finger to her lips. “We have things to talk about, Sherry angel, but nothing is more important than making sure you’re all right.”

“The tape,” she mumbled from beneath his finger.

“Is hidden and will remain there until you give birth to the twins. I’m not jeopardizing your life in my quest to find out what happened to my father.”

Didn’t he already realize that he was doing just that, pregnant or not? If she were guilt, had killed his father, she would be punished anyway and her life would be destroyed. Everything she had worked so hard to finally have would disappear in one act from her past. Even if the Harmony judicial system wouldn’t sentence her to death, being without him and their children would be even worse. She looked away, unable to look at him anymore, the thought that she took away his father nagging at her. “Thank you,” she managed.

Luis could sense the change and sighed. “I was stupid to ever let you hear that tape, Sheridan. I was angry and bitter and hurting beyond belief. I…I should have waited. I should have found proof.”

“You had a right to let me know it was coming,” she muttered.

Colin sighed. So much for starting today as a happy family! “Papa? What about Mama’s surprise?” he asked, trying to change the subject. He might only be five, but he knew when parents were discussing something important by their low, grumbling tone.

“Surprise?” Sheridan asked, wiping away a lone tear and trying to look cheerful.

“Well, yea, it was going to be a surprise,” Luis ruffled his son’s hair. “Since Dr. Hamilton says you can come home now and we also know you are supposed to stay in bed and keep your walking to a minimum, Colin and I decided that we would stop for sundaes at McFarland’s as a welcome home gesture. I’ve already cleared it with your warden, she thinks it’s a great idea.”

Sheridan tried to smile for her son’s sake, remembering what he looked like with ice cream on his face and fudge on his hands. However, she just couldn’t find the energy to do so and deep down inside she knew that Luis was doing this for their son and not her. Looking into her husband’s eyes, she saw nothing but pain and confusion. Only the slightest hint that he loved her remained in his torture orbs. “That’s really nice of you two,” Sheridan looked at Colin, a sad smile gracing her face. “But I don’t think I really feel like stopping for ice cream. You can drop me off at home instead and have a father-son day?”

“But Mama, this was s’pose to be for you,” Colin pouted, his eyes filling with real tear, this time breaking Sheridan’s heart in his attempt to win her over.

“And it is one of the sweetest invitations and old mom like me can ask for,” she swallowed hard. “But I really am dreadfully tired and I think I would like to go home and take a long bath and just get more rest.”

“Tell her about the other part, Papa!” Colin begged, not wanting to leave her home. “Tell her how you promised to take me to the pet store and buy a puppy! Tell her!”

“Colin,” Luis shot him a parental look. “That was supposed to be a secret.”

“But she’ll come with us! Papa, please!” Colin cried, devastated.

Sheridan felt miserable for doing this to her son, her stomach knotting from the tension. Had she eaten, she would have been sick for sure. It was torture pushing her family away, but somewhere her instinct to protect herself made her seek the distance to do that. “Luis, maybe you should go, I’ll call someone else to pick me up, a cab or even Ethan.”

“Sher?” he looked at her.

“Please, Luis,” she beseeched him. “Don’t let me ruin your plans for the day.”

“You’re part of our plans,” Luis insisted, looking at their crying son. He couldn’t believe Sheridan was behaving like this; it wasn’t like her at all. His Sheridan would do anything for Colin, even die for him; her behavior was confusing. “Come on, I know you like the sundaes and you’ve been telling me for months now Colin needed a puppy.”

“Colin, do Mommy a favor and go get me a glass of water, please?” she asked him, smiling gently at him.

He sniffled and nodded, hopping from the bed and running out into the hall.

Sheridan’s fingers began playing with the frayed edges of the blanket, her eyes focused only on her hands. Repeatedly, she ran her fingers over the soft material and chewed on her lip, trying to find just the right words, any words, to say to Luis. “We need to talk about what happened, Luis. Don’t think I’ll be able to push that day aside like it never happened. Hell, for the last week you’ve avoided me, obviously there is more to it than the twins.”

“I’ve found no evidence of a crime besides that Goddamn tape, Sheridan. It’s not even a good confession; there are enough flaws in it to prove nothing. I can’t see torturing ourselves over it anymore. I’ve listened to the entire thing, you don’t remember ever striking anyone.”

“But you believe I did it, don’t you?” she looked at him. “You believe there is a chance I killed Martin.”

“I don’t know what to believe. What I do know is we’re married and I love you and we have a son who thinks his mother hates him right now because she won’t go out for ice cream.”

“I…I can’t do it, Luis. I can’t look at him so happy and look at you in so much pain and stand the thought that I caused it. I…I can’t,” she closed her eyes. “We have to make a decision, Luis. We have to decide what we’re going to believe. Did I commit this crime?”

“I can’t do that,” he ran his fingers through his hair. “Do you know what it was like to put that tape into the machine and hear the women who owns my heart say she killed my father? I have never felt so completely numb in my entire life, Sheridan, but the last week without you has been intolerable! Yes, I’m hurt and I’m confused and damn it I wish I had never listened to that stupid tape, but I did and you did and now we have to move on.”

“Just like that?” she asked, snapping her fingers. “So simple?”

“No, of course it will take time,” he stepped away, crossing his arms. “A lot of time and effort will go into my forgetting what I heard for the next few months. I can’t conduct an investigation right now.”

“Because of me,” she sighed. “Luis, you realize what happens if it’s true that I killed Martin. They’ll lock me away, forever.”

“I know,” he nodded sadly. “I want to find out if it’s true, Sheridan, and believe me it hurts to think that it is, but I’ve got to know.”

“I understand,” she shrugged. “You were looking for your father long before you met me; it’s of the utmost importance to you.”

“It’s been important, yes. But just because I had a moment of weakness and a bit of doubt in what could have happened, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to act and be the family we are…if not because I truly mean it, then for Colin at least. He deserves that much.”

“I know. But you don’t have to look into the eyes of the person you love and see the pain and underlying hate and know that you put it there. I do. Every time I look at you and hear your voice, it reminds me that I may very have well killed your father and ruined your chance at ever having you true dreams. I ruined your family, Luis, and I have no right being part of it.”

“That’s not true,” he cupped her cheek, forcing her to look at him. “You have every right to be part of it, Sheridan Lopez-Fitzgerald, because I love you. I’m not sure what to think about that tape, but the one thing I know for sure is that you are the love of my life. Nothing will change that.”

“Then what do you propose we do, Luis? Just go on as before?’

“That’s not possible and I think right now we may both need a bit of distance to calm down and see things more clearly, so I’ll give you that. We’ll make a deal, Sheridan, for now we put on a brave front for everyone. We go to Mama’s and smile and laugh, we invite people over and show them we’re really a family, but behind closed doors when it’s only you and me, we can argue and fight about this all you want. I’ll even take the guest bedroom if you want it that way.”

“It might be best,” she looked away. “That way if it’s true that I…”

“Sheridan, why should we worry about that now?” he groaned. “It could be some trick your father pulled, some memory he altered. It wouldn’t be the first time, would it? He was a powerful man and worry about this right now won’t do any good.”

“We need to worry about this because, Luis, if I killed your father then I don’t want to have to see the pain as they take me away for my crime. If we start distancing ourselves now, you might one day be happy. Colin might one day understand that I didn’t abandon him, but that I saved him the pain of losing his mother.”

“I am happy. I’m married to you,” he replied.

“Luis!” she cried. “Please, just for now. Just until we can prove I didn’t do this.”

He sighed. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is.”

He nodded. “Do you want me to take you home then or should I call you a cab?”

“You can take me home,” she whispered. “Can I still get that sundae?” she sounded like a child.

He smirked. “If I can have a kiss.”

Sheridan sighed and halfheartedly leaned in for a kiss. The second their lips met she felt all her fear and worry melt away. His lips caressed hers, his hands pulling her closer, and Sheridan thought for a brief moment that everything was going to be all right. Slowly, the pair pulled away and Sheridan looked into his eyes looking for any sign of regret, but finding nothing but love.

“I love you, Sheridan, just remember that please?”

She nodded, sniffling. “I love you too, but please, for the health of our girls. We need to have some distance.”

“All right. I’ll let you get dressed and find the munchkin. We’ll be in the hall when you’re ready to leave. OK?”

“Thank you,” she watched him leave and managed to get off the bed to dress. As she finished putting on here clothing, she looked out the little window her room had and found Luis holding a still crying Colin. Her heart fell into her stomach and she felt tears fill her eyes “I’m so sorry, Colin,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry I’m hurting you,” she joined them in the hall.

Mother’s Day hadn’t been a happy day in Sheridan’s life since her own mother passed away when she was a mere child. She was constantly plagued with pain and loss over the day, usually just allowing it to fade away without thought to its meaning. Even after becoming engaged to Luis the day hadn’t lost its trend of pain. In fact, the previous spring, a blissfully happy Sheridan had been presented the most beautiful of gifts for the child she had been expecting, only to miscarry mere days later at the Youth Center. Luis knew that this day was going to be a particularly hard one for his wife, especially since it would be almost a year since they has lost their baby and suffered one of the worst times during their entire engagement. However, it was their first Mother’s Day with their son and Luis was determined to make it their best.

“Papa,” Colin groaned, rubbing his little eyes as he stood on the wooden kitchen chair. “Why are we up so early?”

Luis chuckled, ruffling his son’s sleep messed hair. “We’re going to make Mama breakfast in bed because today is…”

“Mother’s Day!” Colin remembered abruptly, his little hand tapping his forehead in a slap. “In school we made really ugly cards,” Colin made a face. “The teacher gave us that frilly stuff like on Mama’s dresses.”

“Lace?” Luis asked, looking around for the pancake batter.

“Yea, lace,” Colin nodded. “Gross, girly stuff.”

“So did you make her something else?” Luis questioned, finally finding the ingredients he needed to make Sheridan pancakes, fruit salad and orange juice.

“Yea, Abuela took me shopping and we got Mama a present,” Colin smiled. “Should I go get it?”

“Yea, why don’t you kiddo? That way when breakfast is ready we can bring them into Mama.”

“Kay,” Colin hopped off the chair and ran for his room, leaving Luis to cook.

Luis looked at the tray on the table and sighed. It was set with the necessary eating utensils, a long stem red rose from their garden and a CD he planned to put on while he fed Sheridan her breakfast. He remembered making something similar just before he found out she was pregnant the previous year. Her first bouts with morning sickness had been terrible and the second he started cooking she made a dash for the bathroom. Then Colin came along and the wedding and trial…and life spun out of control. He sighed; just when he had the chance to have a normal life again, Fate took over.

“Papa, do you think she’ll like it?” Colin asked from the doorway, holding up a card and a photo album.

“What’s that?” Luis asked, flipping over the pancakes as Colin climbed back onto the chair.

“Abuela called it a scrape book…”

“Scrapbook,” Luis corrected.

“Whatever,” Colin shrugged, flipping it open to a baby picture of him. “We had the lady at the store make a part for each baby…me,” he grinned. “And the twins,” he rolled his eyes.

“You?” Luis looked over. “Where did you get that picture, Colin?” Luis asked, pulling back the plastic and lifting the photo.

“Uncle Jules,” Colin shrugged. “He had them in a box with pictures of people I never saws before.”

“Like who?”

“Umm, like the man Abuela calls Martin.”

Luis nearly dropped the spatula, catching it just in time. “Really?” he tried to act calm. “And you know where all these pictures are, Colin?”

“Yea! In the special safe!” Colin giggled. “Uncle Jules said I wasn’t s’pose to see it, but it was ok with him just this once.”

Luis smirked. “Thanks, Colin, you’re a lifesaver,” he put the food on a dish and quickly added the fruit and juice. “Ready to bring stuff to Mom?”

“Yup!” he grabbed his gifts and followed his father into the bedroom.

Luis quietly crept into the room, motioning for Colin to be quite as a mouse. He placed the tray on his side of the bed, where the sheets had been unmoved since he had been sleeping in the guest room. That was another sore point on this day for Mothers. Sheridan hadn’t even so much as hugged him since they returned from the hospital and he was growing tired of not having her around. Finding the CD player, he quickly put in one of Sheridan’s favorite CDs and hit play.

“Ok, Colin, on three…”

“One,” the little boy whispered.

“Two,” Luis added seconds later.

“Three,” Sheridan yawned, half asleep.

“Awww, shucks! Mama! You mess it up!”

Sheridan smirked, “Sorry,” she rolled onto her back, using her upper arm strength to push herself into a sitting position. “Good morning, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Go on, kiddo, tell her.”

Colin cleared his throat. “Happy Mother’s Day!” he handed her the card and present.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” she smiled, opening the card and reading Pilar and Colin’s combined message on the inside. It was a promise of love forever to a mother that was heaven sent and included information on the book in her lap. Sheridan immediately flipped it open and her eyes teared. The very first picture was of baby Colin the day at the hospital. “Oh my God,” she cried, tracing his body.

“Mama, don’t cry,” Colin climbed onto the bed and hugged her. “It’s s’pose to make you happy.”

“I am happy, sweetheart. Thank you for this great present,” she kissed his cheek, earning a groan.

“And now, the best part,” Luis moved the album and card for a moment and placed the tray across her legs. “Happy Mother’s Day, Sheridan.”

“Thank you,” she looked at the food. “It looks delicious.”

“And while you eat, I found your favorite CD to play in the background as Colin and I serenade you, right kiddo?”

“Ser…Seren…huh?”

“Sing,” Sheridan defined.

“Oh no way!” Colin took off. “I’m gonna watch cartoons!”

Sheridan giggled. “So much for being serenaded.”

Luis smiled, enjoying the first time she even came close to laughing in days. “Sher?”

“Hm?” she took a bite of her food.

“Mind if I sit with you?” he asked, hitting the play button before nearing the bed.

“Not at all,” she whispered breathlessly as he slid beside her on the king size bed, even picking up her fork to feed her.

“Open up,” he told her.

She did so and savored the taste of the syrup-covered pancake as one of the saddest songs on the CD started to play.

Their eyes connected and Sheridan suddenly found it hard to swallow her pancake. She could tell that Luis hadn’t realized this song was first and his hand dropped the sticky fork onto the tray in her lap. She felt the bed shift before she saw him start to get up, but she immediately reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Let it play,” she requested.

He nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Both knew right away that this song was exactly as they both were feeling. Their marriage couldn’t be more challenging at this point but both knew deep down inside that living without the other would be as hard as living without the air they breathed. They needed each other, depended on each other, loved each other so much that even a separation to give each other breathing room in the same house was physically painful.

“I didn’t know this was the first song,” Luis interrupted, looking away. “I thought, I don’t know what I thought.”

“What do you think now?” she asked, playing with a piece of fruit.

Luis cleared his throat and tried to come up with one coherent thought in his head that he could tell Sheridan, but he couldn’t. He was thinking about a lot of things right now: his son’s confession about pictures in a vault, Sheridan distancing herself from him, his father’s disappearance, their wedding, their lovemaking, their honeymoon…How could he select just one thought to tell her about? Instead, he cupped her cheek and moved closer, his body shifting as close to hers as possible.

“I’m thinking that I can’t stop thinking about everything we’ve had in the past,” he whispered just a hair away. “And I’m thinking that I would love to kiss you right now.”

Sheridan swallowed hard, closing her eyes and trying to drag in a ragged breath. She couldn’t believe how just his touch lit up her body in ways that no man ever had before. Shuddering as his lips neared hers, his warm breath blowing against her skin, she whispered, “But you’ll leave me, Luis.”

He stopped, barely catching what she said before her sad blue eyes opened revealing tears. Slow crystal drops ran down her cheeks, her body starting to quiver from the effort not to cry. “What? Sheridan I won’t leave you?”

“Yes you will,” she sniffled. “You’ll walk out of this room or out of this house and suddenly you’re not my husband but a man on a quest to find his father,” she cried. “And then you’ll have to punish me so that you can have justice and you’ll end up leaving me and I don’t think I can handle that, Luis.”

“Sheridan…”

“No! I can’t handle losing you!”

Luis’ hand fell from her face, absolutely shocked by what she was saying. He had thought of the consequences should Sheridan be tried and convicted for the murder of his father, not that he was even sure there had been a murder. He knew that a Crane would receive only the best in prison accommodations, but he never considered her actually going. She was still his everything and he never even thought he’d present the evidence if Sheridan had been guilty. He couldn’t let her suffer like that, he couldn’t suffer like that and to think that she thought…

Well how could she?

“Sheridan, listen to me.”

“No,” she shook her head. “My father was right all those years ago, Luis. I’m a terrible, horrible girl and I deserve to be punished.”

“Why does it not surprise me that your bastard father was there?” Luis crossed his arms. “Think about it, Sheridan, you were only a child. Do you really think you might have done this? Do you really think you’re capable of killing a man with a letter opener?”

“You thought I was!” she insisted.

“I’m not so sure anymore,” he replied.

“But that that part of you still believes I did it, part of you thinks I killed your father,” she looked down sadly. “And if that little part is right, Luis, then I lose everything I’ve ever dreamed about and everything I know I can’t live without. If they take away you and my children, I’ll die.”

“Sheridan, I…”

“No, Luis,” she looked into his eyes, her body starting to shake as an onslaught of tears came. “I will die if I don’t have you in my life anymore, I know it.” She started crying, her entire body shaking violently with the tears that spilled. No longer could she hold them back or even pretend that she was fine with everything that was going on.

Luis immediately shut the music off, knowing that this was far too upsetting for his wife anymore. He wasn’t going to risk her being hurt because of a silly song and still he knew it was a lot more. Rushing to her side of the bed, Luis sat beside her and took her into his arms, holding her tight against his chest. “Shhh, Sheridan, I won’t let that happen. Angel, I love you and no matter what we find happened to my father, I am not letting you take the fall.”

“What?” she sobbed into his neck.

“I won’t let you take the fall,” he repeated. “If something happened to my father by your hand, I am not going to let you be punished. No one has to know…”

“Luis!”

“No,” he insisted, looking into her red-rimmed eyes. “You mean more to me than anyone else, Sheridan, and I couldn’t bare to be without you one more second than I already have. Ten days apart teaches a man many things, but it teaches him most just who is important to him. I’ve survived seventeen years without a father, Sherry Angel, but I can’t live another day without holding you in my arms.”

“Does this mean…you are going to give up searching?”

“No, but it means that whatever I find goes no further than our home,” he cupped her cheek and brushed away the tears. “Sheridan, I don’t want to be a guest here anymore. I want to be your husband.”

She smiled so brightly her cheeks started hurting. “Luis, I want nothing more than for you to be my husband again! Nothing more!”

He kissed her, soft and sensually, promising tomorrow and forever in one single motion. His hand touched the side of her stomach where their twins lay, nearly seven months developed and almost ready to face the world. As he pulled out of the kiss, he rested his forehead against her and whispered. “Te amo por siempre, Sheridan.“

Her lower lip quivered as she replied. “I love you forever too, Luis.”

Chapter Five