How could he mother do this to him? How could she invite Sheridan to her birthday party this year? It wasn’t right!

But damn did she look good in jean shorts and a tank top, her shoulders bare and tan from the summer sun. Their children were beside her, Anthony looking grim as ever since the divorce three months ago and Emmy looked even shyer, if that was possible. It was amazing how different his children were; Anthony blamed Sheridan and Emmy was too small to understand.

With a sigh, he took a gulp from his beer. Divorcing Sheridan had been the hardest thing he had ever done in his life and he regretted it more and more every day, especially seeing her now. He still loved her; he had meant it when he said it at the law offices. Luis wanted to be with her…

Was dying to be with her.

Closing his eyes he could see the dreams that had plagued him since the divorce papers had been signed. Some man came up to him and offered to grant any one wish he had, his heart’s deepest desire. Anything the in the world he wanted he could have…

Money, power, fame…

He stood there, facing the man as if he was insane, but yet, it was blatantly clear that this man was seriously going to give him anything he wanted…

Anything at all…

Scenes flashed before his eyes and he could see how he would spend the rest of his life. Of course, the first thing that came to mind is what he would do with all the money in the world, but he always imagined himself cold and lonely, much like Julian Crane in his mansion on the hill. He didn’t have his wife or children; he was alone in the world with nothing but money to keep him company…money and “friends.”

Next he envisioned himself in the house of his dreams, six bedrooms spanning two floors and a living room where the entire family could snuggle together. Yet it was empty and bleak, not a person in it but himself. What good was it? Where were the people he loved? Where was his family?

He realized that he had given them up and sighed. What kind of dream reminded you what you didn’t have?

“What’s your choice?” the man asked, and Luis just stared blankly.

What was his choice?

“A man always wants what he can’t have,” he said to the man that was offering the world. “He wants money or power…the typical American dream. He wants good looks or a sports car, something silly and trivial. Something that means nothing when it all comes down to it.”

The other man nodded. “True, but I can give you that. I can give you all the money in the world or the best house in the land. I can give you a woman for both arms or that sleek sports car that I know you’ve been eyeing. I can give you your father back or tell you where your brother is…”

“Next you’ll tell me I can have my promotion,” he mocked. “What good is it all? What I want you couldn’t give me.”

“Try me,” the man smirked. “I told you I could give you anything.”

“Not this.”

“Again…try me.”

Luis closed his eyes and there she stood, a dream within his dream. He smiled. More than anything this is what he wanted. He wanted to go back thirteen years and start again. He wanted to erase the pain he had caused her.

But he couldn’t do that, even in his dreams, so when he opened his eyes he knew right away what he would ask for. He didn’t want money or a mansion…

He wanted her.

Before he knew what he was doing, seven words escaped his mouth:

“I want one more day with Sheridan.”

Unfortunately, that’s where the dream would end. He never did get to see what one more day with her was like, but he knew deep down in his heart that if he had one more chance with Sheridan he would be able to show her that he wanted to start again; he’s be able to begin mending her heart.

“DADDY!” Emmy screamed, her eyes finally settling on him. His eyes shot open as the little girl launched herself into his arms. “Oh Daddy! I miss you!”

Luis nearly choked on the lump in his throat as tears sprang to his eyes. Sheridan wasn’t far away, a frown gracing her beautiful face as she watched the scene unfold. She looked so wounded, so pained, and it was killing him to know he was the cause of it. He had ruined her…spoiled her forever.

“Hey, Emmy,” he pulled his little girl away a little, offering her the best smile he could muster and tapping her nose. “How are you sweets?”

“Oh Daddy, I sad. Mommy cwy all da time,” she pouted, her chin quivering. “Why you no come home?”

Luis’ eyes met Sheridan briefly, before she looked away. She didn’t move quickly enough because he still noticed the unshed tears in her eyes, tears he had caused to form. This was all his fault and it was killing him. He loved her and always would…

What he needed was a second chance.

“Dad doesn’t live with us anymore, stupid,” Anthony grumbled. “He’s a loser, just like Jordan’s father. He left because of us.”

Luis hadn’t noticed his son standing there, but his comments tore his heart from his chest. Is that how Anthony felt? That he was a no good loser that abandoned them? A man that left because life got hard? “Tony, that’s not true. I love you guys, Mom and I had problems.”

“Yea? So? Grown ups are supposed to work things out! You’re not supposed to give up.”

“Daddy, is that true?” Emmy’s sad brown eyes glittered with tears waiting to be shed. “Did you not love us no more?”

“Oh Em…”

“It is!” she screamed, jumping from his lap and running inside her grandmother’s house. “Daddy hates me!” she cried as the door shut.

Luis’ eyes met Anthony’s dark blue ones, “Ton you know…”

“Save it…I hate you for hurting her…for hurting Mom and for leaving me,” he stormed inside to find his little sister.

“Sher…”

She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have come…I told her I shouldn’t have come,” she started to follow his children, feeling the eyes of the guests following her. “You know, Luis, I thought I knew you better. I really did.”

“Sher please…give me a chance to talk to you…”

“Don’t you think you lost that chance when you signed the divorce papers?” she turned her icy blue eyes on him. “Don’t you think you think you lost your chance when Emmy started crying herself to sleep?”

“Yea, but…”

“But what?!”

“I want one more day, Sher…”

She laughed, though it held no mirth. “Another day? Luis, do you really think one day is going to fix eight years of arguments? Ten years of neglect? Do you really think it can rebuild what we lost?” she shook her head. “You’re delusional.”

“I love you.”

“Love wasn’t enough last time, now was it?”

“I want to fix things, damn it Sher, I want my kids to know I love them,” he pleaded.

“You blew it…”

“Please,” he looked into her eyes. “One day, Sheridan, one chance to right the wrongs of my past. If we can make it through one day, then maybe, just maybe, we can do this all over again.” He grabbed her arm, making her face him.

“We’re divorced…we need to move on, Luis. *YOU* need to move on,” her eyes looked into his. “One more day isn’t going to fix things…not after the names you called me, after the things we said.”

“I think it can. I was stupid…”

“You said it, not me,” she pulled her arm away, turning her back and heading for the back door of the house.

“Sheridan, if you ever loved me, if you even love me the tiniest bit right now…if you even have a dream that things could have been different, you’ll let me have one more day.”

She sighed. He wasn’t playing fair. This was supposed to be over with. Lifting her head to the skies she said a silent prayer, begging for guidance. Before she knew what she was doing, she nodded. “One day, Luis. You have one day to prove that in three months you’ve changed.”

“Thank you…when?”

“Tomorrow, pick us up at ten.”

“Nine…”

“Nine-thirty. If you’re even two minutes late, it’s done with.”

“I’ll be there,” he vowed.

She nodded and went inside. Her biggest fear was that he would actually keep this promise and show.

He had no intention of not showing and when his clock read nine am, he climbed into his car and headed across town to meet her. As he drove, he prayed that these twenty-four hours with Sheridan would be the slowest in his life. He had the day off, his cell phone not only off but the battery removed and the pieces thrown into the trunk. Beside it lay his beeper, neither was going to take him from his family. He had no intention of being indoors today, because he didn’t want a sports game to keep him from Sheridan and the children. He was determined to make thirteen years right and show Sheridan that the two of them could be together again.

‘What exactly will I do if today works?’ he wondered, glancing at the flowers beside him on the seat and the picnic basket that lay on the floor of the car. Would he ask her to give him another chance at marriage too? How far would one day go? How much could he accomplish?

Would one day be enough?

Probably not, but he was willing to try it and he wasn’t going to give up just yet. He was giving this a shot and the best damn shot he could.

As he parked in front of her little house, he checked his watch: nine-twenty. Better early than late. He climbed out and walked to the door, thanking God for Sheridan giving him this one chance.

Sheridan opened the door, her hair done nicely and her body looking good in another pair of jean shorts and a tank covered by a button up shirt. It was blue, bringing out her eyes just right. He sighed; God she was gorgeous.

“Hello,” he smiled weakly. “For you,” he offered her the flowers.

She inhaled their scent. “I can’t remember the last time you brought me flowers.”

“Valentine’s day, seven years ago,” he grumbled. “I guess I wasn’t the doting husband…”

“You weren’t the doting ANYTHING,” she replied bitterly.

“Ok, can we call a truce for twenty-four hours, Sher? I want this to work and it won’t if we pick fights for no reason.”

She nodded. “I’ll try, but old habits die hard.”

He chuckled. “Don’t I know it? Might I say you’re looking beautiful this morning?”

She smiled and blushed, wishing he would have said things like this before the divorce. “Thank you, Luis. You’re not looking bad either.”

“I had to look good, I have a hot date with this gorgeous blond and her two kids…”

She shook her head. “Flattery might get you somewhere, Luis, but I’m not sure where just yet.”

“I love you…”

“Don’t…please.”

“I’m telling the truth,” he looked into her eyes. “I would never lie about that.”

“I know…which is why I wish you wouldn’t say it. When today is over, Luis, we’re back where we started and knowing you still love me and couldn’t make it…”

He placed a finger over her lips. “Let’s not go into this wishing it would fail. If we try, Sheridan, maybe we can start again…”

“You only asked for a day…”

“If today works I want to ask for a week…”

“And if it doesn’t?” she asked, looking into his eyes.

“Then I’ll be happy with just one more chance to hold you, one more day to be the father and husband I should have been all along,” he replied. “But I want this to work, Sheridan.”

She nodded, letting him into the house and whispering, “So do I, Luis. So very much.”

“Daddy?” Emmy flew down the hallway. “Daddy, that you?”

“Yea, baby, it’s Daddy,” he responded, kneeling down to be her height. She flew into his open arms, her little lips kissing his face and cheeks.

“Oh Daddy! I knew you come back! I knew it!” her arms wrapped around his neck.

“Daddy’s here for a day with the two most beautiful women in his life and his favorite man. I’m here to spend time with my family.”

“Wif me?” her eyes were wide. “Wif me and Mommy and Antnee?”

“Yes, with you and Mommy and Anthony,” he chuckled. “If you’ll let me,” he asked her, giving her puppy dog eyes.

She giggled. “Duh, Daddy,” she rolled her eyes, eliciting a laugh from her father.

Sheridan sighed. Why wasn’t he like this all along? He would have saved them both a lot of heartache if he had showed this much interest before. She felt incredibly stupid right now; she was sure what she was doing was going to ruin her children, scar them for life. This had to be giving her daughter false hope that Luis would work his way back into their life and come back home for good…

After all it WAS giving HER false hope that her ex-husband would be able to work through this with her and that they would remarry some day.

Dear Lord, she didn’t just wish that this would work, did she?

Oh God, she did!

She should have known one day wouldn’t be enough. With a sigh, she walked past Luis and Emmy and towards the hall. “Come on, Tony, your Dad’s here.”

Tony came out of his room, a baseball cap on backwards, his bat in one hand and his glove and ball in the other. Sheridan had told him they would work a game of baseball into the day; she had promised and if he knew one thing, she always kept her promises. “Do I gotta go?”

“Of course, Tony, we’re all going. Dad wants to…he wants to spend the day with us. Come on Ton, at least try for me.”

“Why? One day isn’t going to fix it right?”

Damn perceptive little boy, wasn’t he? She gave him a hug, “We don’t know, Tony, we’re going into this blind. I just really want to give him one day…it’s all he asked for and…”

“You couldn’t say no. Yea yea, I know,” he huffed, his reaction much like Luis’ had been.

She fixed his baseball cap, “Ok, go say hi while I get the sunscreen and my sunglasses.”

“Ok, Mom,” he trotted off into the living room and she sighed.

‘Please God, just let me get through this and then I won’t have to see him except when I drop the children off for visitation,’ she prayed.

And still she wondered if one day would be enough!

He took them to the park and where he even pushed Sheridan on the swings. They played baseball and soccer with another family and chased each other around. He had provided lunch and they had a picnicked by the lake where they used to feed the ducks. Luis and Sheridan watched as the remainder of the food was fed to the birds of the park by the hands of their children. Meantime they snuggled, acting like the married couple they hadn’t been. His arm was around her as Emmy napped on the blanket, tired from her dashing about in the warm summer sun.

“Today has been wonderful,” she whispered, her head on his shoulder. “I didn’t think it would be.”

“Took a leap of faith for you to come with me,” he kissed the top of her head. “But I have one more thing planned, but for that we need to go to the beach.”

“The beach?” she asked, her eyes meeting his. “We haven’t gone to the beach since Em was born…”

“I guess it’s time we go again, no?” he smiled.

She nodded, grinning.

“Sheridan…I…”

“I love you too,” her eyes teared, cutting him off. “One day…”

“I know…but I was hoping…”

“Let’s see if we can make it through tonight before we worry about tomorrow.”

He nodded. “Come on, Sher, let’s get moving.”

She sighed and helped him pack up, lifting Emmy from the blanket and following him to the car. They all settled in, tired but ready for one more surprise from Luis. The final surprise before his day was through.

They walked along the sand, their feet bare and their hands link as the children skipped ahead. The sun was setting over the water, causing the sky to turn pink and purple and reflecting beautifully in the ocean waves.

His arm slid around her waist, pulling her close. “One more sunset together…”

She swallowed hard her eyes tearing. “Only one?”

“It doesn’t have to be…it could be two…ten…a thousand.”

“A lifetime’s worth?” she asked, her eyes meeting his. “Can you promise a lifetime’s worth?”

“If that’s what you want. Sheridan, what I did…what we did, it was stupid! It was the stupidest move I ever made and God help me I’ll always regret it. I’m not happy now, I haven’t been happy in months. I want to be happy again and today showed me just how to do it. We can compromise…we can fix what’s been wrong.”

“We’re divorce,” she mumbled, looking down.

He gently lifted her chin to look into her eyes. “We can remarry…each other.”

She looked deep into his eyes, searching his soul for the truth. “I want to…I want to go back to what we had those years ago…when we got married in the church and swore forever.”

“I’ll swear it again, Sheridan.”

“Will you mean it?”

“I never didn’t mean it; I always meant it.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” he leaned in slowly. “Love you so much,” his lips met hers and they kissed in the sunset, the hues around them making them seem to glow. Their children stopped and watched, their little hands linked, Anthony’s olive skin contrasting Emmy’s pale white.

“They all betta?” she asked her brother.

“For now,” he sighed, looking them over. “For now.”

“Daddy come home?”

“Yea,” Anthony put his arm around his sister. “He’s coming home.”

Luis pulled away and smiled, “We both knew that one day would never be enough, didn’t we?”

She nodded, tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks. “Yea, we did. I knew being with you today wouldn’t be enough for me, Luis…I’m afraid.”

“So am I, we can be scared and comfort each other,” he promised.

“Do you really think we can make this work? We don’t have the most positive track record,” she attempted to joke, offering him a weak smile.

“I think that we are two VERY stubborn people that are bound to make this work if we really want to, Sheridan, and damn it, I want to.”

“Me too,” she grinned. “Do we do anything the easy way?”

“Oh hell no, if we did we wouldn’t have made it to the wedding day. We were terrible together in the beginning.”

“I don’t know, I think we had a charm about us,” she teased. “Thank you for today…”

“Thank you for the chance to show you I’m not a scum bag that should be a memory…”

“Now now, I never used the words scum bag…”

He laughed. “True, you used worse.”

She pecked his lips. “So when do we get married?”

“Tomorrow…the next day…as soon as we can, because if you think I’m letting you get away this time, you’re dead wrong.”

“I wouldn’t dream of getting away,” she hugged him. “I don’t ever want to be away from you again…not for a moment…”

“Never,” he kissed the top of her head.

They did get married, in the same little church with the same priest and the same family present. Their vows were different this time, personally written just for them and their…unique…situation. They learned to compromise, using her money when necessary and enjoying their life together. Luis and Sheridan bought the house they always dreamed of and picked up where they left off…

Before they knew it, they were pregnant again and she was having twins, much to her doctor’s chagrin. A boy and a girl…

They named them Valentine Love and Ian Michael, born on Valentine’s Day after eighteen hours of labor and more cursing than Sheridan had done in her entire life. But he got his one more day…

And then some…

Life was good…

But Fate has some terrible twists and the two of them were never ready for them….

And when it was finally over only four would survive…

The End

Story Four: Forever Love

Disclaimer:
This story in is in no way meant to infringe upon the rights belonging to , NBC, or any entity thereof. All rights to Passions and any related content, including characters used, belong to "Outpost Farms Production Inc", James E. Reilly, and NBC.
This story is the property of the author. Copyright 2001. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without the written permission of the author.
One More Day- Copyright © 2001 - All Rights Reserved.