Previously in Spring Break -
When we last left our handsome Latin lover Luis, he was leaving the
grave
site of his beloved wife Sheridan. You were probably wondering what
the hell
is going on, how could she kill Sheridan, or did she? *evil grin* And
now I
present to you the LONG awaited sequel to Spring Break.......
Chapter 1:
Luis slowly pulled his police cruiser over to the side of the road in
front
of his mother Pilar's house. He reluctantly turned off the engine of
his
jeep and again found himself lost in memory.
*Flashback*
Luis had just arrived home from pulling a double shift at the station
and was
looking forward to some down time and a nice cold beer before Sheridan
and
their daughter Isabelle returned home from his mother's house. He took
a
manly gulp of the ice cold liquid and hit the play button on the
answering
machine on his way over to the couch. As he sat down, he was surprised
to
hear his mother's voice over the machine, "Luis it's Mama, I don't know
if
you have talked to Sheridan but she was supposed to pick up Izzy about
an
hour ago and I haven't heard from her since this morning. Call me when
you
get home and I will bring her over, Bye." Luis was about to pick up
the
phone when there was a knock at the door. He casually strolled over to
the
door thinking that Sheridan must have forgotten her house key again and
decided to make her wait. When he opened the door, he was shocked to
find an
obviously distraught Sam standing on the other side. "Hey Chief, I was
just
settling in with a cold one, care to join me?" Luis said motioning for
Sam
to come in. "No Luis not now." Luis sensed there was something
bothering
Sam, "What's going on Sam, is there something wrong with Grace or the
kids?"
Sam's eyes glanced away from Luis and towards the window, "No Luis,
Grace and
the kids are fine." "Well there is definitely something bothering you.
Come
on, you can tell me anything." Again, Sam could not look directly at
his
longtime friend, "Luis, I don't know how to tell you this but you
better sit
down." Luis felt his stomach knot up as Sam proceeded to explain to
him the
events surrounding Sheridan's deadly car crash. Even after Sam
explained
things twice, Luis still wasn't processing what he was telling him. "I
don't
understand, she's gone? She can't be gone, I just talked to her this
morning." The word 'talked' echoed in his head. The realization hit
him
like a ton of bricks, he would never be able to hold her, kiss her,
make love
to her again. His world came crashing down around him and he broke
down in
front of Sam.
*End Flashback*
Luis came back from reality when he heard a gentle knock on the window
next
to him. There staring at him lovingly was a little replica of
Sheridan,
except for the big brown eyes which she inherited from her father.
Luis
slowly rolled down the window and tried to keep a straight face,
"Isabelle
Lopez-Fitzgerald, what are you doing outside all by yourself?" "Daddy,
grandma is right over there, she said I could come and get you!!" Luis
jumped out of the car and scooped up his daughter and ran toward the
house
with her under his arm like a sack of potatoes.
After spinning her
around in
the air, he put her down and sent her in to the backyard to play. He
and
Pilar made there way in to the kitchen where Beth greeted them with a
fresh
pitcher of lemonade.
Pilar went outside leaving Beth and Luis in the kitchen to talk.
"Luis,"
Beth said making her way over to where he was standing, "Pilar was just
telling me that you and Izzy are going to spend a few weeks in Spain
before
Ethan and Theresa's wedding. Why don't I come along and keep you two
company?" Beth questioned, gently caressing Luis' shoulder.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 2:
Luis couldn't take it anymore, the painful memory of his and Sheridan's wedding and her untimely death hit him right then and there and as he began to break down, Beth was right there to comfort him. "Shhh, Luis it's all right, I am here, let it out" she said as she pulled him in for a loving hug. "I'm sorry Beth, I just can't do this anymore, I try to be happy for Ethan and Theresa but every time I think of there up coming wedding the memories of mine and Sheridan's come flooding back" Luis said, trying to compose himself. "Luis it's ok, that's what I am are here for, you know you can count on me for anything!" "Thanks Beth, if it weren't for you and Mama helping out with Izzy I would never have gotten by. Thanks for the offer but I just need some time alone with Izzy before the big wedding, it will help me get through it" Luis pulled Beth in for another hug and just then, Hank came strolling in to the kitchen.
"And what is going on here, are you making a move on my lovely wife?" Hank wearing a cocky grin jokingly punched Luis in the arm and made his way over to Beth and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "So, what are you two talking about, or is it some big secret?" "Hun, quit acting like a jackass, you're not in high school anymore and if you don't, you just might find yourself sleeping at the B&B tonight!!" "Sorry dear, I see those pregnancy hormones are acting up again. Why didn't you warn me Luis, did Sheridan act this way when she was pregnant with Izzy?"
Beth immediately flashed Hank an icy glare making a mental note to slap him upside the head when they got home. Luis, who had busied himself preparing Izzy's snack just laughed at Hank and Beth's squabble but what Hank said triggered his memory of a time when he too found himself almost sleeping in a cold bed.
*Flashback
"Damn it Luis, did I not say COLORED SPRINKLES?" Luis had just gotten back from another midnight craving run for Sheridan and he knew she would not be pleased with the chocolate sprinkles on her ice cream but the store had been out of them and he thought she would be happy with what she got, boy was he wrong.
"I'm sorry but the place was closing and they only had the chocolate ones left....." "Save it Luis, I highly doubt that every ice cream place in Harmony just happened to be out of colored sprinkles tonight!" Luis couldn't believe how Sheridan was acting but he knew it was because of the pregnancy so he tried to be calm. "Honey, it's after midnight, I was not about to go driving all around Harmony in my boxers just to find you colored sprinkles!!!"
"And why the HELL NOT? All I asked is for this one simple favor." Luis walked over to Sheridan and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, "Sheridan I love you, but these simple favors have turned in to a nightly ritual and right now I am too tired to get in to it so I am going to bed, are you coming?" "OH no you don't, no colored sprinkles NO nice warm bed for you tonight!!"
Luis was in shock, "Excuse me, there is no way you are kicking me out of my own bed Sheridan!!" "Correction Luis, it's MY warm bed and this is MY cottage and what I say goes!!" Sheridan regretted what she said the minute it came out of her mouth because she knew exactly what Luis was going to say.
"FINE, you want to play the high and mighty CRANE then go right ahead, when you get off your throne give me a call, I am going to Mama's!" With that, Luis stormed out of the house.
Sheridan tried to catch him before he took off but she was too late, his was in his car and out of sight before she knew it so she decided to call her mother in law and warn her that Luis would be there in seconds and to have him come home. Pilar just laughed at Sheridan and told her she would send Luis back home in a few minutes.
When Pilar told Luis Sheridan had called he just laughed and got back in the car and headed home, pleased of the fact that he knew she couldn't sleep a night without him.
When he got back to the cottage, Sheridan was waiting for him outside the front door wearing nothing but a smile, the minute he saw her he knew he was going to make her pay for what she said.....
*End Flashback*
Again Luis was brought back to reality by little hands tugging on his pant leg. "Hey sweetie, are you ready to go for a ride on the big airplane?" Izzy giggled as Luis picked her up and gave her eskimo kisses on her nose, "Daddy stop that twickles. I want to go on the airplane!!"
"Well, just wait munchkin, tomorrow we are going on the airplane and I am going to take you to the most beautiful place in the world.....Spain."
*Meanwhile, off in the land called Spain*
"Doctor, Doctor come quickly!!" The nurse franticly ran through the halls looking for the doctor and when she found him, she whisked him away to the secluded area of the hospital. When he arrived, he saw what the nurse was so upset about and rushed to make the phone call he never thought he would have to make.
"This better be important!!" A husky voice greeted the doctor. "Sir, she's awake, the patient is awake....."
To Be Continued...
Chapter 3:
"What do you mean she's awake?" the man questioned intently, not sure if he heard correctly.
"That is what I said sir, the patient is awake and quite frankly it's a miracle. We never thought that after so long this would happen! I was correct in thinking you wanted to be notified if there was any change in her condition right sir?" the soft spoken doctor tried to conceal the hesitation in his voice, unsure of how the man would react to the news.
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone while the man, known only to the doctor and his staff as 'Mr. A', slowly puffed away on his Brandy laced cigar. Finally his calm, yet eerie voice echoed through the doctor's ears.
"Do nothing till you hear from me again and DO NOT let anyone besides your staff near her!!!"
The doctor then heard the click of the dial tone and proceeded to summon his most trusted staff member to his office.
After he and his colleague gathered in his office, the doctor proceeded to explain why he had called him there.
"As you know, for a little over a year now, we have been tending to a woman who presumably was injured in a car crash back in the states. Up until a few months ago, I had no reason to doubt the cause of her being in a coma. However, when I ran a few routine blood tests, not all of the results came back within normal range so I proceeded to run more in-depth tests. I just received the test results this morning and unfortunately they confirmed my earlier suspicions."
"What suspicions were those Juan?" the younger doctor questioned.
"From the test results I just received I can tell you with ut most certainty that this woman has not been in a coma for so long because of the car crash. The crash may have been a contributing factor at first, but not anymore."
The doctor looked at the older man with some confusion, he knew were his explanation was leading but didn't know for sure how it could be true.
"I can see you are a bit confused, let me explain further. One test I ran specifically checks for a certain coma inducing drug which came back positive on the test readout.
Now this particular drug is only effective when administered on a regular basis, which means that if the patient is given the drug continually they will remain in a coma indefinitely but if there is a lapse in dosage, the patient can regain consciousness. I believe this is what has happened in our patients case, whoever has been administering the drug to her must have missed a dose here and there thus leading to her coming out of a coma."
The younger doctor again spoke up, "So what you are saying is that someone here in the clinic has been secretly giving this drug to the patient without anyone knowing what was going on?"
"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying and that is why we need to take action immediately before whoever has been giving her the drug starts the regime again. Or worse, decides to finish the job once and for all"
"What do you have in mind, we can't just up and move her to another clinic, the closest one is over one hundred miles away. The only other alternative is to move her to one of our houses, where one of us can monitor her condition daily."
"I am glad you brought that up Lopez, that's exactly what I was thinking too. I have contacted Mr. A but I have a strange feeling that he is somehow involved in this whole situation which means under no circumstances does what I have just told you leave this room, is that understood?"
"Yes of course Juan, I understand completely, we have no idea who could have done this and it's better if just the two of us know about this. I know you have a family at home and it would be hard explaining to them why there was going to be a house guest so why don't we move her to my house. I would only have to explain to one of my family members and plus my home is closer to the clinic just incase complications arise."
"Ok then it's set, at dusk tonight we will move her. Why don't we go and talk with her now just to let her know what's going to happen, then once she is settled you can give her more details."
~Later that night~
"Are you comfortable, is there anything I can get for you?"
"No, thank you I am fine. Would it be all right if I got some sleep, I can hardly keep my eyes open and my head is throbbing." the woman strained her voice to ask.
"Yes of course, get some sleep and we can talk in the morning when you are more rested. Goodnight!"
"Night."
~Outside the room~
An older man stopped short and listened intently at the door while his son bid goodnight to some strange woman. That voice he thought, why did it sound so familiar to him? The way she said 'night' he knew he recognized that from somewhere but where was the question. The soft tone and sweetness in her voice reminded him of......
"NO it couldn't be, not after all these years....."
To Be Continued...
Chapter 4:
~Enroute to Spain
"DAAAAAADDDDY, when are we going to be there??" little Izzy had had enough of plane riding for one day and was ready to experience other things besides coloring.
"Sweetie, I told you this was going to be a VERY long flight but I promise, once we get to Spain you will be able to have so much more fun!! Just close your eyes and before you know it we will be landing." Luis tried to reassure his daughter in hopes that she would calm down for the rest of the flight. Whoever said traveling with children was enjoyable had no idea what they were talking about!
In no time flat Izzy was curled up in a ball sound asleep on her father's lap. Luis couldn't help but notice how much she looked like her mother Sheridan....unfortunately she would only know her mother through pictures and memories from the people who cared deeply about her.
Luis was still unable to piece together the puzzle caused by Sheridan's death. There were so many questions left unanswered: Why was her body never found? She had said that she had no out of town plans that day so why in the hell was her car found half hanging over a bridge that lead to a neighboring town?
Of course Luis raised these questions and launched a full scale investigation immediately following her death. Everyone begged him to let it go and even Sam tried to convince him that Sheridan's body must have fallen in to the river because the driverside door was adjar. After numerous times dredging the river and coming up empty handed, the search was finally called off and Sheridan was pronounced dead.
The funeral was small and quaint with only close family members in attendance. Luis wasn't surprised that Alistair didn't even bother to show up to pay his last respects but the one person who did shock him was Julian. After the service ended Julian asked to speak privately with Luis where he apologized numerous times for ever causing problems between him and Sheridan and practically begged Luis to allow him to see his only niece. Luis was taken aback at first but after seeing that Julian had straightened himself out and recommitted himself to his wife and children, he happily obliged to Julian's request.
Luis regretted so much that Sheridan wasn't able to see the change in her brother and was never able to reestablish her relationship with him. He was so wonderful with Izzy too! Always offering to watch her if Luis had to work extra hours at the station or just stopping by to pick her up on the weekends to take her to the park. Things that Sheridan would never be able to share with them.....
Luis had found himself drifting off to sleep but was awoken by the flight attendant announcing their upcoming arrival in Spain. He gently situated Izzy in her seat and refastened her seatbelt and did the same with his own.
Soon he thought, soon he would be able to relive the memories he and Sheridan created while traveling together and create new ones with his darling daughter.
Little did he know what surprises and shocking revelations this trip would bring to him and his family....
To Be Continued...
Chapter 5:
Luis and Izzy arrived at their hotel with no delays. After alerting the family that they had gotten there safely, Luis decided that it would be best for them to just spend a quiet evening in the hotel, that way the following day he and Izzy would be fully rested and ready to start their fun.
The Next Morning~
Lopez was in the kitchen preparing a small breakfast for his in-home patient when his father emerged from his bedroom.
"Good morning, can I pour you a cup of coffee papa?"
"Yes, thank you. I didn't sleep much last night and I could use the refresher."
"Here you go! Before you start asking questions let me explain why there is a strange woman sleeping in our guest bedroom..."
"Antonio, you don't have to justify when or why you bring a female companion to the house. You are plenty old enough to make your own decisions and I trust in the ones you make." Martin didn't want to pry to much for fear that his son wouldn't tell him the real reason behind their guests visit but deep down he was itching for more information.
"Papa, first of all I am in NO way involved with this woman, she's actually a patient of mine! The only reason she is here is because we had some trouble at the clinic and instead of Juan having to explain to his whole family why there was some strange woman staying at their house, we decided it would be easier for her to stay here and I hope you understand."
"Of course I understand son, but what's this about trouble at the clinic? Anything that I can help you with?"
"I can't go in to detail about what's going on but I can tell you that it's in the patients best interest for her to be staying here rather than the clinic. I am going to take her in breakfast now but I have a huge favor to ask you...."
"Anything I can do to help I am willing."
"Great!! I have to run over to the clinic and pick up some supplies. While I am gone would you mind keeping an eye on her and if she needs anything helping her out?"
"Sure, not a problem, take your time!"
Martin was delighted to oblige because this way it would give him a chance to see if the person residing in his home was indeed who he presumed her to be.
~A Few Hours Later~
Martin heard something fall in the guest bedroom so he went to check on things. As he gently tapped on the door and entered he noticed the startled look on the woman's face.
"I'm sorry, don't be alarmed, my son is your doctor and he asked me to check in on you to see if you needed anything."
"Please come in! I was trying to reach for the glass of orange juice and I knocked over one of the dishes, I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, here let me get you that glass of orange juice."
"Thank you! I am usually not this clumsy but I feel so weak and tired."
"That's to be expected, you've been through a lot from what I heard! Here you go.." he handed her the glass of orange juice and extended his hand to her "Feel free to call me Marty."
"Thank you again Marty and please call me....ummm I don't know exactly what you can call me! I honestly have no idea what my name is, but I did overhear some nurses mention the name Katherine so for now, I guess you can call me that."
"Well Katherine........, why don't you get some rest and if you need anything don't hesitate to ask!"
"Thank you again, I will try."
Martin exited the room closing the door behind him and made his way back in to the kitchen. He nearly fell over before he reached the chair. How could this be happening he thought, after all this time, what were the odds of not only seeing a member of the family who had torn his own family apart but to have her staying in his own house?
There was no doubt in his mind that the woman laying in the opposite room was in fact who he thought it was. When she was a little girl he used to play with her whenever he had the time because her own father never did and she had even played with his own children on occasion. Sure she was grown now but she was the spitting image of her mother and from what it seemed she had her kind heart as well. Now the only question was just what was he going to do?
He whispered to himself, "She may look like Katherine but that is not her name, she's none other than Sheridan Crane and why do I think Alistair is up to his old tricks again?"
To Be Continued...
