Disclaimer: I only own myself and any other new characters that pop up a long the way, expect for characters that have been mentioned but have not be given life. I am working for Lennie Marie Inc., well not really working for them but they sponsor my story and my writings. Elizabeth is just a pen name, there is a real person around here somewhere. NBC and the creators, directors, and such are the ones that own Passions and I just borrowing the characters to play with. I promise to put them back where I found them when I am done. Thanks! Bye! Harmony: Homecomings by Annabelle Chapter 4 Harmony Bus Station Paloma Lopez-Fitzgerald stepped off the commuter bus, which had picked her up in Boston, with her two bags of luggage in hand. She turned her face to the sun as pleasant breeze blew her shoulder length hair around. It had been too long since she had been in Harmony, but now she was back and she was here to stay. Paloma as began to walk down the street towards the center of Harmony she thought of that awful night when she was told that she had to be sent away. Paloma and Theresa had gotten out of bed and made their way to the kitchen because they heard their parents yelling at each other. They both knew that it was very rare for their Mama and Papa to fight and they wanted to know what was going on. "No Martin, we can't do this. I won't let this happen, we can't just send her away, what will the other children think," Pilar yelled, voice filled with anguish. By this time Martin had calmed down and knew that yelling at his wife would not help his case and would only wake their beloved children. "Pilar we have to, we don't have a choice. I have gotten too close, when Julian and his father find out they will destroy us. If we send all the children at once they will suspect something is wrong. She will not be alone for long. We'll just wait a month, then we'll send Miguel, and then over a period of time we will join her. It won't be for long I promise. We just have to do it this way so that the Cranes will not notice what is going on." Pilar began to cry, "I just don't understand why we have to send her by herself. She will be so scared." "I know, but you and I both know there are other reasons for sending her first. This is something we would have had to do anyway. It's all going to be okay. She is strong and she will know how to take care of herself," Martin walked over to where she was sitting and hugged her. "It will all be okay I promise." Theresa and Paloma closed the kitchen door quietly and walked back to their room. They crawled back into bed. Paloma was only 5 years old and she was very scared by what her parents were saying because she knew that they were talking about her. She let out a soft cry. Theresa, the older of the two, heard Paloma's cry. "Pali don't cry. Everything will be okay, you heard what Papa said. I won't be scared when I go, so you should not be scared now. I will be brave just like Papa wants us all to be. Don't cry Pali, everything will be fine." Theresa went over to her little sister and hugged her. Paloma started to cry even more at what Theresa was saying. "Resa," Paloma started to say between sniffles and sobs, "they... they aren't talking about sending you away. They... they are talking about sending me away." Theresa knew better to argue with her sister because she knew that she would not listen. She kept her arms wrapped around little Pali until she stopped crying and fell asleep. A few days later Mama and Papa told them that the were going to send Paloma to live with their Aunt Maria for awhile, and that they would all join her later. They told them not to ask questions, because in order to protect them they could not answer any questions that they might have. So after she was packed little Pali was put on a boat to go live with her Aunt Maria. A few days later she heard about her father disappearing. She talked to her mother on the phone and begged to be allowed to come home. The truth was though that Pilar could not support Luis, Theresa, and Miguel; so having Paloma stay with her Aunt Maria was better for everyone. What Paloma did not understand was why she was never allowed to go back for family events. On her brothers or sister's birthday Aunt Maria always found something for them to do that prevented them from going to Harmony. Finally this year Aunt Maria had trusted Paloma enough to leave her alone for two weeks, so the first thing that Paloma did was to buy a ticket back to Harmony. Then she packed everything she had and left a note for her Aunt Maria telling her not to worry and thanking her for taking such good care of her. Now Paloma was on her way home. 'Home,' she thought to herself and she wondered how many things had changed. She felt both happy and scared at the same time. Maybe she should wait a little bit until everyone would be at home from work and school before going to the family's new home; well it was new to her anyway. She knew the address well from writing letters to Resa, but when she was living in Harmony the family had been housed in a cottage on Crane property. Now though the cottage belonged to Sheridan Crane, whom, she learned from her sister, her brother Luis was in love but did not even know it yet. She had found out from the last letter that Resa had written that Sheridan had left Harmony for Paris and that Luis went after her because he had a feeling that she was in danger, so she did not have to worry about running into him. She would just go to the Book Café, get something to eat, and wait awhile until she went home. Harmony Police Station Hank walked back into the police station with his head hung a little lower than normal. He had just had to make a very tough choice but he knew that he had made the right one. Sure his colleague would be mad at him for not getting the mad him for not getting the money returned on time but he had to do this for his buddy, after all he had done some many nasty things to him these last few weeks that he owed him. Hank had thought the whole thing through, he was just going to have to find another way to pay back his colleague, right now he needed to get Luis out of jail. "Hi Hank," Fred the bail officer said to him as he approached the desk. "Hey if you are looking to post Luis's bail then you can forget it, it's already been done. Luis left half an hour ago." Hank was so shocked he didn't know what to say. Who would have posted Luis's bail? It couldn't have been his family. They didn't have the kind of money. Sheridan would did not even want to see Luis, but then maybe she had realized that she had gone too far. Still, Luis would never let her pay the bail. "Hank you ok?" Fred asked with a bit of concern in his voice. Hank came back to reality. "Yeah I am fine. Who posted the bail? I know that it was a pretty penny." "Yeah it was, that's what you get for getting mixed up with the Cranes. Anyway, it was some well-dressed girl. I swear she did not look more than seventeen years old but she was throwing money around like, well like she was a Crane," Fred looked down at the papers in front of him and shock over took his face. "No it's not possible, the is no way that she could be who it says she is." "What do you mean, what isn't possible for her to be who it says she is?" This mystery girl intrigued Hank. "Well it says here that she is Mrs. Alistair Crane, but that can't be right. I mean it just doesn't fit." "Why wouldn't it fit, just because she is Theresa's age. I am sure old man Crane is not above marrying for looks," Hank rolled his eyes. "Well it's just that . . . well I mean she was . . ." "Just spit it out Fred," Hank was starting to get annoyed with him "She was a Latina," Fred finally finished. At first Hank did not understand what her being Latin would have to do with her not being able to be a Crane, then Hank realized what Fred was saying. It was the same reason that he had given to Luis when he was trying to get him to give up on Sheridan; people like the Crane's did not marry outside of their racial set. Well Sheridan was not like that, but Alistair and Julian were very strong about sticking with their own kind, at least it always seemed that way. "Well I guess old Alistair is trying to change with the times," Hank really did not know what else to say. Fred just shrugged in agreement. "Anyway, Scott asked me to tell you that Luis said that he would call you tomorrow and explain everything," Fred informed Hank as he started to work on the paperwork that was in front of him. "So much for the food I bought for him." Before he had a chance to ask Fred held up his hand. "Sorry man, my wife packed me a meal today, she'd shove down my throat if I came home with it untouched." Hank shook his head. "Must be nice. Well I guess I'll just have to save it for my dinner tonight. See ya around Fred," Hank headed towards the door of the station. "Have a nice evening Hank," Fred waved goodbye. Hank walked outside and looked around. He really did not want to go home just yet, it was still pretty early and he did not want to really put up with his brother pestering him about if he was going to stay in Harmony for good this time. Maybe he would head back over to the Book Café and find something to read, figure out a way to make some more cash. Hank heard his cell phone ring. He took it out of his pocket and looked at it. He decided that it was not worth answering it, threw it in a near by trashcan, and headed towards the Book Café. Book Café Pali felt a little weird at first when she walked into the Book Café, she noticed that the one of the girls behind the counter was staring at her. Pali had an excellent memory, and although she had only seen the girl a few times she knew that this girl was named Beth. Resa had told her about Beth, how she and Luis dated for almost all of high school, and how everyone that the were going to get married, but then Luis had ended the relationship because he could not give a full commitment, which he thought he needed to do. Pali looked at Beth and trying to see if Beth remembered her and also trying to figure out what kind of person she was. Beth knew that the girl who had just walked into the Book Café had figured out that she was staring at her, but she just could not help it, the girl seemed familiar, well there was only one way to find out. "Can I help you miss?" Beth asked hoping that hearing the girl's voice would jog her memory. "I would like a peach scone and small raspberry cream latté please," Paloma replied trying not to cringe at the woman's fake sweetness. She knew then that her brother and unknowingly made the right decision by ending his relationship with this woman, for although she was kind, this woman did not know what the meaning of true love was. Pali sighed happy that her brother's subconscious was active enough to prevent him from making such a mistake, sure Beth would found out what true love was, but she would not find it with Luis. She just hoped that it would prevent her brother from falling for Sheridan Crane. Although Paloma knew that Sheridan was not directly evolved with having her sent away, she was still a Crane and anyone that was a part of that family was to blame for her being kept from her own. "Excuse me miss?" Beth's voice showed concern, she had been trying to get this girls attention for the last few minutes. She had not been able to place where she knew this girl from but she knew her. Paloma shook herself back to reality, "Oh, I am sorry what did you say?" "I said that your scone and latté were ready and the total comes to $5.75." Beth placed the scone and cup of coffee in front of her and waited to be paid. Paloma gave her the money and took her meal to the nearest table and began to think about her brother again. She was so glad that Luis hated the Crane's as much as she did, he would never even try to get involved with one, he was not like Theresa. She would make sure that Resa got over Ethan, one why or another. What she did not understand was why Luis went after Sheridan, well it did not really matter as long as he fall in love with her. Pali's youthful looks turned into a glare the more and more she thought about Luis and Sheridan together. As soon as he came back from Paris she was going to make sure that he stayed as far away from Sheridan as earthly possible, she did not care if he thought he loved her or not, she was a Crane, therefore she was evil. "Hey there, if you keep your face all scrunched up like that it is going to stay that way, and you wouldn't want to ruin a face as beautiful as yours now would you?" Hank said looking down at her. "Hank!" Pali jumped up from her sit and threw her arms around him. Hank embraced her, "Well, well, well. Pali-anna come back to get herself in trouble again?" "Oh don't call me that, I am sixteen now! I don't cause trouble!" Pali smiled at Hank. "Sit and join me. I am killing time before I head home. Tell me everything that has been going on. Have you finally found someone that likes you, and isn't just trying to get to Luis?" Hank sat but gave her a glare, "Pali that wasn't very nice. If I didn't know better I would say that you have turned bitter against life." "Hey I just learned from my brother, never trust anyone, especially if their last name is Crane," Paloma hissed. Hank shook his head, "I think your brother just jumped ship on that rule." Pali looked at him in shock, "You are joking right! Luis hates the Cranes, just like me! He knows they are responsible for keeping our family apart! You must have him mistaken for someone else." "Your brother is in love with Sheridan Crane Pali, I don't know what else to tell you. He has fallen for her, hell he is in so deep I don't think he will ever find his way out, he just hasn't admitted yet. But he is going to have to own up to it sometime some. Too bad too, I was hoping to make Sheridan my own, but that is out of question now," Hank sulked a little. Paloma slammed her fist down on the table. "No! No! I will not let this happen! My brother is not going to fall for a Crane!" Pali lowered her voice, "It's bad enough that my fool sister thinks that she is in love with Ethan, I don't need my brother falling for that punta Sheridan!" "I don't know what you just called Sheridan but whatever it is she doesn't deserve it. All she did was find some one to love her," Hank scolded her. "She may seem nice on the outside, but she is a Crane though and though, and not by marriage, by blood! I will not allow anyone in my family to become involved with anyone from that evil family," Pali practically had steam coming out of her head she was so angry. Hank put his hand on Paloma's. "Please Pali, let's not fight. Just promise me you will give Sheridan a chance, she is really different from the rest of the Crane's, I promise." Paloma looked down at her hands and sighed. "Well your word as always been good enough for me. I will give her chance, but I am not going to let Theresa get hurt by that Ethan kid." Hank smiled, "Well there I have to agree with you, Ethan can be a real punk sometimes. He is a good kid, but he has some type of oedipal complex. If you can get Theresa to give up her dreams about Ethan then you can do anything." "Hank, I should think that you know by know that I am a miracle worker!" Paloma leaned in closer so that she did not have to raise her, "If I have to lie, cheat, and or steal to do it Theresa will get over Ethan." She leaned back and sipped her latté with an evil smile on her face. Hank shook his head, "Don't start telling lies Pali, you will just keep having to tell lie after lie and they will all start to pile up, not only will your life become a lie, but all your lies will come back to haunt you. Trust me, it's not a life you want to live." She looked at him but realized that he was not ready to talk about what he had eluded to, it was better if she just let well enough alone, wait for him to tell her what he wanted to. "Very well, I won't lie, but I will not stand by and watch my sister's heart be broken into little pieces. I don't care if this new generation of Cranes means to or not, but they are destroying my family's lives, just like the old generation did," Hank gave her a look. She held up her hands, "Okay now more talk of the Cranes for now. How would you like to walk me home? I know the address of my new home, I just don't know how to get there, and I would really appreciate your help." "Of course my lady," Hank held out his hand for her. Pali laughed and took his hand. "You always knew how to make life interesting Hank." Paloma and Hank made their way out the door and headed to the Lopez-Fitzgerald. They were so caught up in their conversation about what had changed in Harmony that they did not notice that Beth had not only watched and listen to them the whole time that they were there, but that she had a smug little grin on her face. "So Luis's little sister does not like the Cranes and won't stand to see anyone in her family get involved with them. I guess I'll just have to work on getting on her good side, after all once she tells Luis that he should not go after Sheridan she is going to need to tell him about someone that would be much more reasonable for him to date. I am going to make sure that that someone is me," Beth finished cleaning up the counter and decided that she should go pay the Lopez-Fitzgerald a visit tonight. She was going to need the perfect outfit and of course the prefect gift for Paloma. "Hey Chad!" Beth called out as Chad Harris walked into the Book Café. "Hey Beth, what's up?" Chad walked over to her. "Well I just had a major change in plans and I won't be able to close the Book Café tonight, and I was wondering if you would close for me?" Beth pleaded with him Chad did not really want to close tonight, but he knew that he need the money, "Sure no problem Beth. When do you want me to start?" "Could you start right now?" Beth asked hopefully Great, Chad thought, another whole afternoon and evening blown just so I can make sure I can pay my rent. "No problem, you go have fun." "Thanks Chad!" Beth took off her apron and left Chad in the Book Café. She had to make sure that everything went well tonight, this was going to be her big chance to get Luis back and she was not going to blow it. Harmony Beach Elizabeth really did not want to disturb Luis and Sheridan. They need time to talk, to cry, to do whatever, but Julian was going to notice that she was not waiting at the airpark, and that her flight had not been delayed. They all need to get back to the mansion, and soon. "I so hate to interrupt you two," Elizabeth said once she had gotten closer, "But I am pretty sure that Julian is going to notice that I am not at the airpark. I think that it would better if we started heading towards the mansion before he started sending out a search party." Sheridan laughed at this, Julian would send out a search party, hell he would call the FBI once he found out that Elizabeth was missing and no where to be found. "Your right Elizabeth, after all, we can't have the guest of honor missing at her own coming dinner now can we?" Luis almost had burst out into a fit of laughter when Sheridan said this. They had not told her of the plan to get him into the mansion tonight. Elizabeth shared in his amusement. "What? What is so funny?" Sheridan questioned. Elizabeth sighed, "Well it's just that I don't plan on being the guest of honor at my homecoming dinner tonight, I have kinda of made arrangements to bring another guest of honor in. I think you are going to like this person a lot Sheridan, they are really good at the tango." Sheridan understood what Elizabeth was saying, but she decided to play dumb. "Oh did you arrange for one of your students from your dance studio in Spain to come? I can't wait to meet him." Luis knew that she knew that Elizabeth was talking about him, so he decided to play into her little game, "Oh come on Sheridan, you wound me!" He held his hand up to his heart in mock pain. Sheridan turned serious, "How do you plan to get into the mansion? Julian will not let just walk in." They had started to head back towards the car. Elizabeth walked to trunk and opened. "We have that part all taken care of," she said as she motioned to the one of her larger trunks inside. She smiled at both Luis and Sheridan. Luis rolled his as at her, "You know this is the only part about your plan that I don't like!" Sheridan could not help herself, she burst into laughter. "What do you think is so funny Ms. Crane?" "You... in... the trunk," she managed to say between giggles, "Talk about being in tight places." "I wouldn't say anything if I were you Sheridan," Luis said with a tinkle in his eye that caused her to blush because she knew that he was talking about when they were crammed in the air vent together. "Ok you two, even games for now, Luis in you go," Elizabeth said as she opened the trunk and removed the fake cover of clothing, which made the trunk look like it was full of clothes. "It's gonna be hard, but there are holes in the sides so you can see and breath. Although I don't think you'll be able to see much." Luis hesitated which gave Sheridan another chance to egg him on, "Come Luis hop in, we don't have all day." Luis glared at her. "Ok, ok, I am going, I am going." He climbed into the trunk and Elizabeth replaced the fake cover. She then closed the lid of the trunk and placed a lock on the outside of the trunk. "We'll get there as soon as possible Luis, I promise," Elizabeth said as she patted on the top of the trunk. "Don't worry Luis, I promise to drive extra careful," Sheridan said with a grin on her face. "Sheridan!" Luis warned. "What's that Luis I couldn't hear you. Well never mind, it will just have to wait. We are running late. See you soon!" Sheridan quickly closed the car's trunk and got into the driver's side of the car. "Sheridan you should really drive slowly, I don't think it would be wise to have that trunk shift around too much," Elizabeth put her seat belt on. "Don't worry Elizabeth. Like I promised Luis, I'll drive extra careful," Sheridan put her foot on the gas and the leaped forward with a big jolt. "You are asking for it Sheridan, you are asking for it," Elizabeth shook her head. Sheridan just smiled. Sorry guys not much Sheridan and Luis this time, Just means more Sheridan and Luis next time. Here is a quick preview: * Sheridan and Luis reach the mansion after a bumpy ride and a not so easy trip up to Elizabeth's bed room * Paloma is home at last. Everyone is happy to see her, well almost everyone * Theresa is horrified when she finds out that she is not the only Lopez-Fitzgerald in the Crane Mansion Hate it? Love it? Wanna kill it or me? Help me out here people, tell me what you think and I'll see wait I can do to improve my writings. ©2000 Lennie Marie Inc. (don't mess with me! :) )