This is a follow up to my story The Ex Factor. You might want to read that first as it introduces some new characters that will appear in this story, and also contains some major events that will explain why Ethan and Gwen are no longer married, how Sarah came back, and why Theresa is still with Jared. These stories were written back in 2006, during the time when Theresa was still head of Crane and had finally decided to move on from Ethan. Whisper has long since been finished but I'm archiving it here in case fan sites start shutting down once Passions goes off the air. Story also has a bit of Shuis/Lancy entanglement, Chad/Whitney angst, and Fox/Kay/Miguel.

I know the story is old, but it would still mean a lot to me to know what you think. :) I love reviews.

Whisper

A Passions Fanfiction Story

by

Ava Sinclair

A lot can change in a year and as summer comes to Harmony, the residents gather to celebrate the wedding between Kieran and Gwen. But someone else in Harmony wants the Irish charmer, and she's not above scheming to get him...

And on the eve of Jared and Theresa's engagement, Ethan returns, determined to win back her heart. It's not an easy task he's set himself, but he'll try anything...with some help from an unexpected ally...

Harmony-One Year After The Events in The Ex Factor

The Book Cafe-early morning

Theresa yawned widely as she searched in her shoulder bag for her wallet, standing at the Book Cafe register. "I know it's here somewhere...just one minute." She mumbled.

"Theresa, you know your money's no good here. We don't charge the daughter of the owner, especially for one measly cup of coffee." Lila, the newest Book Cafe employee, looked at her, smiling.

Before Theresa could argue, the back door opened and Pilar came in, her face lighting up as she saw Theresa standing there. "Good morning, Teresita. How are you?"

"I'm great, Mama, except this new woman you hired won't let me pay for my coffee." Theresa's eyes twinkled at Lila.

"Well, of course not. You helped me buy this place, remember? I know I was stubborn about letting you help me make the down payment, but I really love running it. It gives me such a feeling of accomplishment." Pilar took her daughter's arm and gently steered her away from the register to one of the tables.

"And so it should...you've done wonders with it." Whitney popped up behind Pilar, giving her a quick hug before turning to her friend.

"You look tired, Theresa. More late hours at Crane?" She took a seat across the table.

Theresa yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Sadly, yes. But it's all worth it. Because next week, I hand the reigns over to our new CEO, and I will take over the fashion department. I get the best of both worlds, doing work I love, and still getting to go home and have dinner with my family." She smiled at her friend.

"I can't believe you appointed Sheridan as the new CEO. Everyone was completely shocked. I didn't think Crane Industries could make any more waves then it did earlier this year when you entered into that agreement with Julian and the rest of the Crane family to break the company up. People were talking about that for months!" Whitney took a sip of her own coffee, looking at Theresa expectantly.

"Well, I was just tired of the lawsuits. Julian was determined to take EJ's inheritance away from him after he found out that he wasn't his. Rather ironic, considering he was professing to love him so much before that." Theresa rolled her eyes. This last year, Julian had definitely reverted to type, becoming her worst enemy. He seemed to think she needed one since Gwen had vacated the position. He'd filed lawsuit after lawsuit, although Alistair's will had been ironclad in leaving everything to EJ. Finally, Theresa had had enough. She got together with Julian's children, his sister Sheridan, and his half brother Chad, and got them to join with her in proposing to the board that they divide the Crane empire between them and Julian. Still wanting to safeguard her son's future, Theresa had used the will and her position as Alistair's widow to make sure that he would retain the majority of the power and the larger share of Crane. Still, he would not be the enormous Crane titan that he would have been, and she was alright with that. More than alright. He wouldn't miss the billion or two that he wasn't getting, not with the huge amount that he was inheriting, and in the end, not following in Alistair's footsteps could only be a good thing. Julian had been furious but with the rest of his family and the board firmly on Theresa's side, there was nothing he could do except gnash his teeth in rage. He did it so often that Theresa wondered how he could have any left.

Theresa had maintained her position as CEO, holding her son's position for him, but this last year had taught her that she just couldn't do it anymore. The job had left her less and less time with her children, and she'd never really wanted it in the first place. It had gotten to the point where she could barely face getting out of bed in the morning and going to the office. So after some soul searching and more battles with the board, she'd made the decision that Sheridan could run Crane the way she thought the company should be run, and Sheridan was much more suited to the role than Theresa had ever been. She had a great instinct for business, as much as Alistair and Julian had tried to shut her out of it. Some of the more crotchety members of the board had been disagreeable about letting another woman run Crane Industries, wanting Julian to resume charge of the company instead. Once again, they'd been overruled, and Theresa had made the announcement about Sheridan's appointment the day before to the press.

"She's not going to have an easy time of it." Theresa mused out loud. "Sheridan, I mean. But she really did want it-being a Crane is something she takes a lot of pride in. She wants the family name to stand for something besides greed and cruelty. It's a big responsibility-too much for me, I'm afraid."

"You did a great job." Whitney's voice was supportive. "And I think you're doing the right thing. But enough business for now. Are you going to Gwen's bridal shower tonight?" She looked at Theresa hopefully.

Theresa groaned. "I told you I was, about a zillion times, remember?"

Whitney shrugged. "Being that you still try to avoid being in the same room with her, I thought you might have changed your mind. Anyway, she thinks Sheridan and I are meeting her to try on the bridemaid's gowns, but we're all going to show up and surprise her. Did you get her gift yet?"

Theresa grinned. "I got her something very, very special." Her smile was wicked.

Whitney eyed her worriedly. "Does it bite?"

"No." Theresa looked disappointed for a moment, then brightened. "But that's a great idea for Christmas!"

"Very funny. Since you and Gwen are basically raising Jane together, don't you think you should stop sniping at each other every chance you get?"

"I can't help it, Whitney. I don't hate her any more but it's funny how the desire to choke the life out of her just never really goes away. I swear she's trying to drive me insane-she really is."

Whitney opened her mouth to ask Theresa what that meant, but just then the Book Cafe's door opened and Gwen herself bounced in, all smiles, blonde hair gleaming. She immediately spotted Theresa and Whitney and made a beeline for their table. Theresa groaned to herself silently. She never could handle a fresh helping of Gwen that early in the morning.

"Good morning, Whitney. Theresa, I was hoping I'd catch you here." Her smile was predatory as she reached into her shoulder bag, pulling out an immense pile of brochures. "I found a few more schools we might be interested in and I need you to look through these and put them in order, you know, starting with academic performance and test scores. Take your time..oh, except I'd like to have them by noon, so I can plan our itinerary. Have a great day - I'll be in touch." She beamed at them and moved off.

"She's so cheerful now. It's almost strange. Kieran makes her so happy." Whitney smiled at Gwen's retreating figure.

Theresa looked at her in horror. "She's not cheerful, she's diabolical! She uses that agreement that we signed to make all the decisions for Jane together to drive me around the bend. I mean, look at these brochures!" She groaned and put her head on the table. "We already have six perfectly good schools set up to look at. She's doing it on purpose, Whitney. I think I'm going to have to kill her."

Whitney snickered, amused. "Yeah, she's a real fiend, Theresa. I think you just enjoy fighting with her. Anyway, what's this all about anyway?"

Theresa sighed. "We're both taking Wednesday through Friday off this week to look at private schools for Jane. We agreed to nix the preschool idea, since I really wasn't comfortable with it, but Gwen has this obsession with getting Jane signed up for a good private school later on. They all have waiting lists so we have to make a choice now. I wasn't happy about it at first, but it's true that they offer a better education, and with that in her favor, Jane will be able to go to any college she wants. So, for my daughter, I'm going to endure three days stuck in a car with Gwen, driving all over New England doing school tours and interviews. Kill me now." She put her head in her hands. "I wish Ethan was here." She muttered, almost to herself.

Whitney stared at her. "You really miss him, don't you?"

Theresa straightened up, trying not to blush. "I just meant because he's supposed to be doing all this with us. He's Jane's father...he could take over some of these duties if he was here."

"Uh huh." Whitney's voice was disbelieving. "It's more than that."

"No, it's not." Theresa frowned. "You know things are getting serious with Jared. I'm over Ethan...I am." Her voice was firm, but her heart...that was another story.

TBC
coming up-Gwen's bridal shower
Whitney makes a revelation.
Gwen makes an important phone call.