Chapter 1

Author's Note: This takes place after Rebecca and Ivy see Sam leave a note underneath the rock in Sam and Ivy's secret spot.

"Rebecca, let's just stay out of this. It's none of our business if Chief Bennett is having an affair." Ivy was panicking. She couldn't let Rebecca read the note that Sam had left for her. She was hoping that the note professed his undying love for her. Would they get their second chance?

"Ivy, I am dying to know who this woman is. Come on, it'll be fun." Rebecca didn't wait for Ivy to respond. She walked towards the rock. Ivy followed her close behind. Rebecca removed the rock and picked up the note. Just as she was unfolding it, Ivy snatched the note from her hands and shoved it in her pocket. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"This is foolish, Rebecca. Let's just go." This time it was Ivy who walked away first. Rebecca was about to follow her when her cell phone rang. "Hold on, Ivy, don't leave yet. I'm going to read that note." Just as Rebecca answered her phone, Ivy yelled "I really have to go now! Bye Rebecca!" And with that Ivy ran off. As soon as she was out of Rebecca's view, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the note.

Ivy-

I don't know how else I'm supposed to get you to go away and leave me the hell alone. I'm desperate to try anything so I figured it wouldn't hurt to leave you a note. Listen to me, Ivy, it is OVER between us. It has been for years and it was YOUR fault that it ended! Why can't you get it through your head that I DON'T love you and NEVER will again! You mean absolutely NOTHING to me so stay the hell out of my life! I hope this is the last time that I have to warn you. I love Grace, and ONLY Grace! If you keep pursuing me,

I'll be forced to go to Julian and he will destroy you and your son's future. So just stay away!

Sam

Ivy felt the hot tears rush to her eyes and roll down her cheeks. Before when Sam would tell her to get lost, it was different. She still had hope for them. But now it was in writing, more permanent. How could he do

something like this to her? Sam had turned their sacred letter writing around. In the past it had been something they would do to express their undying love to each other. But this was hardly a letter of love...it was a letter of hate. Ivy's heart was shattered and all of her hopes of happiness were dashed. She stared down at the note as her tears fell on it. She ripped it into two and dropped it on the ground and then slowly walked back to the Crane Mansion.

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*The Next Day*

"Good morning, Honey." Grace said to her husband as he made his way into the kitchen.

"Hi sweetie." Sam said as he kissed her on the cheek and then sat at the table.

"You know, dinner last night with the Cranes was fun. We should do it again soon." Sam rolled his eyes. Ivy and Julian Crane were the last people he wanted to have dinner with.

"Grace, we don't need to have dinner with them again. I've had enough of the Cranes."

"Sam, I already invited Ivy over for dinner tonight. Can't you just give them a chance?" She couldn't see why Sam hated the Cranes so much.

"Can't you just disinvite them?" He groaned. Dinner with the Cranes two nights in a row was definitely pushing it. He was about to open his mouth and complain some more when the phone rang. Grace picked it up and talked to the person on the other line as Sam tried to think of ways to avoid being alone with Ivy.

"Well, Sam, I guess you won't have to worry about that dinner after all." Grace told him as she hung up the phone. Sam gave her a confusing look. "That was Ivy calling to cancel. She sounded a bit upset." Grace had a dissapointed look on her face.

"Grace, let's not worry about it. Listen, I have to go to the work. I'll be home later." He stood up and made his way to the door. They said their goodbyes and Sam headed to the park to patrol.

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*At the Crane Mansion*

Ivy laid in her bed staring off at the wall. She looked at the alarm clock next to her bed and read the time, 10:34. Though it was late, she didn't care. She had absolutely no desire to get out of bed today. Her thoughts were interrupted when her bedroom door opened and in came Pilar.

"Mrs. Crane? It's getting late, shouldn't you get up? You have that hospital board meeting to go to."

"I'm not going to go, Pilar. I'm just going to stay here all day. There's no reason to get up." Pilar knew something was terribly wrong. Ivy was definately not being herself.

"What happened to make you this way? Is everything okay?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Will you please just leave, Pilar." She stared off at that same wall, not once looking up at Pilar.

"Yes, Mrs. Crane." She left the room went back downstairs.

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*At the Park*

Sam walked through the park doing a routine patrol of the area. As he came towards his and Ivy's secret spot, he wondered if she would ever read the note he left her there. He felt a little bad about writing it, but he didn't know what else to do. She didn't seem to get it. Sam was about to leave when he looked down and saw something on the ground. He picked it up, stunned to see that it was half of the note that he had left for Ivy. But there was something else that caught his eye. It looked as if there were dried tears on it. Sam brushed off the thought of Ivy being upset because of him.

"Maybe now she'll leave me alone."

*1 Week Later*

"Mother, please get out of bed." Ethan begged as he opened up her curtains.

"I can't, Ethan. I'm just so tired." Ivy said, staring off at the wall.

"Please just tell me what is bothering you. I've never seen you like this before and you're starting to worry me. You haven't come out of your room in a week."

"I just need to be alone, darling."

"Okay, Mother. I won't push you. I'll be back later." Ethan kissed her forehead and then left her room.

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*At the Lopez-Fitzgerald House*

Pilar sat at the kitchen table thinking about what to do about Ivy. She didn't know what was bothering her. She wouldn't talk to anyone and it was starting to worry her. Pilar was just relieved that she had gotten the

attache case away from Julian the day before. He had found out that Pilar had been keeping it and stole Theresa's keys in order to break into the Lopez-Fitzgerald house. Once inside, he finally came across the case and was about to open it when Pilar caught him. Luckily he had no clue what was held inside, only that it held Ivy's secret. After Pilar had gotten Julian to leave her house, she ran to the bank and put the case in a safe deposit box. Now Ivy's secret was safe. Pilar finished her coffee and headed over to the

Crane Mansion to see if there had been any change in Ivy.~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@

*2 Weeks Later: At the Book Cafe*

"Gwen, I just don't know what to do." Ethan said as he sipped his coffee.

"Still no change?" She asked as she put her hand sympathetically on top of his.

"She's still the same." Ethan and Gwen's conversation was interrupted when Sam and Grace came up to their table.

"Hello Ethan. Gwen." Grace greeted with a smile. Ethan and Gwen smiled back at her and Sam. "We just wanted to come over and say hi. By the way, Ethan, how is your Mother doing? I haven't seen or heard from her in weeks." Ethan's face turned blank. He stood up from the table and just walked away. Grace and Sam looked at each other curiously and then back at Gwen.

"You'll have to excuse him. Things have been rough."

"Rough? Is Ivy alright?" Grace asked, her suspicions aroused.

"I don't know if it's my place to tell." Gwen began. "Ivy's not exactly alright, but I'd rather not go into the specifics." Now Sam was worried. He knew something was terribly wrong by Ethan and Gwen's reactions. "I should find Ethan and get going."

"Okay, Gwen. I hope everything works out with Ivy." Gwen smiled again and then left.

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*2 Days Later: At the Crane Mansion*

"Well we have to do something. She just lays there and won't get up. It's obvious that something's wrong with her." Ethan said to Gwen as he paced. Doctor Samuels, the family physician, walked into the living room. Ethan walked up to him. "How is she?"

"The same as she was last time. I've put her on anti-depressents but they don't seem to be working or she's not taking them." Pilar walked into the room, followed by Sam, who had a meeting with Julian.

"Can't you force her to take them?!" Ethan was now yelling, his frustration getting the better of him.

"Ethan, I can't shove the pills down her throat. If she gets worse, we can hospitalize her, but there's not much we can do now." Sam stood there intently listening while he waited to be called into Julian's office.

"So we're supposed to just wait around until she gets worse?! She won't eat or drink anything! I can't stand seeing her like this! Damnit!" Ethan stormed out of the room.

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Ivy stared down at her locket looking at the picture of the man that used to bring such joy into her life. But now he only brought her sadness. He hated her and now she had nothing to live for. She lost the will to go on. Ivy got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. She opened up her medicine cabinet and surveyed the prescription bottles. She moved various bottles aside until she found her sleeping pills. She took it out of the cabinet and opened it, looking inside. The bottle was half full. She shut the medicine cabinet and left the bathroom with the sleeping pills in her hand. She walked over to the door, locking it, and then made her way to her desk. She sat down and began writing her final letter. Once finished, she left the note there and then poured the entire contents of the prescription bottle into her hand. She brought her hand up to her mouth and swallowed every last one of the sleeping pills.

Ethan slowly walked up the stairs, headed for Ivy's room. He knew in his heart that she needed him right now. He reached her room and tried for the handle, but it was locked.

"Mother? It's Ethan. Are you okay?" No answer. He knocked harder. "Please open up, Mother." Still no answer. Ethan was starting to panic. He knew what kind of condition she was in. He was about to try and break down the door when he remembered that the key was kept above the door. He got the key and opened the door, carefully walking inside. "Mother?" Ethan gasped as he saw an unconscious Ivy lying on the ground with something clasped in her hands. He ran to her side and felt for a pulse. It was there, but extremely weak. He opened her hand and saw that she had an empty prescription bottle of sleeping pills. "HELP!" Ethan yelled as he realized his Mother had attempted suicide. "Somebody help me!" He screamed again, the tears falling down his cheeks. "Please don't die, Mother. I need you. Please don't leave me." Moments later, Sam, Pilar, and Dr. Samuels came bursting through the door. "She---she took sleeping pills. She's not breathing."

"Dios mio! I'll call an ambulance." Pilar said as she ran to the phone.

"I'll go get my medical bag." Dr. Samuels said, leaving the room. Sam knelt by Ivy's side.

"Hang in there, Ivy. Help is coming." He said as he held her hand. He couldn't believe that she had tried to kill herself. He never saw Ivy as someone who would just give up like this. Something must have triggered this helplessness. And then he remembered that day in the park. He left her that note and the next day he found it torn in two. 'This is all my fault.' Sam thought to himself. Dr. Samuels came back into the room and moved Sam and Ethan aside. Over and over again he tried to bring life back into Ivy, but he had no luck. Sam looked back and forth from Ivy to Ethan. Ethan was a mess. He had this distraught look on his face, like a scared, lost child would. Sam had done this to him. He had hurt Ivy so bad that he was now

taking her away from Ethan. He wanted to take Ethan's pain away. The paramedics arrived on the scene and put Ivy on a gurney, taked her down the stairs and into an ambulance.

"I---I have to go with her." Ethan said as he tried to push past two pramedics. They held him back.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there's no room. You're going to have to meet us there." And with that, the last two paramedics got into the ambulance and drove away. Ethan just stood there, staring at the ambulance as it got further away. Sam walked up to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, I'll drive you there." Ethan just nodded and then got into Sam's car.

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*At the Hospital*

Ethan paced as Sam sat on a chair, going over in his mind what was happening. The guilt was killing him. He never wanted Ivy to die. Once upon a time they shared the most precious love and she was his world. But that was shattered when she broke his heart and married Julian. Sam scolded himself for blaming Ivy for things at a time like this. She was in that hospital room fighting for her life and it was all his fault. He knew that he never should have left that letter there. He went too far and now Ethan was also paying

for it. Sam went over to Ethan to try and calm him down.

"Ethan, maybe you should sit down." He suggested.

"I can't sit down! Wh--what if she dies? I never got to tell her how much she meant to me and how much I appreciate her. Everything she's done since the day I was born has been for me." Guilt was also taking over Ethan.

"Listen to me, Ethan. She knows that you love her and I know that she loves you more than anything. Your Mother is a fighter and I know she'll pull through this. But right now she needs you to be strong."

"Sam is right." Pilar said as she and Theresa walked up to them. "Be strong for her, Ethan."

"Ethan, why don't we go in the chapel and pray for her." Theresa suggested. Ethan nodded and they walked away towards the chapel. Pilar turned to Sam.

"How are you holding up?" She asked him as he shot her a confused look. "Don't look so surprised. I know that you care, Sam." Sam sighed.

"I can't lose her, Pilar. I never meant to hurt her like this." Now it was Pilar with a confused look on her face.

"What do you mean? This wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was. I sent her a letter about three weeks ago. I told her to stay away from me and I said some other things I didn't mean. I knew it was wrong, but I still did it and now look at what I've done to her." Pilar

couldn't handle seeing Sam like this. She knew that the guilt was eating him up inside. She could tell that Sam cared deeply for Ivy, and for Ethan as well. Maybe it was time that all the lies stopped. It was time for Sam to know the truth. Pilar reached into her purse and pulled out her keys. She took the safe deposit key off the keyring.

"Take this, Sam." She instructed as she handed him the key. "Go to the bank and look in safe deposit box number 307. All the answers are there." Sam looked down at the key in his hands and then put it in his pocket. He knew that what was held inside that safe deposit box would be important to him and his future. He could tell by the look on Pilar's face.

"Thank you, Pilar. I'll go as soon as there's news on Ivy." As if reading his mind, Eve came into the waiting room and walked over to them just as Ethan and Theresa were returning from the chapel. "How is she, Eve?" The tension was high.

"We pumped her stomach and she's stabilized, but she's still not awake yet."

"Can we see her?" Ethan asked.

"That might not be the best thing right now. We need to find out exactly what put her in this suicidal state. When she wakes up, I'm going to have one of the psychiatrists talk to her and then you can see her when I get their report."

"Ok. Thanks Eve." Eve gave them a reassuring smile and then left.

"Ethan, I have something I need to do. I'll be back in a little bit." Sam told him, figuring this was the best time to open that safe deposit box.

"Ok, Sam. Thank you for everything."

"Don't mention it, Ethan. I'll be back." And with that, Sam left and headed to the bank.

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*At the Bank*

Sam pulled out the key and opened the safe deposit box. He pulled out the attach case and then locked the safe deposit box back up. He found a place to sit and put the combination that Pilar had told him in. Once he heard a click, he opened the case up. He leafed through the pictures and papers, until something caught his eye....it was a birth certificate...

Sam picked it up. Noticing that it was Ethan's, it got him wondering why Ivy would have Ethan's birth certificate in this case. But then he realized why.

"Oh my God...I'm Ethan's father."

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To be continued…

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