Author: Regency

Title: The Whole Thing In Reverse

Summary: What if 20 years ago, Eve was the spoiled rich kid and Julian was the struggling musician? And what if 20 years ago, they fell in love? Now, two decades later they meet again. When Eve falls back in love with Julian, how far will she go to have him back?

Author’s Notes: By the way, Dinah is played by Annette O’Toole and Gideon is played by Charles Divens. Evellyn is played by Mya or Rachel Bilson.

--See, Eve can be lovable. Oh, but don’t think that she won’t ever revert back to her nasty ways. She’ll just do it a little differently. Remember she still wants Julian. And good guys pretty much always finish last.

Disclaimer: The show “Passions” belongs to JER, but the idea is mine.

~~~~~

Eve wasn’t kidding when she promised to turn over a new leaf. From that day forth, she did good things for the sake of good things instead of publicity. She learned that anonymity was better than notoriety. She had done so many good things under the cover of the nameless good Samaritan.

She volunteered at the Harmony Community Center, reading books to children and chaperoning field trips. Her mother was suspicious of this new Eve and watched her closely. However, not as closely as Julian watched her. Though, they didn’t speak anymore, he saw and felt a change in her. She spent more time with her children, according to RJ, who was seemingly back to his old self. She’d talked to him and shared with him. He finally felt like he knew her.

The same went for his brother, Andre and sister, Julia. She had united their family once again. They finally understood that their grandmother was indeed someone to be afraid of. She was a powerful woman with pull all over the world. Her power went as far as her bank account and her bank account could bankroll a moderate-sized country. She was the most powerful woman in Harmony and probably in a few other places too. Eve had learned early on not to play games with her mother.

She’d come to learn that once when she was small and had fallen then, had cried to her mother. Her mother had whipped her good for crying and sent her on her way. Her father had been the one to kiss it and make it better. He’d always been on Eve’s side, but he could never stand up to his wife. She was the strong one. He was the people person and she was the businesswoman. She built the Johnson & Johnson Company. It was through her savvy and slippery ways that they’d survived in a world where blacks had never had the upper hand.

That savvy had not transferred to motherhood, though. There, she’d failed for the first time in her life. Even when she was just an infant, Eve had stymied her mother. Karissa Johnson was not a natural-born mother and she punished Eve for it everyday of her life, because no matter how much she tried she couldn’t make her into the kind of woman she’d been taught to be. When she was a girl, they didn’t have sex outside of marriage. And if they did, they certainly didn’t get pregnant. And they did not marry outside of their race. It was forbidden, even illegal at one point. Eve didn’t seem to understand what a step back that was for them. Dating a white man. That made her sick.

She’d watched Eve pursue that same white man, older now, but still white. She’d seen how far she’d been willing to go to have him and was partly proud, partly ashamed. She had raised this girl. She’d made her everything she’d ever been. Just as vindictive, just as selfish as she.

But Julian had come back and changed Eve into someone that Karissa didn’t know and couldn’t control. And with that hold on her, that made him very dangerous.

~~~~~~

Eve stared intently at the pond behind the glass, trying in vain to find the snake that was supposed to be in it. She jumped at the voice from behind her. She turned, leaning on the bar in front of the display.

“He’s not in there.”

It was Julian behind her, but it was the little girl in his arms that had spoken. She was speechless for a moment before inquiring as to why.

“They moved him away, so he could make babies with the other snakey, right Daddy?”

“Right, pumpkin. It’s mating season.” Eve tried not to appear so stricken at his appearance. She was there at the Boston Zoo, chaperoning a field trip for the high school. This was the last place she had expected to see him.

“Oh, I didn’t know.”

“That’s all right. We saw it on the Discovery Channel, didn’t we, love?” She nodded smilingly. “Yes, we did.” Seeing Julian with his daughter brought her grief back anew. That had been their daughter. She shook off that morose line of thinking and returned to the present.

“What brings you to the zoo?”

“Oh, my little one here heard about the field trip from her mother a while back and just had to come.”

“Ah, I bet.” Eve smiled at the pixie in Julian’s arms. “You’ve got your Daddy wrapped around your little finger don’t you, honey?” She grinned, showing off her two missing bottom teeth.

“Yep.” Julian rolled her eyes.

“And she admits it. You go, girl.”

“Thank you.”

“She’s beautiful, Julian.”

“Yes, she is. My little girl.” Eve winced and looked away for a moment. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. Julian immediately realized his faux pas. “I…What are you doing here?” Eve was thankful for the subject change.

“Oh, I’m chaperoning the field trip for the High School.”

“Well, that was nice of you.” Eve reddened and bit her lip at his praise.

“I had some extra time, so…” She shrugged.

“Yes, but it was still nice of you. You’ve done a lot of nice things lately. It’s good to see the good in you come out. I knew it was there.”

“Did you? I mean, really.” He seemed to look right through her.

“Oh, yes. I can see it now. It’s right…” He ran his knuckles over her cheek. “Here. Yes, here.”

“Thank you.”

“There’s no need. I just pointed out something you could already feel inside you. You’ve changed, Eve. I hope to get to know who you’ve become.” He put his hand out to her and waited. “Friends?” She stared at his hand before taking it and shaking it firmly.

“I’d like that.” Mea was sick of staring at the empty pond.

“Daddy, let’s go see the fishies. And then, we can see the frogs.” Julian did not break his stare, but nodded to his daughter. “Now, Daddy, now.”

Julian leaned near to Eve’s ear and whispered, “Call me, soon. I’d like to talk to you. Please.”

“Yes, soon. I will.” He brushed his cheek against hers as he pulled away. She basked for a moment in that feeling.

“Daddy, now!” They were both jarred from their daze and looked away from one another.

“All right, sweetheart. We’re going. Say goodbye to Ms. Johnson.”

“Bye-bye, Ms. Johnson.”

“Goodbye, sweetheart.” Julian and his daughter disappeared around the bend to the aquarium. It seemed that she had finally gotten back into Julian’s good books. Somehow, that only added to the feeling of redemption that overcame her.

Though this wasn’t her reason for doing things now, she realized that she just might have her future with Julian after all. That excited her and she cranked her arm in victory.

“Yes!” She turned back to the glass when others turned to look at her. She jumped when she realized that the snake was back and that he was looking right at her. She shivered and moved on down the hall. His black-eyed gaze reminded her of her mother. Unblinking and cold.

And just like the snake, her mother was watching and she didn’t like what she saw.

She’d apparently have to work harder to keep Julian and Eve apart. But not much harder, because she already had a plan.

Eve should watch her back.

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