Author: Regency

Title: I’ll Love You Forever

Pairings: Gwen/Ethan; Theresa/Ethan; Gwen/Theresa friendship

Summary: When the Winthrop home falls apart, both Gwen and Callisto need Theresa.

Author’s Notes: I’ve decided that Ethan will be what I’m estimating is his proper age at the point in the story. He’s five and Calli’s about three.

Disclaimer: The song “Crash and Burn” belongs to Savage Garden and everyone, but Callisto technically belong to JER.

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Crash and Burn

Gwen doesn’t allow herself to cry as she packs her daughter’s bags to leave. She can’t think of a thing she’ll need, except this little girl. Where can she go? She’s too ashamed to see anyone, especially Sheridan, right now. Where can she go, now that she’s been proved wrong?

When you feel all alone

Give me a moment please to tame your wild wild heart

She picks up Calli, who’s still drowsy from the sleep she was so hastily pulled from. She doesn’t understand why they have to leave. She doesn’t get why it has to be now.

“Momma, do we have to go now?”

“Yes, honey.” She tiptoes with Calli down the stairs and towards the front door. She’s out without a backwards glance. She’s been here long enough not to miss it.

I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you

It's hard to find relief and people can be so cold

She buckles her daughter into her seat and gets into the driver seat. She doesn’t need a driver to tell Ethan where she’s going. She doesn’t even know where she’s going. Who can she call?

She pulls her cell phone out of her purse and dials a number that she looked up on a whim. She never thought that this particular whim would come in handy. The phone rings a few times and she puts it down to roll out of the mansion gates. She picks it up and hears a familiar voice calling out.

“Hello. Hello? Anybody there? Okay, I’m going to hang up now.” She plays around with the idea of letting her, but it passes.

“Theresa.”

“Gwen?”

“Yeah. Look, I know this sounds so strange, but I was wondering if I could come to your place tonight? Calli’s with me. I--We just need a place to stay. Just for tonight. Tomorrow we’ll be out of your hair.” Theresa is a little taken aback.

“Woah, woah, yeah, come on. Of course, you can stay. As long as you need to.” Gwen exhales with relief.

“Thank you so much, Theresa. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“It’s nothing, sweetheart. Just get here. Do you need directions?” Gwen turns on the GPS system.

“No, just the address.”

“Okay, 2344 Myrna Street...Got that?”

“Yes, thank you. We should be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting.” They both hesitate, and then hang up the phone.

When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't take anymore

Let me be the one you call

Calli’s asleep when they pull up into the driveway. Theresa’s home is smaller than Gwen is used to, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that though it is modest, it is happy. Gwen doesn’t remember the last time their home was.

She locks the doors manually so as not to wake up Calli. She walks up the steps, but falters once she reaches the door. This is the home of the woman who very nearly destroyed her life. Should she even be here? Where else can she go? Who else would understand?

The door opens before she even has the chance to knock or ring the bell. Theresa stands there in her pajamas, bathed in light and more beautiful than she had been as a girl. She makes Gwen feel old, and used, and haggard. She remembers a time when she saw that beauty in herself.

“Come in.” She takes Gwen’s bag and strokes Calli’s dark fall of hair. She looks behind her and turns back. “You didn’t bring Little Ethan?”

“He’s sleeping over at a friend’s. I’m picking him up in the morning.”

"Okay, you wanna take Calli to the bedroom in the back?”

“We’re not putting you out of your bed, are we?”

“No, it’s just one of the guest rooms. Come on.” Theresa leads them through the hall to the back of the house. “You can both stay here.”

If you jump I'll break your fall

Lift you up and fly away with you into the night

Theresa waits in the hall, leaning against the wall opposite the door. Gwen steps back and leaves the door cracked behind her. The little one is already fast asleep.

She turns back to Theresa and shrugs as though she can’t think of a thing to say. “I can’t thank you enough for this.” Theresa can see through her façade.

“What happened? Was it Ethan?” She sees Gwen’s eyes darken as she wraps her arms around herself protectively. “Did he hurt you, Gwen? Did her hurt the baby? Little Ethan?” Theresa steps closer, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “What did he do?” Gwen trembles under her hand because it threatens the wall she’s been building for far too long. “You can tell me.”

That single gesture is the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

If you need to fall apart

I can mend a broken heart

Her knees buckle and Theresa catches her going down. Silent sobs wrack her body as the other woman rocks her slowly.

“Shh. It’ll be fine, just give it time and the pain will pass. I promise. I promise.”

If you need to crash then crash and burn

You're not alone

Gwen opens her eyes when the sunlight touches her face and is a little disoriented to find herself in a new place. She’s still in her clothes sans the leather jacket, wrapped in a warm quilt on the couch.

Theresa leans her head in and smiles at her. She’s even prettier in the morning. “Morning, sleepyhead.” She brings out a tray and sits it on the table in front of her. “I thought you‘d be hungry.” Gwen, looking a little surprised takes the glass of orange juice off the tray and takes a sip. Doesn’t taste poisoned. “Don’t worry, I didn’t put anything in it.” She nods.

Theresa leans back on the couch and observes Gwen tentatively sampling the breakfast she’d prepared.

“What happened, Gwen?” Gwen sighs and hides her face in her hands.

“Damn it, Theresa. You were right, mother was right, hell, Julian was right. Ethan is a dog.”

“Now, we’re talking.”

When you feel all alone

And a loyal friend is hard to find

Theresa passes the Haagen Daz to Gwen between spurts of laughter. “It took me five years to see how pathetic he was. God, what a waste of time. He wasn’t worth any of the pain we went through. None of it.”

“I know.” Theresa stops laughing and turns fully to Gwen. “Gwen, I’m so sorry for everything. I’m not asking for your forgiveness, because I don’t think I deserve it, but I want you to know that I’m sorry. Sorry for Ethan, for Sarah, for Calli. All of it.”

“I’m sorry too. It’s about time I took responsibility for my own actions. Sarah was a tragic accident of my own making. I was so angry that I didn’t want to the blame, but when it comes right down to it, it’s me.”

“And me.”

“And Ethan,” They said in unison.

“It was definitely partly Ethan.”

“Partly my ass, mostly.” They smiled at each other.

“You think we can call it even?”

“Yeah. Even.” It was by silent agreement that they hugged.

You're caught in a one way street

With the monsters in your head

“You know, you can tell me about Ethan. I’m not trying to steal him from you. If anything, I’m trying to avoid him.” Gwen chuckles wryly.

“He cheated on me and then had the nerve to fight with me after I caught him.”

“He fought you?”

“Oh, yeah and he was loud and rude and an ass all at that same time...”

“That’s a record for him. I’m not surprised.”

“Somehow neither was I, but he had the nerve to threaten Calli.”

“He threatened her? How?”

“He threatened that if I ever left he’d make sure that I never got custody of her. And that if I did he’d hide her from me.”

When hopes and dreams are far away and

You feel like you can't face the day

“Are you kidding me?” Gwen shakes her head. “Ethan has lost his damn mind.” Theresa gets a vindictive gleam in her eyes. “Gwen.”

“Theresa, what are you thinking?”

“Go get little Ethan, bring him here.” Gwen moves to her knees.

“Why, what are you going to do?” Theresa puts down her spoon and stands up. “Theresa!”

“I am going to get dressed and we are going to pay your husband a visit. He owes you a very big apology.”

“What are you planning?” Gwen has a feeling that she so wants a piece of this.

“You’ll see. Go get dressed and wake Calli. We gotta go.” She winks naughtily and disappears down the hall.

Let me be the one you call

If you jump I'll break your fall

Lift you up and fly away with you into the night

If you need to fall apart

I can mend a broken heart

“Come on, Theresa, tell me what going on in there.” Theresa looks at her from the passenger seat and smiles quietly. “Oh God, what are we going to do to Ethan?”

“We’re gonna play a game of what goes around comes around.” Gwen looks at her like she’s nuts.

“What?”

“Karma, Gwen. We’re gonna play Karma.” Gwen nod, getting the point.

“What goes around comes around.”

“You’d better believe it.”

If you need to crash then crash and burn

You're not alone

“We’re back.” Theresa sighs ironically.

“Ah, yes, the memories, the parties, the catfights.” They fall into a fit of laughter.

“Ouch, yeah, I remember the fighting. Man, I kicked your ass.”

“I know. Damn, that hurt.” Gwen winces at the memory.

“Sorry.”

“No need. Come on, it’s Hell Week.”

“Fun.”

Because there has always been heartache and pain

And when it's over you'll breathe again

You'll breath again

Gwen packs the rest of her clothes while Theresa keeps a look out for Ethan who still hasn’t come home. T sticks her head back in to see what Gwen’s holding up.

“You wore that?”

“What there is of it.”

“It’s nice.”

“It’s sleazy.”

“I didn’t want to say anything.”

“Believe me, I don’t even want to look at it.” She throws it on the bed with the other unmentionable garments she’s collected over the years. “The things I’ve done for a man.”

“You? You’re talking to me, here. Please.” Gwen agrees totally.

When you feel all alone

And the world has turned its back on you

Give me a moment please

To tame your wild wild heart

“Ethan’s back…and he’s headed this way.” Theresa closes the door and turns the lock. “You wanna speed it up there, Gwenny?”

“I’m going as fast as I can here and don’t call me Gwenny. I hate it when my mother does it, I’m just used to it now.”

“All right, already. Is there another way out of here, ‘cause--” Ethan slams on the door. “Your husband’s getting a little volatile.”

“Yeah, the closet. There’s a stairway.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep, come on.” They slip into the closet and down the secret stairway like ghosts and close the door behind them just as Ethan slams his way in.

Let me be the one you call

If you jump I'll break your fall

Lift you up and fly away with you into the night

“You didn’t happen to sign a pre-nup, did you?”

“No, Ethan brought it up and I nagged him down. It didn’t take much.” Gwen wipes Calli’s messy face while Theresa cuts up Ethan’s chicken for him. They’d both decided that it was to time allot themselves one Ethan, therefore, the ‘Little’ is unnecessary. “What for?”

“Take him for every dime. Just because you can.” She likes wicked Theresa when she’s on her side.

“I like it when you’re devious, but only when you’re on my side.”

“Well, that’s no longer an issue.” She reaches out over the table. “Friends?”

“Friends.”

If you need to fall apart

I can mend a broken heart

They sit on the swing set in Theresa’s backyard and swing slowly in the breeze.

“I used to think that if we’d met when we were kids that we could’ve been friends, almost sisters.”

“I think we could’ve been if I hadn’t let Ethan come between us.”

“Or if I had been smart enough to let him go when he was with you.”

“I think we were both young and in love. If not, that’s the excuse I’m giving.”

“Me, too. But, hey, we’re still young.”

“And we’ve got each other.”

“And the kids.”

“We’re blessed.”

“Yes, we are.” Gwen lets her hand fall from the rope and wrap around Theresa’s.

If you need to crash then crash and burn

You're not alone

“Sisters?”

“Mm hmm.”

They swing languidly in the wind, both of their hairs puffing wildly around them. And through some trick of light or magic of the setting sun, they really do seem like sisters.

Last Part