Finally, she closed the door and went back into the building. Kids were milling around, talking casually, trying to keep their minds off of the storm raging outside. The weatherman on the local radio station was advising everyone to stay indoors. The worst was yet to come. Sheridan decided to find out what was going on. She walked across the room and stood at the doorway of Luis’ office where he and Theresa were talking.

When Theresa saw Sheridan, she walked up to her expectantly. "Is it getting any better out there?"

"I’m afraid not," Sheridan said, giving Theresa a soft pat on the arm. "Actually, it looks like it’s getting worse every minute. I have a feeling we’re all going to be stuck here for a while."

"Look, everything's gonna be fine," Luis broke in, flashing Sheridan a frustrated glare. "It’s not as bad as it seems. Sam said as soon as he made sure that the kids got home safely, he would come back and take the rest of us. Until then, we need to just not worry about it." He nudged his sister lightly. "We’ll be home before you know it."

Theresa nodded at Luis. Then she turned to Sheridan. "Well, until then, how about telling me more about your travels," Theresa suggested. Ever since she had began talking to Sheridan, she was amazed by the life the woman had led. She wanted to be just as sophisticated and worldly as her someday.

Sheridan couldn’t help but laugh. "Okay. It’ll help take my mind off of ... things," she said, looking at Luis. He rolled his eyes. Theresa took Sheridan’s arm and led her out of the office. Luis almost stopped Theresa, but thought better of it. He didn’t like the! idea of his sister getting crazy ideas in her head, but if it kept her from worrying, he wasn’t going to stop her. ‘I just hope she remembers that her dreams are just those. Dreams. She’ll never have a life like Sheridan Crane,’ he thought to himself.

He stood at the door of his office watching Sheridan in the middle of the gym surrounded by all of the kids. It was obvious that they all really liked her, even he had to admit that, though he was not about to tell her as much. He watched her as she talked the kids, smiling warmly and laughing. If he didn’t know she was a Crane, he may have believed that she was actually enjoying herself. Just as he was about to walk up to the crowd, a bright flash came through the windows followed by a loud BOOM. Then everything went dark. Luis heard several people gasp in surprise, and a few of the girls screamed.

"Okay, everybody, calm down!" he shouted towards the group. "The electricity just went out. The generator should kick in a minute." He was able to make out the figures of people, but he couldn’t see anyone clearly. He put his hands out in front of himself and began walking in the direction of the kids. After several steps, he touched someone, and they jumped slightly. When the person turned to face him, a flash of lightning let in enough light for him to see that it was Sheridan. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you," he said. As his eyes began to adjust, he could see her face. She looked like she was scared to death. "Are you okay?" he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I’m fine. I was just caught off guard," Sheridan said quickly. Another loud boom crashed, making Sheridan jump closer to Luis.

"You’re shaking like a leaf," Luis said. Without even realizing it, Luis pulled Sheridan close to him and put one strong arm around her. He laid his other hand gently on her cheek and lifter her face to his. "Just look at me. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay?"

She nodded slightly, not taking her eyes off of his. It was the! first time she could remember being this close to him and they weren't fighting, or at least trying to prove something to each other. Without any animosity to block it, she found herself having a hard time not noticing how sexy he was. Luis had never seen her out of battle-mode, and he found himself having a hard time now not noticing how beautiful Sheridan was. Finally, a dim light began to flood the room. Luis and Sheridan pulled away from each other quickly. Luis laughed nervously. Sheridan smiled tightly trying not to look embarrassed.

Finally, Sheridan broke the tense silence. "Thank you."

"For what?" Luis asked.

"For making me feel safe."

Luis looked at Sheridan for a moment, not sure of what to say. Finally, he gave a small smile. "You’re welcome. Besides, I couldn’t very well let you freak out and scare the kids half to death." For the first time, he regretted letting those words come out of his mouth. The look on Sheridan’s face confirmed it. If looks could kill, he would have been turned to ashes.

"Go to hell," Sheridan said, barely trusting herself to speak through her anger. She stalked away, refusing to let him see how he had gotten to her. She went straight to the ladies room, slamming the door behind her. She began pacing furiously around the room. "I can’t believe I let him lay a hand on me! I knew I couldn’t trust him. What was I thinking?" she asked herself furiously. "I can’t believe I actually told him he made me feel safe. I should have known he would take what I said and use it against me. I know better than to think that a man like Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald can be anything more than a narrow-minded, chauvinistic, pigheaded, BASTARD!" Finally, she stopped pacing and stood in front of the mirror. She had been so angry that she had not even noticed the tears. She looked at herself for a long moment, wiping the thin trails off of her cheeks. She had been told by countless people that she was beautiful, but she never believed it. She believed everyone told her that because she was Alistair Crane's daughter, so they had to. She longed for someone honest to tell her she was beautiful, someone who didn’t give a damn about her family. "Stop kidding yourself, Sheridan," she said to the reflection. "You know why you let Luis hold you when the lights went out. Because no one else would have cared unless they thought Father was watching. It was nice of him to try to take care of you, even if he did do it for the wrong reason. And he’s gorgeous. And it has been a long time since a man has held you ... for any reason." Sheridan closed her eyes, and could almost feel his arm around her again, the warmth of his hand on her face. Realizing what she was doing, she shook herself out of it. "Stop it, Sheridan. You can’t let yourself start thinking about Luis again. God knows, it was hard enough to stop after I saw him in the locker room." Just the thought of him standing in front of her, completely naked, still wet from his shower was enough to make her weak. "Okay," she said finally. "That’s it. No more thinking about Luis. I don’t want to see him, and I don’t want to talk to him. If he tries to say anything to me, I will just walk away. I won’t even give him the chance to get to me again. To hell with him." Feeling calmer, Sheridan suddenly had the feeling that someone was watching her. She turned, and was speechless to see Luis standing behind her.

"Wha...What are you doing in here?" she stammered. "This is the women's restroom!"

"I heard you yelling," he said, not blinking, his eyes burning into hers.

Sheridan could feel the blood draining out of her face. ‘Please don’t let him have heard me,’ she pleaded silently. "How long were you standing there?"

Luis took a few steps towards her, but stopped when she began to back up. "I believe it was the part about me being a bastard." Sheridan knew she had two options. She could either try to talk her way out of what he had heard, or she could turn the tables back on Luis. It took half a second for her to choose. "Just who in the hell do you think you are?"

"Look, I just..." Luis stammered, startled by her tone. "This is the ladies room! Do you think that because you’re the director of the Youth Center means you can just walk in here like you own the place?" Sheridan raged.

"No, of course not. I..." Luis rolled his eyes and threw his hands up as Sheridan cut him off again.

"News-flash, Officer. You don’t have the right to just barge in here like your God's gift to the opposite sex! What if I had been using the bathroom, or changing clothes or something?" "If you'd just let me...."

"What if someone else had been in here? How dare you!"

"Are you going to let me talk or not?" Luis asked, trying not to lose his temper.

"No. There is nothing you can say that I want to hear." Sheridan replied.

Realizing that she wasn’t going to stop ranting, he decided it was time to take drastic measures. ‘I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t get me thrown in jail for this,’ he said to himself. Before she could get the next set of assaults loaded, Luis crossed the length of the room, grabbing Sheridan. She was so shocked by his sudden move that she didn’t pull away from him. He put one arm around her waist, drawing her body against his. He used the other hand to pull her into a mind-numbing kiss. Sheridan’s entire body went limp for a moment causing Luis to have to hold her even tighter against his body. She could feel his muscles tense as he held her. Luis had prepared himself for Sheridan to pull away from him once she regained her bearings. He was betting on the fact that she would be so shocked that she wouldn’t start laying into him again immediately. He had only planned on kissing her long enough to shut her up so he could apologize. He had not prepared himself for the intense desire he felt for her when their lips met. He had not bet on her lack of resistance to him holding her, or the fact that he would not be able to pull himself away from her. He felt her body begin to straighten up, and he knew that! she was over the initial shock. Just as he was about to let her go, he felt her hands move up his chest, but he was shocked when he realized she wasn’t pushing him away. Instead they moved up slowly and softly, as if she was trying to learn his body by touch. One hand slowly moved to his back, pulling him tightly, and he felt her other hand go to the base of his neck, sending shockwaves down his spine. They were feeding off of each other’s passion, and the longer they kissed, the more passionate the kiss was. Sheridan and Luis were in their own world, and the storm and everything around them was forgotten.

Then someone knocked on the door, and they finally let go of each other. They stood looking at each other for a moment, faces flushed and eyes burning.

"Sheridan?" a voice called from outside. "Are you okay in there?"

"That’s Theresa!" Luis whispered, looking at the door. Sheridan flashed him a what-the-hell-are-we-going-to-do look. He shrugged, not knowing what he was going to tell Theresa because he wasn’t sure what to think about what happened himself. He could tell by Sheridan’s expression that she was having the same feelings.

"Look, I just thought you should know that the storm is clearing up. Chief Bennett called and said he would be here in a few minutes to pick the rest of the kids up, so we are just going to wait in the gym," Theresa said. `

Sheridan and Luis both listened until they couldn’t hear anyone before daring to speak.

"That was close," Luis said, sighing loudly.

"Yeah," Sheridan agreed. "We better get you out of here before someone comes back. I’ll make sure the coast is clear." She unlocked the door and opened it enough for her to see around the corner, when she didn’t see anyone, she motioned for Luis to go ahead. "I’ll wait a few minutes and then come out."

Luis nodded. They stood looking at each other for another minute before Sheridan spoke. "You better go."

"Yeah, I guess so. I’d have a hell of time explaining what I was doing in here with you to Theresa, or Sam for that matter," Luis said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Sheridan replied. She was shocked to find herself not wanting him to leave. She wanted to know if the kiss meant anything to him, or if he had only done it just to distract her, to take advantage of what he had heard her say. ‘Well, there’s really only one way to find out,’ she told herself.

As Luis turned to leave, Sheridan closed the door.

"What are you doing?" Luis asked, stunned. Before he could say anything else, Sheridan took his face into her hands and pulled him into another kiss. This time it was Luis who went weak, and he found himself leaning against the door to hold his weight. This kiss was slower and softer, but no less passionate, and Luis found himself holding onto Sheridan more tightly than before. She held him as well, pressing her body against his. Everywhere she touched him felt like fire, and he could feel her tremble as he moved his hands up and down her back. Finally, they slowed down, pulling their lips away, still holding each other.

Luis gave Sheridan a confused look. "What was that for?" He searched her beautiful eyes, and he found in them a warmth and tenderness he had never seen before.

"I needed to know if the first one was for real, or if you were just setting me up," she said quietly.

"You could have just asked me, you know," Luis said, suddenly realizing that she would probably be beyond pissed off if he told her his original reason for kissing her. "I would have told you."

Sheridan could see his guilt on his face. "Look, I know you started kissing me to shut me up." Before he could say anything she put her finger over his lips. "I don’t care why you started kissing me," she said softly. " I just needed to know why you ended up kissing me."

"You could have asked me either way, Sheridan," he said, still not sure why she kissed him again.

Sheridan gave Luis a mischievous grin. "Yeah, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun."

Luis and Sheridan both started laughing. He found himself looking at her, seeing for the first time how beautiful she was when she smiled, how soft and melodic her voice was when she laughed. ‘It’s like I’m seeing her for the first time,’ he marveled to himself. "I really do need to go," he said finally. "I know," Sheridan said, noticing that he had not let her go. When he did pull away finally, Sheridan felt a sudden pang of sadness. She wanted him to stay with her so much her heart ached.

Luis looked around nervously before finally looking back at Sheridan. "So...what now?"

"I don’t know," Sheridan replied, not wanting to be too forward and push Luis away. "I am scheduled to work tomorrow..." she said, letting it hang in the air between them.

"Yeah," Luis said, not sure of what to do. "I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then?"

"I’ll be here," Sheridan confirmed.

Luis looked like he was going to say something else but thought better of it. Finally, he opened the door and turned to leave. "Bye," he said quietly.

"Goodnight," Sheridan replied. This time he left, closing the door quietly. Sheridan leaned against the door and as she thought about what had happened, she found herself sliding down until she was sitting on the floor. She stayed there for a long time going over what had happened between her and Luis over and over.

Luis walked dazedly to the front of the building. Before he saw Sam, Theresa pulled on his arm. "Luis? You okay?"

He looked at her for a moment, hoping he didn’t look as confused as he felt. "Yeah, I’m fine. I hope no one was looking for me. I was just, uh..."

"I know where you were," Theresa said, smiling slyly. "I saw what happened with you and Sheridan when the lights went out." "You saw us?" he asked.

"Don’t worry, Luis," Theresa assured him. "No one else noticed. But they’ll be able to figure it out pretty quick if you go out there like that." She took her fingers and quickly wiped the lipstick off of Luis’ mouth. Luis just looked at his sister, unable to believe that she! was taking it so well.

"So you know what happened in there?" he asked, nodding towards the bathroom.

"I heard what you said to her, and I was hoping you followed her in there to apologize for being a jerk," Theresa replied sternly. "Obviously, you two took the saying ‘kiss and make up’ literally."

Luis just looked away, embarrassed. Then he saw Sam coming. He put his finger over his mouth, and his sister nodded, motioning that her lips were sealed. She gave him a quick wink and left to catch a ride home. Luis talked to Sam for several minutes before he told him he would walk home after he locked up. The two men said good-bye, and Luis was left alone.

He walked back into his office and sat down. "I should be feeling guilty about this," he said to himself. "I mean, she’s a Crane, right? How many times have I told Theresa to stay away from the Cranes, and here I go, letting myself think about getting mixed up with one myself. Shouldn't some kind of warning bell be going off or something?" He put his hand over his face, trying to make sense of his feelings. "I mean, we’ve never even been able to have a civil conversation!"

"Well, maybe if you started looking at me like a person instead of a Crane," Sheridan suggested from the doorway, "that might make things easier between us."

Luis’ head jerked up at the sound of Sheridan’s voice. "What are you still doing here? I thought you left a while ago."

"I was just sitting, thinking."

"About what?" Luis asked.

"I was thinking about this," she said, motioning between them. "Sounded to me like you were doing the same thing."

Luis looked at her for a moment. "Yeah, I guess I was," he admitted. "Hell, I don’t know what I’m thinking to be perfectly honest with you." Luis sat back in his chair and they looked at one another for a few minutes. Finally, Sheridan walked into the room and sat on the corner of the desk.

"So what do you want to do now?" she asked quietly. "I mean, I will understand if you just want to forget it ever happened..." "That’s just it," Luis said seriously. "I don’t know. I mean, what would a woman like you want with a guy like me anyway, right?" Luis was startled when Sheridan threw her head back and started laughing.

"I’m sorry, Luis," she said finally, catching her breath. She saw the dumbfounded looked on his face and had to use every ounce of her formal training to keep from laughing again. She put out her hand and began counting on her fingers. "You’re intelligent, family oriented, self-confident, strong, sensitive, honest, hardworking, passionate, and sexy to a fault. Honestly, I just have a hard time imagining a woman who wouldn’t want you." His face changed from confused to being totally blown away. "Why does that surprise you so much?"

"Well,..." Luis said, trying not to sound as shocked as he was, "I mean, look at you. You’ve got a good personality, you’re smart, you’re beautiful...and you’re rich. I mean, you’re a Crane," he stated, like it was an obvious, proven fact. "Please quit saying that."

"Saying what?" Luis asked.

"That I’m a Crane. Trust me, I am painfully aware of that," Sheridan said bitterly. "Just because my last name is Crane doesn’t mean that I don’t want the same things any other woman wants."

"What could you possibly want that you don’t already have?" Sheridan just stared at Luis for a minute before answering. "I just want someone that loves me and that I can be with for the rest of my life," she said. She searched Luis’ face, desperately wanting him to understand. "Being a Crane doesn’t make it any easier."

"C’mon," Luis said, nudging Sheridan’s leg. "You mean to tell me that there aren’t a line of guys who would marry you?" Luis shook his head. "I don’t buy it. Hell, your dad's probably got a waiting list of ‘suitable’ men lined up for his princess." He smiled to let her know that he didn’t mean it badly, but his smile faded when he looked into her eyes and saw the sadness there.

"You don’t understand," Sheridan said. "Marriages aren’t about love in my family. It’s all business. Take Julian and Ivy, for example. Father chose Ivy because she was the governor's daughter, giving him more power among political circles. Julian went along with it because the more power Father has, the more Julian will have when he takes over. They don’t love each other. Honestly, I don’t know if they ever cared for each other at all."

"Well, what about Ethan and that girl he’s with? What’s her name?"

"Gwen," Sheridan said. Luis nodded, and Sheridan shrugged. "That was all Ivy. Father approves of it because Gwen's father is CEO of a large corporation, and as soon as Gwen marries Ethan, Gwen's father has agreed to merge with Crane Industries."

Sheridan saw the disbelieving look on Luis’ face. " Don’t get me wrong, I love Gwen like a sister, and I am all for Ethan and Gwen getting married because they do love each other. What Ethan doesn’t know is that Ivy and Gwen's mother had their wedding planned before they ever met."

"Are you serious?" Luis asked. He knew Sheridan was opening a door to her family that very few people ever got to go through, and he wanted to make the most of it. He leaned forward in his chair. "But how?"

"Ivy and Gwen's mother sent them to boarding schools in the same city. Since our families run in the same set, they knew that Ethan and Gwen would eventually meet. Ivy made sure that there was as little competition as possible. After that, it was just a matter of setting up a few dates for them, and they did the rest on their own."

Luis thought about what Sheridan had said. "What would happen if Ethan decides he doesn’t want to marry Gwen after all?"

"Why wouldn’t he?" Sheridan asked quickly. Theresa flashed into her head for a second, and she quickly shook it off.

"I’m not saying he won’t, but what if he did. I mean, you said Ivy eliminated the competition, right?" Sheridan nodded slowly. "Well, he’s not in school anymore. Now he’s out in the world where he can meet lots of new people, including women. Isn’t it possible he could meet someone else and realize that he doesn’t love Gwen after all?"

Sheridan looked at Luis matter-of-factly. "Then Ethan will be doomed to a loveless marriage just like his father. Make no mistake. Ethan will marry Gwen, whether he loves her or not. The deal has been signed. All they need now is a marriage license and it will be official." Just thinking about it made Sheridan uneasy, especially when she knew that Luis’ point was closer to home than he could ever imagine. "I just thank God that they do love each other."

"Okay, I understand that. He’s expected to take over. So what about the rest of you? Ethan has a few sisters, right? What about them? Does that mean that they are expected to marry whoever your dad tells them to just to expand the business?" He was waiting for Sheridan to say, "No, of course not." Instead he was met with a somber nod.

"That’s exactly what we’re expected to do." Luis’ jaw dropped open, and Sheridan looked away. She was suddenly very ashamed of her family, but she decided that Luis deserved to know. She wanted him to know, even though she was sure that she would lose any chance she had with him after this. "That’s what Crane women do. We marry who we are told ‘in the name of the family,’" Sheridan said sarcastically. "That’s why Father disapproves of me so much. I won’t be forced into a loveless marriage. I want more than that. I want to marry a man who loves me and not my family. I dream about meeting a man who will want to be with me for me, who can love the fact that I don’t want to be a Crane forever. Just once," she said, clasping her hands together so tightly her knuckles turned white, "I want to be able to believe it when a man tells me he loves me because I know that he has no ulterior motives or financial ambition. He just wants me."

When Sheridan finally finished, she realized that somewhere along the way she had begun to cry. "I’m sorry," she choked out. Luis quickly handed her a tissue, and she wiped her eyes and nose. "I’ve never told anyone that before. You must think I’m crazy, going on and on like this," she said.

"I don’t think you’re crazy at all," Luis said softly. "I never realized..."

"No one does," Sheridan said quietly. "It’s a closely guarded family secret. Who knows? Maybe Father's right."

"What do you mean?"

"My father seems to think that the fact that I’m a Crane is the only reason any man would ever want me. Maybe he’s right."

"Are you kidding?" Luis shouted, not meaning to sound angry. Sheridan leaned back slightly at the change in his tone. "Listen to me, Sheridan. Someday, you’ll find a man who loves you more than you ever imagined. He will thank God every day for you, and he’ll think he’s the luckiest SOB on earth to have you, and you know what?" Luis said, standing up so that they were eye to eye, "He’ll be right."

Sheridan thought about what he said for a moment before continuing. "Would you feel that way?"

"Yeah, I would," Luis said without hesitation. "I would feel extremely lucky to have a woman like you want me."

Sheridan looked Luis over for a minute. "Well, Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald," Sheridan said, putting her arms around his neck, "it seems then that it’s your lucky day."

Luis didn’t need to her to say it twice. Luis put his arms around Sheridan, picking her up off of his desk. Their lips met, and they kissed for a long time. When they finally pulled away, Sheridan flashed Luis a beautiful smile. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship," she whispered.

"Absolutely," Luis agreed, matching her smile with a million-dollar smile of his own. "And I think a celebration is in order."

"What for?" Sheridan asked, intrigued.

"Our first civil conversation," Luis said seriously. Sheridan couldn’t help but laugh.

"That is definitely a reason to celebrate," Sheridan replied, and together, hand in hand, they left the Youth Center together.

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