She began sobbing uncontrollably. "I...I need you, Julian! I can't take it here without you. I'll die in this place!"

A sound could be heard coming from Julian's chest. Sheridan's eyes widened in surprise and delight as she watched her brother's chest move up and down, providing his body with the air needed to live.

"You're alive! Oh, Julian!" Sheridan exclaimed with joy. "Thank God, you're alive!"

She bent down and kissed her brother's forehead. Julian's eyes opened and then closed as he lapsed on the verge of consciousness. "Eve..." he mumbled softly.

"What, Julian? I'm right here; it's Sheridan. I can't understand what you're trying to say."

Julian again opened his eyes, trying to fix his gaze on the woman leaning over him. "Sher - Sheridan, is that you?" he asked, his voice a faint whisper.

"I'm right here, Julian," she sobbed. "Just don't talk, OK? You had another bad fall."

"This one - worse." Julian mumbled. "The pain..."

"Shhhh, you're going to be all right," Sheridan said with overwhelming compassion in her voice. "Everything's going to be OK."

She continued to hold onto her brother as he lay in agony in the bottom of the pit.

"Here you go, Luis, the new missing person's file on Julian Crane," the young officer said, laying the file on his superior's desk. "Any ideas where Crane might be?" he asked.

"Probably out on a drinking binge with some young thing," Luis said, a slight smile creeping up on his face. "I wouldn't worry about Julian Crane if I were you, Kevin. He can take care of himself."

As the young officer turned and walked away, Luis picked up a second folder on his desk - the one containing information on Sheridan's disappearance. "Sheridan, I know you can take care of yourself too - and the baby," he said to himself. "But I wish I could be there for you. I want to protect you, to help you through this awful time."

His mind replayed all the adventures they had had together - all the times where he had helped rescue her, barely, from danger - first in New Mexico, then Paris, and when she was buried alive...

Luis paused at the next memory that flashed in his mind. "Not Bermuda though," he said bitterly. "Why couldn't I have been the one to find you in the sea after the boat exploded? If I had found you, things would have been so different..."

He shook his head, not letting himself imagine what course their lives would have taken. "Antonio," he muttered. "You definitely wouldn't be married to him now."

What they had been through this past year! Sheridan having amnesia, falling for his brother; then Antonio being sick, the wedding - it was all a nightmare for Luis. The worst part of it all for him had been that they could never tell Antonio the truth. Every time they had tried, something had always stopped them - first Antonio's illness, then Sheridan's delicate pregnancy. How he had wanted to tell Antonio the truth and remove that burden from her, but it had not worked out.

Luis thought about the whole situation with his brother - how Antonio believed that Sheridan had run away. Luis knew that wasn't true; he knew Sheridan so well. Maybe she did need a little time to herself, but she would never had stayed away this long, not without contacting him. He couldn't say that to Antonio, however. He couldn't reveal his true feelings for Sheridan in front of him...let him know that she was his soul mate, and he knew in his heart that she would never leave him.

"I can't take this now," Luis declared to himself. "With Sheridan missing, and her and the baby in danger, I can't take this whole idiotic mess with Antonio anymore."

He considered an idea that had just come to him - an idea that actually had been in the back of his mind for a long time. Luis nodded his head and jumped up from his desk. "I'm going to do it," he said firmly. "I'm going to tell Antonio the truth."

He walked out of the police station with his head held high in determination, as if a big weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

Sheridan smiled as Julian once more opened his eyes; this time they were focused better. The dazed expression was gone from his face. He tried to move, but Sheridan cautioned him against it. "Don't move yet, Julian. Just rest."

He smiled at her. "I can't believe you're doing this for me, taking care of me, after all the things I've done to you."

"That's in the past, Julian," she said. "The imposter business - all that's in the past."

"But there's so much more," he insisted, "so much you know nothing about. I don't think I'll ever be able to make it up to you."

"You already have, Julian," Sheridan assured him. "You risked your life to try to save me. You protected me from that evil woman. I'll never forget that."

"I just wish I could have done more," her brother said softly. Then, half smiling, he said, "I'm no Luis, am I?"

"No," she admitted sadly, "but then, there's only one Luis."

"You miss him, don't you?" he said suddenly.

"Of course," she answered. "He's all I think about."

"Hold onto those thoughts," Julian said. "If you can't be together, those thoughts can be your treasures."

"I never knew you were the sentimental type, Julian," Sheridan joked.

"There's a lot about me you'd probably be surprised to know," he said simply. Then moving his head slightly to look into her eyes, he added, "Thanks, Sheridan."

"Everything's going to be all right," she said. "Remember what Mother said? 'Together, we can't be beat.' "

Luis pulled his car up to Sheridan's cottage and took a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing," he said. He exited the car and headed for the front door.

Without knocking, he opened the door. Antonio was just walking out from the kitchen. He stopped when he saw Luis. "What's going on, Luis? You look upset. Have you found out something about Sheridan?"

Luis shut the door behind him and looked straight into his brother's eyes. "No, it's not about Sheridan's disappearance," he said. "There's no new information."

"OK, well then, what's up? Why are you here?"

"Antonio, listen, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time...and I'm just going to have to come right out and say it."

"Go for it, brother," Antonio said, a strange look suddenly appearing on his face.

"All right, here it is," he said, taking a deep breath. "Antonio, Sheridan and I - we're in love. We have been for years." Luis exhaled slowly, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Antonio sighed and hung his head for a moment. Then raising his head once more, he stared directly into Luis's eyes, his own blue eyes so piercing that Luis felt like they were cutting into his very soul.

"So," Antonio said after a long pause, "you finally decided to tell me the truth."